How does Steinbeck use characters and events, to show the social tensions and problems in real California at the time the novel is set? “I’m black, they say I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me.” This quote highlights two of the main issues involved in ‘Of Mice and Men,’ that of inequality and racism. Early on in the book we see great prejudice against the stable buck because he is black, he is labelled a “nigger” and is disregarded by other white workers. There are also many other important issues and problems brought up in the book that were linked directly to the real life social problems in rural California which Steinbeck brings to life in a variety of techniques and language styles.
Draft assessment – Of Mice and Men Question – How does Steinbeck present the characters of Crooks and Curley’s Wife? In what way are these minor characters shown to be significant throughout the novel? Steinbeck’s novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ is the idea of an American dream and the need for companionship which is shown through the plight of the itinerant workers. He uses the minor characters in the novel such as Crooks and Curley’s Wife to represent issues in 1930’s America, for example – racism and the marginalisation of women. Crooks and Curley’s Wife are also central to Steinbeck’s portrayal of the dream of George and Lennie.
Notably it was the weakest in society who were hit most hard by the hostile environment. This is shown perhaps most predominantly through Steinbeck’s only black character, Crooks. He falls victim not only to the problems of the great depression and the dust bowl but most significantly to the extreme racial prejudice occurring at the time. Fundamentally, from his first mention in the book Crooks is referred to in a derogatory manner ‘ Stable Bucks a nigger’ the fact the they call him a ‘ nigger’ which nowadays is an extremely derogatory and racist term unacceptable within modern society however in 1930’s America was socially accepted and used frequently. he also mentions the fact crooks has ‘ got a crooked back where a horse kicked him’ metaphorically , this could represent society as the horse that kicked him as it damaged him and changed his life for ever , and the fact he is crooked could expose that he carries the heavy burdens of his life on his back.
He is affected by racism, the great depression, and the laws of that time. As an African American Tom Robinson, life was filled with hardships. For example the constant racism he encountered. In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout overheard Miss Gates saying “Time somebody taught ‘em a lesson, they were gettin’ way above themselves, an’ the next thing they think they can do is marry us” whites didn’t even view blacks as humans at this time. Racism can also be shown in people through science.
In the novel of mice and men John Steinbeck (the author) use the character crooks to represent racism and symbolize the marginalization of the black community occurring at the time which the novel was set. Crooks is significant as he provides am insight into reality of the American dream and the feeling of all the ranchers. Crooks got his name from his ‘crooked back’ this suggest that he repeats something different, a hard life and he is not your average ranch hand. It was common for white and black people to be segregated in the 1930s; black people had no civil rights and couldn’t use most of the facilities for example going to school and library. John Steinbeck explores this in the novel through crooks.
The Southern Chaste System: Rich, Poor, Black The South has always been a place of tradition, which has both positive and negative consequences. Harper Lee’s masterpiece To Kill a Mockingbird largely shows the negative or racist tendencies that the South has, and that escalated during the Great Depression. She shows class divisions, race divisions, and she shatters both with Tom Robinson’s actions. One of the major issues that Lee takes on with this book is the social divisions in the South during this time. The depression made these divisions even worse, at the height of the depression 12.
Everybody refers to Crooks as a “nigger”, and although using that slang is common in that era, it is still derogatory. Even Candy, who is relatively polite and nice to Crooks, still refers to Crooks as a “nigger”. He also tells of other people’s view of Crooks by saying, “The boss gives him (Crooks) hell when he’s mad,” (22). The boss obviously sees Crooks differently than some other low class ranch workers, and then specifically picks on Crooks. The workers also segregate Crooks from their activities and game.
Prejudice is portrayed in many forms in the novel. Characters in the book suffer discrimination due to race, age, social status and sex. This racism appears to be a normal thing to the people of Maycomb. In the novel, Scout runs into trouble with both a classmate and a cousin when the two boys taunt her about her father, whom they call a "nigger love". Atticus explains to Scout that he will be defending a black man named Tom Robinson.
Xuan Pham Bakula 4 English 10 December 8, 2011 Discrimination in Of Mice and Men How would you feel if you were treated unfairly because of your skin color? If I was in the Great Depression period and treated unfairly by society, I would feel upset and angry. I would question for myself that society is human and I am a human too, we are the same then how they could treat me so unfairly. During the Great Depression, racial discrimination still existed. Society treated people with different skin color, particularly African Americans, awfully and treating them like slaves because they believed that African Americans were inferior to upper class.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee In To Kill a Mockingbird, the oppressed and misunderstood are portrayed in the characters Tom Robinson and Boo Radley. Though the lives of the two characters are very different, they both share many common experiences and who do nothing but try to live their lives as good people, Tom is killed and Boo is almost destroyed by the ignorant people that live in Maycomb. The book is set in the South of America in the 1930’s. Racial discrimination against black people was not against the law in the south. Black slaves were not entitled to the education and laws that their white masters had and to put up with brutality because of this.