Of Mice and Men Group

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yusun
yusun
Student
High School - 10th Grade

Please explain what "work cards" are in Chapter One of "Of Mice and Men." 

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Posted by yusun on Monday October 20, 2008 at 5:35 AM and tagged with chapter 1, characters, george, lennie, of mice and men, plot, work cards.

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  1. jamie-wheeler Teacher
    College - Sophomore

    eNotes Editor

    Best answer as selected by question asker.

    "Work cards" were issued by the WPA (Works Projects Administration) in an unprecedented effort by the Roosevelt administration to get money into the pockets of the thousands of men who were unemployed during the Great Depression. 

    The government would repay employers who hired men who had signed up for this sort of relief; essentially, the employer got free, or nearly free, labor in exchange for hiring men who were out of work.

    To be eligible for hire, a man had to sign up at the WPA.  He was given an identification card and  a "work card."  The identification card must be shown to the potential employer, and the work card surrendered for the duration of his employment.    The employer could then submit the card information to the WPA agency for repayment. 

    This is why Lennie goes into something of a brief panic when he thinks he's lost his ticket: 

     "Geroge, I ain't got mine.  I musta lost it."  He looked down at the ground in despair.

    "You never had none, you crazy bastard.  I got both of 'em here.  Think I'd let you carry your own work card?"

    Geroge had good reason to be wary.  Without the cards, the pair certainly would not get a job. 

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/great-depression-almanac/works-prog...
    http://www.enotes.com/ofmice/
    http://www.enotes.com/ofmice/chapter-1-summary-analysis

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    Posted by jamie-wheeler on Monday October 20, 2008 at 8:24 AM