Theme Of Isolation And Discrimination In Of Mice And Men

The act of prejudice is one that everyone experiences. Whether it be, a person who is distributing hate, or a person who is receiving hate, everyone has contact with it. Although it is present all over the globe, it is prominent in the United States. Both in the present and the past, endless acts of discrimination have taken place and left a monumental impact on the country. The effect that it leaves can be seen in the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. In this story, sexism, racism, and isolation, are demonstrated in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930’s. As the story progresses, Lee compares these concepts to one another and uses them to make a statement about the problematic nature in America.

Achieving “The American Dream” is a great desire for all but rarely does it ever come true (website). Discrimination is a major theme in Of Mice and Men. Most of the characters are discriminated against for various reasons. Another major theme is male friendship. Friendships are symbiotic relationships, where people share their talents and qualities to help each other through life (website). An important additional theme is loneliness and companionship. Most of the characters are lonely for the reason of they are working on a ranch with no companionship. Steinbeck illustrates how the characters respond to discrimination, male friendship, as well as loneliness and companionship.

Crooks, the African American stable hand of the Tyler ranch, was discriminated for his skin color and could not imagine his dreams would ever to come true because of it. Crooks grew up on his father’s ranch with his brothers and they were happy. He worked hard for his American Dream of eventually living off the ‘fat of the land’ with George and Lennie. Crooks' home is, a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn “This suggests that he is isolated from the other men and treated like the animals he cares for and as such is made to live with them” (“Effects of Segregation and Racism in Of Mice and Men Chapter 4”). He came to the quick realization that it is impossible to go along with George and Lennie and he does not see any dream with white men possible.

Crooks is the only black man on the ranch, and is often discriminated against by all the other workers at the ranch. He is usually excluded from many activities that all the other men participate in, and is ignored by most of the workers. “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house…cause I’m black…” This quote shows how the other men who work at the ranch reject and isolate Crooks, and how he is forced to have his own bunk house, since he isn’t allowed to reside in the same bunk house as the other workers. Crooks leads a harsh, lonely life, only because the

Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.

The 1930’s was a time period in which discrimination played a vital role in the lives of minorities. In the 1930’s, men were in search for jobs on the ranches and women were generally working inside the house. Although the 1930’s seems pretty far back, discrimination still occurs in society today and can either be intentional or nonintentional. There are several different forms of discrimination: racial, disabled, age, and sexual. Any type of discrimination is harmful to the individual and often times leaves them feeling alienated and lonely. All of these types of discrimination are seen in the characters of John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men. Past history of discrimination has influenced him to display it in his novel. Each person’s type

“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 novel “Of Mice and Men”, the character of Crooks is used by John Steinbeck, the author, to symbolise the downgrading of the black community occurring at the time in which the novel was set. Crooks is also significant as he provides an insight into the reality of the American Dream and the feelings of the people in the ranch; their loneliness and need for company.

“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

In the novella, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the diverse set of characters individually handle oppression on a daily basis. For these characters, racist, sexist and degrading remarks are normal for the time period (early 1900’s). The story is about two men, Lennie and George, trying to find work in a troubling economic time while also trying to overcome Lennie’s mental handicap. They also meet other people that have to overcome their own “setbacks”. The author shows oppression of the characters through their effect on others, actions, and their dialogue.

During the Great Depression, migrant farmers sought out work to stay alive. When they finally found a job to sustain them, workers were mistreated, starved, paid poor wages, and, worst of all, robbed of necessary human companionship. John Steinbeck captures the hopelessness of Depression-era farm life in his novella Of Mice and Men. Throughout the novella, most characters have a disability crippling them and pushing them away from other workers on the farm. Their disabilities are a physical embodiment of their isolation. Steinbeck uses his disabled characters to illustrate the depth of their loneliness, as well as to exemplify different types of loneliness.

Isolation can manifest itself in a person’s life both physically and emotionally, and it’s a bitter experience either way. Some people face prejudice because of their race while some face prejudice because of their gender or physical capabilities. In the microcosm of Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck includes various characters who stand different from the rest, like Candy, Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. Although they’re quite different from each other, they have all been rejected by others in some shape or form. With these characters, Steinbeck suggests that when people endure prejudice, they tend to isolate themselves as a result in order to protect themselves, but this leads to loneliness and more hurt.

In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men characters in the novel are segregated by sex, race, age, physical and mental disabilities. John Steinbeck portrays the intolerance and bigotry of 1930’s America through the separation of his characters based on their handicaps. Lennie, Candy, Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife and Crooks all face social pressure from the other characters on the ranch based on their intelligence, physical disability, age, sex and color. Stereotyping based on ethnic or physical characteristics is typical to the 1930’s depression where civil rights for minority groups had not yet been addressed. Almost all of the characters who, in

In the riveting coming-of-age novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee projects the idea of acceptance of all people, through the eyes of a child. Harper Lee combats the prejudice of social standing when she proves that some of the poorest people have the best of character traits. While racism of African Americans is first and foremost in this novel, the acceptance of white people into the African American community shows racism can be beaten from both point of views. Finally, the disabilities that Arthur Radley portrays, is forgotten, when his actions help him soar above the bigotry of the people of Maycomb County. The most obvious topic is the overt racism based on a person's skin color, however, Harper Lee takes us beneath the skin to show that discrimination occurs in other ways.

“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.