“In 1863 Republican president Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, ostensibly signaling the end of slavery in America.” (Facts on File). Unfortunately, this didn’t end the social prejudice that continued to exist for nearly a century later. Before the Civil Rights Act “barred discrimination on the basis of gender as well as race, color, or national origin,” (fofweb.com) there was an unequal balance in the world that separated others based on their gender, and the color of their skin. We see this favoritism and inequality throughout the novella, Of Mice and Men. Racist and sexist ideology became much more prominent when people were forced to rely on their survival skills, because they chose to believe that minorities were inferior, …show more content…
Primarily, if you defended people of color, you would receive the same punishments as the people of color. Rosa Parks, and African American woman “born in 1913,” (online.infobase.com) was one of the few people who acted against what was expected of her because “Her refusal to move to the back of the bus resulted in her arrest and a $14 fine,” (online.infobase.com). Though, it wasn’t until after the Great Depression that we saw the eruption of the limited-but-powerful Civil Rights Activists. Also, people chose to be silent because it was the common thing to do: “ ‘We’d tell about you framin’ Crooks.’ ‘Tell an’ be damned,’ she cried. ‘Nobody’d listen to you, an’ you know it. Nobody’d listen to you.’ Candy subsided. ‘No…’ he agreed. ‘Nobody’d listen to us’ ” (Steinbeck 85). It would be hard to try to change the preexisting ideas that shaped their way of life. In Of Mice and Men, Candy tries to stick up for Crooks but then realizes that the boss would not listen to them. Common knowledge at that time was if the man of color on the farm supposedly did something wrong, he must be punished accordingly. Once the boss has that idea in his head, there is nothing one can do to change that. Lastly, society accepted the social prejudice the way it was, which guided it in the complete opposite direction as it should have been going. The low income and quality from where they all work are portrayed through Crooks in the beginning of his conversations with Lennie, for “He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs” (Steinbeck 70). Defensive and alone, Crooks learns to accept that he cannot do anything that would allow him to join his fellow workers. People accepted racist and sexist actions because it was simpler and didn’t hinder their
The historical views of woman have set a common pattern that influences the expression of thought regarding gender. This is evident in the book “Of Mice and Men”, within the character of Curley’s Wife. She is the only woman on the ranch, it is described to us that she has a flirtatious attitude. They see her as someone who is a source of temptation and evil and give her no voice in the matter. It is shown that they see her as a source of desire and sin by trying their best to avoid her and evade conversations. George even goes to the extent of telling Lennie to stay away from her since she has the potential to create trouble. She has no voice in this and becomes extremely lonely. This is proven when she opens up her past to the new and mentally
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.
Helen Keller, an American author and political activist, reveals the connections between individual responsibilities to society by declaring, “Until the great mass of the people shall be filled with the sense of responsibility for each others welfare, social justice can never be attained.” In the novel Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck, conveys the idea that one’s responsibilities cannot be avoided because they will just reappear in the future. Steinbeck expresses that the completion of important tasks and jobs will benefit most people in the long run. Throughout the story, George is given the duty to take care of Lennie and prevent him from making critical mistakes. Without George’s guidance, Lennie would be lost and alone in the world with no clue on how to survive by himself; he would have to make his own decisions, and from past dilemmas, this has been proven to be a issue. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George is given the dreadful grievance and responsibility of killing Lennie; his decision to kill Lennie is justified because Lennie is a danger to society, and by killing Lennie, George prevents him from a contrarily tragic, miserable death.
All humans are different. We have different skin colors, not everyone is the same sex. That is what make us human. These differences are what bring us together, but they can tear us apart. Humans can be plain and simply cruel to one another. John Steinbeck shows us how us as humans can be cruel and our cruelties of the past that still live one to today. He brings to light that people who stand out or are mistreated to say the least. Humans were cruel in the past and they’ll always be cruel. It’s just human nature.
Discrimination was one of the issues that caused conflict in the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. One example of discrimination in the novel comes in the form of racial discrimination against Crooks, as he is an African American. Another example of discrimination is gender discrimination against Curley’s wife. Finally, there is discrimination against mentally disabled people, which is evident in Lennie’s character. The ranch hands' actions and conversations demonstrated the racial discrimination against Crooks for his skin colour, gender discrimination against Curley’s wife for her gender, and prejudice against Lennie, who was mentally disabled individual. This prevented the characters from reaching their full potential and
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.
The 1930’s was an era of major global crisis; from struggling during the Great Depression to fighting social issues amongst the people themselves, this was a time period that would be classified as a time of anything but easy living. In the present circumstances, while families were struggling to survive in the collapsing economy, issues buried in morality societally continued to transpire. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, he makes a point of utilizing various characters of his in order to raise awareness of such issues, demonstrating them through symbolism, characterization, and various other means. This novella is about two men who go off to work on a farm in order to potentially make enough to go off and buy their own land;
What Are Women “Girls want attention, women want respect.” This fictitious novel, Of Mice And Men, was written by John Steinbeck, and was published in 1937 during Franklin D Roosevelt’s presidency in the United States. At the same time, the country was undergoing the Great Depression. In this piece of writing, Steinbeck briefly included some historical elements such as, racism, cowboy’s, American dream, and Women’s rights. Of all these aspects, the one I personally find the most intriguing is Women’s Rights.
The divide between humanity due to irreversible characteristics is an issue that individuals face every day, especially when trying to fulfill their dreams. Throughout the tragic novel Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, the audience learns just how much these minute differences can affect an entire group of people. Following the life of a migrant worker, George, and his mentally challenged counterpart, Lennie, as they chase after their dreams during the Great Depression, readers get an in-depth look into their lives. After earning a job at the Salinas Valley, they discover that they aren’t the only ones with dreams outside of the ranch’s fence, and facing hardships to get a step closer to their aspirations. Of course, there are many objects that can stand in the way of achieving these, one of which includes doubt.
“A girl was standing there looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little red ostrich feathers.
We think we live in a perfect society. Yet racial injustice and discrimination surround us every day. Unfortunately, inequality is a large part of human nature, whether we like it or not. We judge people and the environment through a personal lens, not even thinking about what they might be going through. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, readers are dropped into the lives of two workers trying to make a living during the Great Depression.
Every action, word, or thought of this man goes unnoticed, which isn’t a pleasant experience. He doesn’t receive the recognition he deserves, instead he is treated likes he is less than an animal on a ranch full of other workers. The other workers, on the other hand, are treated with much more respect than he could possibly expect to have in a lifetime. Why is it? It’s because of his skin color. Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a story that portrays different types of discrimination within society, or on the ranch, with a man named Crooks.
Steinbeck displayed many major themes in his novel Of Mice and Men. Discrimination really stood out to me as one of those themes. Discrimination is everywhere and often times goes unnoticed. Discrimination doesn’t come in just one form, discrimination can be degrading people because of their race, age, gender, religion, height, disabilities, etc. Discrimination can happen to anyone, no matter who you are.
John Steinbeck uses different methods to present Curley’s Wife and women in the 1930s. Throughout the novella Steinbeck represents women to be lower in society than men. In the novella women only have three different roles. A wife, an aunt and prostitutes. Steinbeck uses these roles to show the roles of women in society. Curley’s wife, Aunt Clara and Susy and Clara from the cathouse represent he microcosm of the women in American society.
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.