John Steinbeck's 1937 novel 'Of Mice and Men' presents to the reader many themes of which hold underlying commentary on American society. Set in Salinas valley in the 1930s, the novel explores the trials and tribulations of living in the Great Depression while concurrently discussing the importance of cooperation and how inequalities create harsh negative impacts on those affected by them. The topics in this story all tie into one larger theme, discrimination. Examples of inequality and discrimination occur in the story on multiple occasions, particularly associating with the characters Lennie, with a much lower IQ than average, Candy, who is getting older and has a disabled hand, and Crooks, who has an injured back, and is also African American. …show more content…
He is often excluded in many decisions as a result of his age and disabled hand. These setbacks make his life difficult. A common worry Candy faces regards his future, he is sure that once he is no longer useful, he will be “thrown out”. He is also incapable of completing tasks that the other workers can. Candy is given little opportunity to contribute to decisions, even if they are related to his life. For instance, Candy expressed his disliking towards the idea of killing his dog, and yet, the other workers seemed to not take note of this, and ended up killing Candy’s dog. Consequently, Candy felt regret for not killing the dog himself. "I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog." (30) Candy feels the need to express his remorse towards the way in which the dog had died. This quote from Candy foreshadowed the death of Lennie, and played a major role in George’s decision. Candy was specifically interested in the dream brought up by Lennie and George, and his involvement in this dream was very likely due to his need for stability in his future. The dream included living off the fat of the land, so that nobody involved would have to work very hard. He was a major factor in making the dream realistic, providing motivation for the three characters in their daily
“I ain’t a southern negro,” he said. “I was born right here in California." With these
Discrimination plays a big role in Of Mice and Men, since it takes place during the Great Depression. Racial segregation, gender rights, and handicap vulnerability are all problems in Of Mice and Men that reflect the society at the time. Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy are discriminated against on the ranch just like they would be in society.
Some characters in this novel are alienated by mainstream society because they do not fit society’s ideal image of a person. And they are all not accepted as human beings. Throughout John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the social injustice of how people were treated during the Great Depression is explored through the characters Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Lennie, to show that society actually needs to become stronger than it really is.
Discrimination have been happening everywhere in the world and as long as anyone can remember. Discrimination is still a problem today. America just had protests dealing with Black Lives Matter and African Americans feel they are still discriminated against and treated differently. The time that the novel Of Mice and Men takes place in is important because during the Great Depression it was hard to find money, so Lennie couldn’t just stay at home while George had to work. They both had to make money to support themselves. Lennie, Crooks, and Curley's wife all face discrimination which greatly impacts their lives.
The novella, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck , is set in California in the 1930s. The story revolves around and Lennie and George, two workers who travel together. They find their way to Salinas Valley, where they hope to begin work. They hope to make it big, get rich, and buy some land for themselves. However, they encounter some challenges that could possibly be a roadblock to their dreams. One of these challenges is discrimination because not everybody in the novella is treated equally. Discrimination is displayed in many ways in the book, especially with the characters of Lennie, Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy. Lenny is discriminated against because he is mentally disabled, Crooks is black, Curley's wife is a woman, and Candy is old.
In the literary work Of Mice and Men, the reader is introduced to the ranch as a world of its own, within which prejudice plays a significant part. The characters in this novel act as a community in a world of their own, having no connections to any other type of society. A strong point, enforced through many examples in the book, is the constant ability of the stronger to overcome the weaker. The prejudices of the majority towards the minority, at the ranch are the white-males, who retain power over the lesser groups of people. This inequality, as well as the influence of the time period, causes discrimination against people of color, women, and those that are disabled, either mentally or physically.
Oppression is a circumstance in which individuals are treated immorally and are prevented from having opportunities and freedom. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s characters are caught in a vicious cycle of oppression. Lennie and George travel to Soledad, California to work on a ranch. Through incitement of the other oppressed characters, Lennie, who has the mind of a child, is pushed to his constraints. In the end, Lennie’s intellectual disability gets the best of him when he kills Curley’s wife. Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, addresses the theme of oppression and the effects of oppression by showing how it limits what someone can accomplish, how it minimizes their importance, and how everyone does it.
I’m writing about discrimination for my final assessment. Have you ever had anyone be rude to you just because your different? Well your not alone. In the book Of Mice and Men I think Lennie is the most discriminated against. George, Curly, and Curly’s wife discriminate Lennie just because he's different.
This makes Candy very upset and he stays in his bed. After a short time, when Candy hears George and Lennie talking about their dream farm, he offers them three hundred fifty dollars to get the land and to work in the house, if he can join them. Candy is worried that when he gets older and they fire him, he will have nowhere to go and live a lonely life. He thinks that if he joins their dream farm then he will always have a place to live, work, and have somebody to talk to. This will help prevent him from feeling lonely because he does not have any relatives or his dog.
Of Mice and Men Final Essay Discrimination is defined as the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things. In the novel Of Mice and Men, George Steinbeck writes about prejudice and bias. In this text, the author is saying that discrimination and loneliness are intertwined through Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Lennie. To begin, Curley’s wife was misjudged and isolated due to the misogynistic behavior she was constantly subjected to.
Of Mice and Men: Discrimination “I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that's how I operate my life” (Oprah Winfrey). Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel that talks about a little of discrimination. Discrimination play a big role because back in the 1930’s during the Great Depression a lot of people didn’t like color people. Crook is one of the characters that faces a lot of discrimination because of his color.
In the book “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck develops the theme prejudice. To start with, Crooks,the black stable buck on the ranch, experiences prejudice through racial discrimination. For example, when speaking to Lennie in his room he says, “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black” (68). This shows that Crooks is treated differently because of the color of his skin. Also Candy and George use derogatory terms when talking about Crooks and his skin color.
Discrimination has been going on for more than 100 years. It still happens today in our everyday life around the world. Of Mice and Men is about two men, Lennie and George, who travel from ranch to ranch to get jobs. When they were at one farm, one of the men Lennie was accused of rape. They then fled together to the next ranch for work. They hoped that the next ranch would be a better working environment than the last one. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, there was significant discrimination with the characters named Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife.
The setting of the book “Of Mice and Men” is right after the Great Depression. During that time, there was a lot of discrimination. Discrimination towards people who are black, have mental disabilities, and because of their gender. In my essay, i’ll be sharing situations where people face discrimination. The character’s
From black people to white people, to the old and the young, almost every person was discriminated against in some way during the depression and even today. Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men takes place during the Great Depression, 1940s era and describes a very realistic situation about characters who are simply trying to get by and chasing the “American Dream” but struggles with conflict within themselves and the outside world. Discrimination was a common theme of Of Mice and Men and greatly affected the lives of the characters in the novella. Some characters include: Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy. The novella is a realistic representation of discrimination in society.