Discrimination In Of Mice And Men Essay

Who is more likely to succeed? Who is more likely to live in poverty? Who is more likely to commit a crime? Immediately, an answer has already begun forming in each person’s head differently. We all come up with our own answers and ideas based on past experiences. The way we think has been influenced by where we grew up and who raised us. Stereotypes and false theories fog our brain from the truth. We think and act a certain way from what we have learned over time. We have adopted the habit of judging others by the clothes they wear, where they live, how they talk, and sadly by the color of their skin. Racism is a demeaning and overpowering moral issue that prevents us from living peacefully among each other. Children become exposed to a mass variety of racism starting at a young age. They watch the adults and important figures in their life interact
Crooks is the African American character in the novel who is the symbol of racial injustice. He is treated unfairly by the other characters due to his race difference. Crooks is not even allowed to sleep in the same quarters with the other men. At one point in the novel one of the other characters displays extreme racism to Crooks by saying, “Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (PG 120). This quote made him close down and agree with what the other character had expressed. He knew the prejudice existed, but now he felt it personally. This is shown when the author states, “Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego---nothing to arouse either like or dislike” (PG 121). The comment that the character had made did not just effect Crooks, but it also upset the characters around them. This shows that racism does not just leave a mark on the victim, but also on the people around