Adversity In Of Mice And Men, I, Too, Sing America

Addison Schachtel

Miss Newton

26 February 2023

Period 8

A Crime You Didn’t Commit Have you ever gotten punished for something you didn’t do? Everyday being scrutinized for the color of your skin, your gender, or your age even though you cannot control any of those factors, being treated like a criminal for a crime you did not participate in. This is the cruel reality for many minority groups such as those of a different race, those in poverty, women, and people with disabilities. These groups of people faced hardships everyday for things beyond their control. Adversities should be escapable, but in the 20th century in America, this was not the case for some. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, “I, Too, Sing America” by Langston Hughes, and

One specific character Steinbeck uses is Crooks, who experiences adversity on various occasions. He is discriminated against by Curley’s wife because of his skin color. “I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.’ Crooks had reduced himself to nothing” ( 81). In these lines, Curley’s wife calls him racist terms after Crooks demands she exits his living quarters, standing up for himself. Though, in doing so, Curley’s wife uses her privilege against him threatening to tell a lie to get him in trouble, Crooks then goes back into the state of hopelessness he was once in. Candy experiences adversity in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men as well, because of his age. Once he reaches a point where he can no longer work, he will be useless to the ranch so they won’t keep him or pay him for retirement. Candy will work until he cannot and when he can no longer work, he will not survive. He does not overcome his adversities. John Steinbeck writes, “They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs”

It is similar to his presentation of adversity in “I, Too, Sing America” with the theme of this poem being that adversity is present in America, but it will be overcome if those in America who are facing adversity come together and end it. He demonstrates this writing, “Tangled in that ancient endless chain/Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!/Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need!/Of work the men! Of take the pay!/Of owning everything for one’s own greed!”(Lines 26-30). This is a metaphor, connecting the focus of money or being greedy to a chain and how profit becomes imprisonment to those who cannot focus on anything else, but a chain can be broken and this connects to his theme of adversity is present but is overcomeable. He also demonstrates this theme by claiming, “They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed” (Lines 16-17). After the adversity of discrimination is overcome, people on the wrong side of history who committed these acts against a minority or struggling group will realize their wrongs. After realizing their wrongs, they’ll be ashamed for the way they’ve acted which Hughes presents in these