How was the migrating in the book of mice and men different from now?

George and Lennie moved from place to place by hitch hiking, walking, and illegally riding freight trains. Their migrant worker lifestyle was facilitated by an agricultural system which catered to groups of unattached men, willing to live cheaply and simply in bunk houses, and eat camp food. Wages were typically paid in cash, and little or no identification or personal history was expected by employers, or offered by the migrant workers.





Today, most employers are required to check identification such as I9 forms, passports, Social Security records, and sometimes health information. Pay is often by direct deposit to bank accounts, which require photo identification, and credit checks. Few employers provide housing, because of the obligations that creates for them under later health and welfare provisions. Because of these changes, migrant work is no longer the haven for criminals it once was in America, but neither is it as attractive an option as it once was for able bodied, but mentally challenged people like Lennie.