Therefore, it is clear that their mental health had suffered greatly. Granados and Diez Roux show that suicide was the only major cause of death that increased in the years of economic depression (see fig. It can be assumed from the links between the statistics of suicide and the US’ financial problems during the Great Depression that many people were under significant stress at that time. Furthermore, he also revealed the issues that some people did not know how to address. This decision is not accidental – Steinbeck, while focusing on the positive behaviors of people, acknowledged the reality of the country’s economic position. In fact, the description of death in this novel is not sensationalized – the author portrays a scene where a man shoots himself not as a rare event, but as a part of gruesome reality (Mumford 147). Although fictional, the characters in Cannery Row live during the Great Depression, and the audience is introduced to multiple men who take their lives.

The stories of these people are depicted in the novel Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. Thus, one can see that this period was characterized by significant mental distress. The rates of suicide increased, and the levels of mortality coincided with those of unemployment, as people were lost hope of ever getting back to the same level of prosperity (Granados and Diez Roux 17291). As a result, the mental health of the individuals who were affected by the stock market crash and the following events suffered as well. Its influence on all parts of human lives was enormous with millions of people losing their jobs and financial stability (Granados and Diez Roux 17290). The period of the Great Depression can be considered the most impactful economic downturn in the history of the United States and the world as a whole.

Cannery row novel