Curley's Wife Discrimination

Prejudice, it’s something humans all do naturally. Everybody, no matter what race, appearance and family history, have some level of prejudice against others. In the novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife, Candy, and Crooks are discriminated against, ‘picked on’ and there are certain degrees of prejudice they are treated with. These characters are crucial in providing the audience or the reader with evidence that prejudice is a human fault and the way in which these characters were treated, is to be expected.

Curley’s wife is a prime example of the type and degree of sexism and discrimination that women during that time were treated with. Curley’s wife, a pretty, trouble stirring, talkative woman, who is not given a name in the book but is

In this instance, the discrimination is based upon race and skin colour. Crooks is not allowed to be in the same bunkhouse as the white ranch hands and is forced to have his room in the barn… alongside the animals. “Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink.” (Steinbeck, 2006, Page 77) Discrimination was common during the time when Of Mice and Men was set. The language in which the white men refer to Crooks, is not accepted in today’s society. Crooks brushes off the remarks of the stable men, but he needs to feel superior over someone or something. Lennie. Crooks makes up stories to tell Lennie. He explains how George will leave Lennie and never come back. This scares Lennie and leads him into believing that he must trust and follow Crooks. In a way, Crooks is leading Lennie into a false sense of security. He is telling him that George is a bad person and can’t be trusted. In the novel, Candy’s wife tells Crooks that it will only take one word from her to Candy and Crooks is out. This shows the attitude the people had towards other persons who were not considered part of ‘the normal’ community of whites. Unfortunately, this happens in today’s society. Racism is an ongoing issue in our communities that needs to be solved. People have high levels of prejudice surrounding persons of a different race then their own. We as human beings, naturally have prejudice. It’s just whether or not we choose to communicate our thoughts about a person out loud, that really makes the