Minorities In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
Of Mice and men Essay Minorities and women are often stereotyped and are often thought of as being impotent. This refers to the often portrayal as less dominate or powerful. Impotence is especially common in older eras when discrimination for these two groups was much greater than today. Steinbeck uses impotence tone toward women in minorities in Of Mice and Men.
One group of minorities includes those who have disabilities. In Of Mice and Men, one of the main characters, Lennie, has a disability. Multiple characters in the book look at Lennie differently because he is a minority. He’s looked at with impotentness because Steinbeck writes using this tone making it seem like he is lesser strength or ability. He make’s Lennie seem helpless because of his disability, and he shows George doing all the work for Lennie. George has to constantly drill or test Lennie on simple things making him seem stupid and powerless. This is especially true in the beginning chapters before Lennie is characterized. “George stood up and threw the mouse as far as …show more content…
he could into the darkening brush…” (Steinbeck 9). Steinbeck uses impotency to show George taking control of Lennie’s actions and being more dominant over Lennie.
Women are another group of people commonly stereotyped and looked at with impotence.
In society, especially in older eras, women did not do any work besides easy housework and cleaning. In Of Mice and Men, Curly and all his workers work hard out in the fields, while his wife is stuck, inside alone doing nothing all day besides sitting and housework. Steinbeck portrays Curly’s wife as a bitter and coy overall, but at first he is especially blunt about her impotence. Through dialogue and characterization he creates a tone to tell how powerless and lonely Curly’s wife is. “…None of them cares how I gotta live,” (Steinbeck 88). He shows the character’s reluctance to become friendly or welcoming of her presence. This is especially true when Lennie, another minority, is thought of with interest from Curly’s wife. The overall impotence towards women is created in Of Mice and Men because of Steinbeck’s
tone.
Similar to Lennie, Crooks is another character in Of Mice and Men who is grouped as a minority. Crooks is the only African American who works on Curly’s ranch and he works as a stable buckThe tone Steinbeck creates in situations that deal with Crooks is very impotent, showing that he’s worthless and weak. The other ranch workers tease Crooks while he isn’t there to Lennie and George. Another way he shows this tone is when Lennie is talking to Crooks “’Why ain’t you wanted?’ Lennie asked. ‘‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink...’” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks can tell he is discriminated against with impotence because of the color of his skin. This is essentially because he is the only one like this at the ranch: making him a minority.
One group of minorities includes those who have disabilities. In Of Mice and Men, one of the main characters, Lennie, has a disability. Multiple characters in the book look at Lennie differently because he is a minority. He’s looked at with impotentness because Steinbeck writes using this tone making it seem like he is lesser strength or ability. He make’s Lennie seem helpless because of his disability, and he shows George doing all the work for Lennie. George has to constantly drill or test Lennie on simple things making him seem stupid and powerless. This is especially true in the beginning chapters before Lennie is characterized. “George stood up and threw the mouse as far as …show more content…
he could into the darkening brush…” (Steinbeck 9). Steinbeck uses impotency to show George taking control of Lennie’s actions and being more dominant over Lennie.
Women are another group of people commonly stereotyped and looked at with impotence.
In society, especially in older eras, women did not do any work besides easy housework and cleaning. In Of Mice and Men, Curly and all his workers work hard out in the fields, while his wife is stuck, inside alone doing nothing all day besides sitting and housework. Steinbeck portrays Curly’s wife as a bitter and coy overall, but at first he is especially blunt about her impotence. Through dialogue and characterization he creates a tone to tell how powerless and lonely Curly’s wife is. “…None of them cares how I gotta live,” (Steinbeck 88). He shows the character’s reluctance to become friendly or welcoming of her presence. This is especially true when Lennie, another minority, is thought of with interest from Curly’s wife. The overall impotence towards women is created in Of Mice and Men because of Steinbeck’s
tone.
Similar to Lennie, Crooks is another character in Of Mice and Men who is grouped as a minority. Crooks is the only African American who works on Curly’s ranch and he works as a stable buckThe tone Steinbeck creates in situations that deal with Crooks is very impotent, showing that he’s worthless and weak. The other ranch workers tease Crooks while he isn’t there to Lennie and George. Another way he shows this tone is when Lennie is talking to Crooks “’Why ain’t you wanted?’ Lennie asked. ‘‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink...’” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks can tell he is discriminated against with impotence because of the color of his skin. This is essentially because he is the only one like this at the ranch: making him a minority.