The Role Of Racism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

During the 1930s, America went through the Great Depression along with the Dust Bowl. Throughout that era, there were many people who did not get treatment for illnesses, racism was visible and real, and several went through their own type of depression. John Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice & Men was a war correspondent during WWII, and wrote many other books about social and economic issues. He often writes stories that take place during the Great Depression and around World War II. In the book Of Mice & Men, the main human rights concerns are dealt around loneliness, racism, and mental illnesses. Most of the characters struggle with loneliness, while one of the main characters struggles with a mental illness that creates for an interesting
Racism mainly follows one of the side-characters Crooks, who is an African American and works on the ranch where Lennie and George find a job at. Crooks lives by himself since whites are not allowed in blacks house’s and vice versa. Due to him living by himself, he often struggles from loneliness since nobody wants to be friends with him considering he is a different color. During this era (the 1930s), many Jim Crow laws were present during this time, as often made blacks seem as if they were dangerous. Crooks locks himself in his house and tends to be by himself most of the time, but Lennie gets to stay and talk to him in his house because Crooks liked the companionship and conversation between the two. An example of racism in the story is: “If you guys don’t let me in your house to play cards, why should I let you in mine.” This sentence comes from Crooks when Lennie wants to stay in his house. This represents the differences that the whites see in the blacks. Sustar expresses that “Black wages were at least 30 percent below those of white workers, who themselves were barely at subsistence level. (“Black Workers Were Paid Less Than White
Almost all of the characters represented in the story has loneliness. The two main ones are Curley’s wife and Crooks. Crooks isolated himself from others due to him being black and if he were to invite himself to join the other guys, there is a risk of him getting abused, threatened, or even murdered. Lennie also suffers from loneliness because of him being mentally challenged. Curley’s wife struggles with loneliness since her husband tends to ignore her, so she usually spends time with other guys. She is the only female on the ranch, and has developed the reputation of a ‘flirt’ just because her husband refuses to talk to her most times. An example of the loneliness in the story is: “If you don't want me I can g off in the hills an' find a cave. I can go away any time." (Steinbeck, 13). This sentence comes from Lennie who is afraid that George wants to get rid of him which represents loneliness. Suicide rates, which averaged 12.1 per 100,000 people in the early 1920s jumped to an alarming 18.9 per 100,000 people in 1929 and remained high throughout the Great Depression. (“Suicides”). Another example of loneliness would be: “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” (Steinbeck, 86). This comes from Curley’s wife who as stated, gets lonely due to her husband who barely talks to her. Many women were compelled to look for job during the hard times to ensure the survival of their