Preview

Examples Of Discrimination In Of Mice And Men

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
527 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Examples Of Discrimination In Of Mice And Men
The Hardness About Discrimination
In this world there are people that don’t accept that there are others out there that look different from them. While others will hate the fact that someone different lives in the same world that they do. Some will try to bring others down that look different from them or can’t do certain things that they can, and because of who they are. Like Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy learn this in the Book. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, discrimination will show you how hard it can be on people and change their thinking. For example hurting them mentally, and making them feel like less when around different people.
Crooks the “stable buck”, is a black man that has that certain name because he got his spine bent from a horse kicking its back. When talking about crooks he is different from the others mainly because of his skin color. People treat him horribly and he lives in small crappy shed in the side of the barn all because he is different. Crooks now explains what people say to prove that people won’t like crooks, “‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black.They say I stink’” (68). This shows that crooks has to go through all the hate and can’t even play cards because the people that are different from him won’t let him do certain things.
…show more content…
Other than being old he is also handicapped with only one arm. In the novel he is being looked on as a man that people wait for to die off. Meaning that people find him useless because of his lost hand and don’t take him when the rest of the guys leave the ranch to go have fun. Curley’s wife says “‘Saturday night . Ever’body out doin’ som’pin’. Ever’body! An’ what am I doin’?Standing here talking to a bunch of bindle stiffs - a n****r an’ a dum - dum and a lousy ol’ sheep’” (78). This shows that Candy was left behind because he is very old and is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Crooks is the only black man on the ranch and because of this he is treated extremely different and abused on a daily basis with violence as well as racism.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    2) Crooks is easily intimidated by white people and loses all his confidence in himself around them. This is shown when it says, “reduced himself to nothing” and “no personality, no ego”. A reason for this is that he lives in constant fear of what they could do to him. This is highlighted by what Curley’s wife says to him “you know what I can do to you if you open your trap”. This represents the way in which society treats the entire black race.…

    • 428 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Croks in of Mice and Men

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages

    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
  • Better Essays

    -Candy is an old ranch hand who only has one arm due to an accident. He had an old dog ever since it was a puppy until Carlson shot it. He fears of being fired when the boss realizes that is no good. He also shares George and Lennie’s dream of owning a farm and having a secure life; but he doesn’t understand the loss of Lennie to have crushed the dream.…

    • 1628 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The character Crooks is a black person who work in a ranch in California. In 1930 in America there were segregation between white and black people, and this relates onto how Crooks is segregated from and by other workers in the ranch ‘they don’t let me play card, cause I’m black’ even they don’t let them play a game so this also shows how black people was treated.…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Crooks is constantly referred to as a negro throughout the book. He is treated as someone want to or should be around. He even has his own shack because other workers refuse to sleep in the same bunkhouse as him. Plus, it’s not something that’s even kept on the down-low, he even mentioned how he knew they didn't like him and how he isn’t wanted. When Lennie asks him why he says that, he responds with, “Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink.”(68) He also has to live separately and be alone compared to the others who at least socialize with one another once in awhile. Because of his race, he lives an isolated life, and the thing is, around that time, he was definitely not the only one. Society frowned upon black people and would burn them at the stake if any supposed wrongful mistake or crime was committed by them. Around the great depression, there were many migrant worker who would move across the country in hopes of finding work. Around that time period, they were all looking for the same thing, a piece of land they would own, grow crops in, and have a family in. Old man Candy had his hopes set on this piece of…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The discrimination is also stretched to an extent of him not being allowed to enter and socialise with the white men, in the bunk-house. The reader would sympathise greatly with this, as Crooks is being secluded from everyone. The unacceptance that he receives has led to him becoming very lonely and in need of company. This is shown by his quote – “s’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy ‘cause you were black…A guys needs somebody – to be near him…I tell you a guy gets too lonely an’ he he gets sick.” His feeling of loneliness drives him to play a cruel trick on Lennie, which may lead to the reader to reduce their sympathy towards Crooks, as he’s taking advantage of Lennie and this means that he is not as innocent as he may seem, although he be acting like this because of his untrusting nature, which had been brought on by most of the men around him.…

    • 639 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Crooks was kicked by a horse way before Lennie and George got to the farm. Crooks permanently has a crooked back,and that's how he got the nickname. He is also African American, so the boss doesn't treat him as well as the other workers. Crooks doesn't sleep in the bunkhouse because he knows he isn't wanted there. Crooks knows his isn't wanted because he is black and some workers call him the N word. "Ya see the stable buck's a nigger." Because of these challenges, Crooks is always lonely and depressed. The stable buck faces the most challenges throughout the novel, both physical and…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the moment George and Lennie were introduced to Curley’s wife, we could feel the tension rise. From just fleeing the last place they worked because of a run in with Lennie touching a woman, it’s an acceptable accusation that Curley’s wife will be directed to the conflict of the story. Another moment that predicted the end of the story was when Carlson shot Candy’s dog. Carlson said that the dog was aged and useless, that he wreaked of everything that smelt crummy and there is no point in keeping him around. It is safe to say this was a direct comparison to how useless everyone saw Lennie and we could infer that something similar that happened to Candy’s dog would happen to Lennie later on in the novella. Steinbeck made us see the treatment of elderly and mentally ill…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Crooks was the old black Ranch worker who was always treated incorrectly by being segregated away from the rest of the group. He was never able to talk to as friends and he had to sleep on a different side of the ranch. He was only allowed a certain amount of hours to see his friends before he was sent back to his dorm. He got the name of Crooks because his back was crooked from being a stable buck. He was kicked really had in the back by a horse. But he wished that one day he would get off the ranch and work on Lennie's and Georges Ranch if they ever do come across to getting one. He wishes to plow their land. In the text, it states on page (__)…

    • 1137 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages

    ‘Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego – nothing to arouse either like or dislike.’ The futility of crooks stand shows how little power a black person has in the world of this novel. But this is classic behaviour of a black person in this time period, as it was the only way for people of this race to survive, to make it seem as if they didn’t even exist. This is because once attention was brought to them, and someone (most probably a white person) didn’t like what they were saying/doing, the white…

    • 378 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink.’” (Steinbeck 68) Since Crooks was a black man and all the other workers were white, he was never given chances to interact with them, because they looked upon him with disdain and regarded him as a lesser human being. This establishes the fact that there was some sort of “social hierarchy” which formed the basis of racism in that time period, where whites determined themselves as “higher” than Negroes. This “social hierarchy” must have been prominent for decades, because even as a child, Crooks faced isolation being part of the only African American family in his hometown.…

    • 1378 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Crook, the only black character in ‘Of Mice and Men’, is immediately put in a disadvantaged position. Steinbeck immediately makes it very clear that Crooks is black in quotations such as ‘Sure. Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger.’ This being the first time we hear about Crooks in the novel and the reference to him as ‘a nigger’ instead of ‘Crooks’ instantly puts him at a disadvantage as the only character, so far, without a name.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In this novel, there are many social outcasts. Crooks, the stable buck, may be the most persecuted character in the novel. He lived separated from other people because he was black. At Christmas, they made Crooks fight with white men with his hands tied back. They didn't care how Crooks felt as they only wanted to have fun at the expense of the weak. Most of the men was prejudiced against Crooks referring to…

    • 1845 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The only male black character in the story Of Mice and Men is Crooks who represents the suffering of African Americans. Throughout his appearances in the story, he is treated unjustifiably by his fellow workers. For example, his boss takes all his anger on Crooks even when it is not his fault. Crook’s treatment can be compared to that of an animal because he too is considered useless and weak. The following quote displays Crook’s place and authority in society. He says: "This is just a nigger talkin', an' a busted-back nigger. So it don't mean nothing, see?" (Steinbeck 35). His opinions and needs are ignored as if he didn’t exist. For this reason, he cannot be considered an individual human being because his words are considered worthless. In addition, unlike normal human beings that interact with the outside world, Crooks is kept in a room alone with no company. He tells Lennie: "…You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room” (Steinbeck 33). None of the other migrant workers want to communicate or spend time with Crooks simply because of he is black. His skin colour alone has depicted his personality and role in the book. Anything beyond that such as his inner traits are automatically disregarded by the white race. Furthermore, Crooks is required to listen to everyone’s commands, regardless of how ridiculously absurd they may be. For example, in attempt to hold limited power within the Ranch, Crooks commands Curly’s wife to exit his room or he will suggest that Curly keep her trapped in the house. In response she says, “Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you string up on a tree so easy it ain’t event funny” (Steinbeck 39). This illustrates a black man’s authority is lower than that of a woman. Overall, Crooks character in Of Mice and Men poorly displays…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays