Preview

Racism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
329 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Racism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
‘Of Mice and Men’ was written just after the time it is set, in the 1930's. During this time there was a lot of economic downturn and social issues to do with racism and sexism due to mass migration to America during this time period. In fact most blacks faced a higher unemployment than whites in the 30's. And if they were employed there wages were significantly lower than a whites wages. As this was a very racist time period. Crooks is the character that all the racism in the book is aimed towards. Crooks is the only black character in the book. His name crooks is supposed to be a nickname for him because he is disabled it is also supposed to be racist but I don’t think it is by today’s racism it might have been racist back then. Also
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Crooks In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 120 Words
    • 1 Page

    Crooks In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    The importance of Crook’s character is that he’s the only African-American in the novel “ Of mice and men”. He was treated different from everyone else because of his race. Crook’s lived in his own bunkhouse by himself, And he was also disabled. Crook;s wasn’t even allowed to play cards with rest of the men because of his race. He was completely isolated from the rest of the people. Crook’s didn’t have any friends or anyone to talk too. He was completely by himself, surrounded by white faces.…

    • 120 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Theme Of Prejudice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 102 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Theme Of Prejudice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    In current times and in the past people have divided for many different reasons. This prejudice can be the result of many things, some of which include race and gender. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, set on a Californian ranch during the great depression, two individuals are targeted by prejudice. One of them, a worker by the named Crooks, is experiencing discrimination because he is an African American on a ranch filled with whites. The other, Curley’s wife, is disregarded and avoided by ranch hands because they perceive her as jail bait because of her overprotective…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Stereotypes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Stereotypes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    Honore De Balzac once said “Nature makes only dumb animals. We owe the fools to society.” In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie are two migrant farmers who dream of owning a ranch of their own, this is until Lennie, having a child's mind, but being a big strong guy, accidentally kills Curley’s wife, also killing their dream of owning a ranch. Lennie and George are portrayed as rabbits in Of Mice and Men because they follow along with the lower class blindly just like society desires them to, dreaming to change their path but never succeeding in this, like so many others.…

    • 438 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Theme Of Isolation In Of Mice And Men
    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Theme Of Isolation In Of Mice And Men

    Crooks is the most isolated character in this novella. He is isolated because of the color of his skin. He lives all by himself in the barn, which is away from the bunkhouse. Crooks pretends to be fine with…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sexism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 92 Words
    • 1 Page

    Sexism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    From the beginning of time, sexism has greatly impacted and hindered women from all walks of life. This was particularly true in America’s history. In the 1930’s, females were treated as though they were strictly sex objects. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, this case is evident when Curley's wife was objectified and disrespected on multiple occasions. Although Curley’s wife is considered an antagonist of the story, she is actually a victim of sexism based on how the men on the ranch acted toward her and took away her basic…

    • 92 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Loneliest Character In 'Of Mice And Men'
    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Loneliest Character In 'Of Mice And Men'

    Crooks is the loneliest in the novela since he doesn't have friends or hangs out .In the book they describe him as a man who wants to have same friends but is afreade to make any.When lennie get in side the room crooks he is all mean but he just wants a person to interact.Crook is a nice guy but acts all rude to ather pepole.At the end crook made a friend but he will be stuke duing his job at the ranch.because gerorg killd lennie.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Societal Problems In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Societal Problems In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    “Truth is everybody is going to hurt you: you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for” (Bob Marley). The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, was set in the Great depression. In the novel George has to deal with Lenny every single day and it’s not easy, but he loves him and he just has to accept that Lenny is part of his life. In this book, society was frustrating. People were very sexist, and instead of coming together and helping each other everyone kept to themselves this is also known as isolation. Also, during this time people who suffered from mental and physical disabilities were often isolated and faced discrimination. Steinbeck identifies many societal problems during the Great Depression, and brings them to light in his novella Of Mice and Men.…

    • 536 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Croks in of Mice and Men
    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Croks in of Mice and Men

    He faces cruel discrimination, almost animalistic. Although his name is Crooks, he is often referred to as nigger. This brings his colour into his name unlike any other character in the novella. We are first introduced to Crooks by Candy, an old ranch worker, “swamper” as he is often called. He tells George and Lenny that the “stable bucks a nigger” then goes on to say, “Yeah... Nice fella too”. This was not said in a derogatory manner and therefore shows the casual use of the term ‘nigger’, which in this day and age would be considered highly offensive. This shows the change of attitude towards black people since the novella was written nearly 80 years ago. In the 1930’s black people of America did not have a very high status, they were not allowed to vote; there was a clear division between black and white people. Crooks character mirrors 1930s America. As his situation was what the black community were also facing. From his past experiences we see how Crooks is very cynical towards the American dream, but at one point in the novella this seems to change.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    African Americans In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 176 Words
    • 1 Page

    African Americans In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    In Mice and Men there is harsh treatment of african americans during this time period. In fact Crook, one of the characters in the book is considered weaker than the others because of his skin color and he is crippled. He had to live out in the barn with the animals and he had his work shop off on one of the sides opposite of where his room was. He is seen more weaker than the other due to his skin color and he also gets treated that way too in the book he says, “ They play cards in there, but I can't because I am black.” (Steinbeck 68). This helps describe how he can be seen more weaker than the others because he can't be with them because he is blacked and he is crippled.Since they see him weaker they treat him differently. He has a different job on the ranch than the other workers. He is the only stable hand and is the person to take care of the horses on the…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Injustice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Injustice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    In John Steinbeck’s classic novel Of Mice and Men we are left with a question, “Now what do you suppose is eatin’ them two?” At the time Carlson did not understand the pain that George was going through after shooting his best friend. Many people also aren’t aware that John Steinbeck wasn’t just trying to tell a story but he was also trying to focus on the many injustices that surrounded him. Monumental topics like racism, sexism ageism, and discrimination towards the mentally slow. Constantly we see he comes back to these themes. John not only wanted to tell us a great story but he wanted to make us aware of the injustices that are very present in our everyday lives. One of the many themes he constantly comes back to in his novel is sexism, he tells us about Curley’s wife and how she is constantly pegged as a flirt when all she wanted is a friend, he also pointed out that women are discriminated because she never had a name and was looked at like property, then finally at the end of the novel after she dies no one mourns for her. Throughout his novel John was trying to help us realize how we treat people in our society, and the price we have to pay for it in the end.…

    • 866 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Steinbeck Use Discrimination In Of Mice And Men
    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Does Steinbeck Use Discrimination In Of Mice And Men

    John Steinbeck shows that discrimination can lead to aggression in the novel, Of Mice and Men, through the character Lennie. Lennie tries to explain to George that he doesn’t try to kill the mice, but he ends up killing them anyway; “I’d pet ‘em and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead-because they was so little” (Steinbeck 10). Lennie wants the comfort of having something to take care of even if it is just a mouse. George doesn’t understand why Lennie wants to pet the mouse and discriminates him for it, making Lennie act aggressively. Lennie says they died “because they was so little” and that he didn’t mean to act aggressively, but since he was discriminated, he killed the mouse. When Lennie…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Minorities In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Minorities In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    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.…

    • 497 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Racism in Of Mice and Men
    • 1410 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Racism in Of Mice and Men

    Crooks is not allowed to stay with the other men in the bunk house or allowed to do things with them. This is because he is coloured. Throughout the book it shows us how Crooks is being harassed and discriminated against because of his colour. In the novel Crooks tells Curley's wife " you have no right comin' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all. Curley's wife was shocked that Crooks said this to her and she said back to him " listen nigger, you know what I can do to you if you open your trap!"…

    • 1410 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    How does Steinbeck explore different attitudes to women in the novel?
    • 1696 Words
    • 7 Pages

    How does Steinbeck explore different attitudes to women in the novel?

    Of Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck in the mid 1930’s and published in 1937 when America had started to recover from the Wall Street Crash. The 1920's were a 'boom-time' in America, there was plenty of work and money was easily made but the 1930's brought unemployment and poverty. The attitudes to women in his novel are in the main unflattering. Steinbeck depicts them as unintelligent and most of the women in the novel cause some kind of trouble or discomfort for the main characters George and Lennie.…

    • 1696 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Crooks
    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Crooks

    The name 'Crooks' arose from the character having a crooked back; however he is often referred to as 'nigger'. This reflects the casual racism which was present in America during 1930's. The first reference the reader gets of Crooks is in chapter 2 during a…

    • 387 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics