Discrimination In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Marguerite Gardiner once stated “Prejudices are the chains forged by ignorance to keep men apart” (Gardiner). This quotation suggests that prejudice is the symbol of ignorance, for men to either recognize or ignore the judgements they hold against others. Prejudice creates barriers for people with different backgrounds, which makes it harder for people to communicate with each other. In these two articles, one titled “Of Mice and Men, Masterplots, Fourth Edition,” by Angela D. Hickey and the other titled “Of Mice and Men, Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature Series, Supplement,” by Lynn C. Munro, the authors explain the way John Steinbeck wrote about prejudice. These authors also demonstrate various kinds of prejudice can make it difficult for many to achieve the American Dream. In the novel “Of Mice and Men”, author John Steinbeck reflects on the prejudice that even still plagues modern times. The novel is set in the rural Salinas valleys of California. The issues in the novel illustrates the routine and frustrations in the lifestyle of a nomadic migrant worker. Steinbeck uses the main characters’ personalities to show how people were affected during the Great Depression. He also incorporates the idea of the American Dream, and how every character has their own vision of it.

“I ain’t a southern negro,” he said. “I was born right here in California." With these

Equality has been a hot topic in the past century. Women and African-Americans have not had equality for that long. Women gained quality in the 1920s and African-Americans gained equality in the 1960s. It took them a lot of time to get those rights and dream in Of Mice and Men, show equality must be worked for. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck utilizes the characters of Crooks and Curley’s wife to illustrate that equality takes a long time to come by.

Discrimination if often based on many qualities and abilities. Some of the most clearly shown examples in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men are gender, age and racial discrimination. The victims of these types of discrimination are Curley’s wife, who is unhappy and bitter about her life, Candy, the old, disabled swamper and Crooks, the black stable buck. Throughout the novel, these three characters face many hardships because they are harshly judged and often misunderstood.

Lennie is treated differently because the other men don’t understand him as little was known

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.

“Well, you keep your place then, n*****. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (Steinbeck 81). In the novella, Of Mice and Men, the readers are following the life of Lennie and George, who are migrant workers during the Great Depression. Migrant workers, unlike Lennie and George, primarily travel alone, and they go from job to job. George and Lennie have been together since they were younger, as Lennie would come along with George while he worked, so they had become inseparable. Lennie got them kicked out of many jobs, but they landed a spot as a ranch hand bucking barley. Once they became acquainted with the farm, Lennie and George become friends with a man named Crooks, but before that, they are introduced to the ranch by Candy. As the story progresses, a theme of isolation, discrimination, and loneliness on Candy, Lennie, and Crooks is revealed.

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.

“Want me to tell ya what’ll happen? They’ll take ya to the booby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog” (Steinbeck 72). Discrimination plays a large role to feeling lonely. In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, characters endure attempts by society to make them “invisible.” These include racism, ageism, sexism, and isolation. More specifically, three of these characters experience loneliness from acts of discrimination. Factors contributing to their loneliness include ageism, disability discrimination, and racism. Each of these characters are migrant workers during the Great Depression who are discriminated against in different ways. Thus, through Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife, Steinbeck reveals the powerful

“Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.” This quote, once said by E. B. White, excellently states what the novel, Of Mice and Men, is trying to clearly state. Of Mice and Men is a profound novel that has many things to teach society. This novel, written by John Steinbeck, reflects many flaws in the world today. It mirrors many of the characteristics that every human possesses. Prejudice is still a common way of thinking in today’s society, and to the people who feel victimized, it can be hard to overcome. Curley’s wife, Lennie, and Crooks all deal with prejudice against themselves different ways.

“The lack of human dignity experienced by Africans is the direct result of the policy of white supremacy. White supremacy implies black inferiority” (Nelson Mandela, 1964.) During the time period of Of Mice and Men, rights of black men and women were not urgent in society, especially in white-dominated southern California. Although Crooks may have shared the same gender with other men at the ranch, his skin color put him underneath all the others there, including Curley’s wife. With lack of representation and Crooks being the only black man on the farm, he is forced to settle with discrimination he faces daily, brought on by society’s view of blacks.

There was a time when slavery was legal and discrimination was very common and it arguably was probably the most controversial time period ever: it was a dark time when people would own other people because they were not a certain color. That time period eventually legally ended but those same people were discriminated and were threatened constantly for their lives just like what is similarly happening in the world today with Muslims and Mexicans. The President of the USA has emphasized about the deportations of Muslims and Mexicans for believing or being something else than what he feels is normal and safe. Which brings up the question, how would you like to be ignored or disliked for something that you have no control over? In his eye-opening novella “Of Mice and Men,” John Steinbeck writes about the true nature of discrimination, how it’s caused and how it affects others. The two protagonists in his story are best friends and migrant workers named Lennie and George, who on their journey see the causes and effects of discrimination. Through his extraordinary book, Steinbeck exposes how it is known that humans may discriminate against something that isn’t normal, liked or known to them.

The first character affected by this hatred and stereotypes is Lennie. Lennie is the soft spoken sidekick to George, the main character. He was left with George after his guardian Aunt Clara died, leaving George to fend for him. He is described as a “large, strong, lumbering, simple-minded man who is usually unaware of his actions and surroundings”. Lennie’s actions are often childlike and throughout the story he is given dreams of owning a farm. This dream of a free and simple life are what pushes his character

John F. Kennedy once stated, “If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity… we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air… And we are all mortal”. Despite clear homogeneity among humankind, it is difficult to name a time in which there was little to no prejudice against certain communities. Even today, in a seemingly progressive society, racism, sexism, and ableism are still prevalent. Similarly to Kennedy in his American University commencement speech, Steinbeck suggests working towards improving humanity’s issues by bringing them to light in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, declaring that writers are “charged with exposing our many grievous faults and failures, with dredging up to the light our dark and dangerous dreams for the purpose of improvement”. In his novella Of Mice and Men, the characterization of Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Lennie exposes one of humanity’s most “grievous faults” or “failures” in their discrimination of others, but also provides a new perspective on everyday prejudice for the purpose of improvement.

When it comes to racial and disability discrimination, it is the most common that brings people down. People that are either black, hispanic, asian, or any other race (besides caucasians) get picked on and brought down on because their race is different from others, which is something that shouldn’t even happen in this world. People with physical and or mental disabilities are also brought down on too. Sure some of them aren’t exactly made fun of, but they are still looked down on and discriminated by society. This happens in schools, businesses, restaurants, and other sorts of places. Although it depends on how the person treats them. It’s not their fault that they’re different from the other. So. In the book Of Mice And Men, the author John Steinbeck uses this character in said book named Crooks. He uses this character to show and describe us how racial and disability discrimination was back then, as well as the lessons that we can use for racial and disability discrimination that goes on today.