Of Mice And Men
How far does Steinbeck present the ranch as a harsh and violent place?
The novella of Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, is dominated by harshness and violence. Gender, race, intelligence, and authority inequality are all present in the book – from physical abuse to murder. The story is set during the Great Depression in America. A lot of people lost their jobs and were desperate to get new ones.
The Great Depression took place after the First World War. In that time, the jobs of the migrants were completely unstable, which is the reason why Lennie and George had to move out. Because of this, the characters in the story are portrayed to be having distrust and suspicion towards, well, everyone. This social issue wasn’t just confined at the ranch, but it was a widespread dilemma spread across America.
The Dust Bowl also occurred this time in history together with the Great Depression. Severe dust storms ravaged the lands. This was caused by a severe drought beforehand, which led to failure of preventing wind erosion, thus causing sand storms. It greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the US, so you could imagine what the ranch looked like and what the situation of the people at the ranch was.
Racism and segregation are very well present in the story. Crooks was the only black man at the ranch and as an act of contempt, people repeatedly used the word “nigger” instead of Crooks’ name. He is also isolated from the rest of the white men due to the colour of his skin.
Sexism is also portrayed in the story through Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife is the only female character in the story. Before becoming Curley’s wife, she had a dream to make it to Hollywood but because she’s a girl, she failed. Curley orders her about, depicting a master-slave situation. Curley’s wife was objectified and had never been given a name. People at the ranch called her a tramp, a tart, and a looloo – this is a clear indication of gender inequality, referring to her with substitute nouns
The novella of Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, is dominated by harshness and violence. Gender, race, intelligence, and authority inequality are all present in the book – from physical abuse to murder. The story is set during the Great Depression in America. A lot of people lost their jobs and were desperate to get new ones.
The Great Depression took place after the First World War. In that time, the jobs of the migrants were completely unstable, which is the reason why Lennie and George had to move out. Because of this, the characters in the story are portrayed to be having distrust and suspicion towards, well, everyone. This social issue wasn’t just confined at the ranch, but it was a widespread dilemma spread across America.
The Dust Bowl also occurred this time in history together with the Great Depression. Severe dust storms ravaged the lands. This was caused by a severe drought beforehand, which led to failure of preventing wind erosion, thus causing sand storms. It greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the US, so you could imagine what the ranch looked like and what the situation of the people at the ranch was.
Racism and segregation are very well present in the story. Crooks was the only black man at the ranch and as an act of contempt, people repeatedly used the word “nigger” instead of Crooks’ name. He is also isolated from the rest of the white men due to the colour of his skin.
Sexism is also portrayed in the story through Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife is the only female character in the story. Before becoming Curley’s wife, she had a dream to make it to Hollywood but because she’s a girl, she failed. Curley orders her about, depicting a master-slave situation. Curley’s wife was objectified and had never been given a name. People at the ranch called her a tramp, a tart, and a looloo – this is a clear indication of gender inequality, referring to her with substitute nouns