Discrimination In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In John Steinbeck’s captivating novel Of Mice and Men, Crooks faces discrimination from the world around him because of his race yet he still believes others should consider him their equal. While everyone on the ranch views Crooks as less important, this does not stop him from standing up to the other workers. In addition, Crooks fights to be respected instead of giving up on his dreams of equality. Finally, Crooks continues to have pride in himself and in his history despite working in a place where people constantly treat him as inferior. Because he lives in California in the 1930s, Crooks constantly struggles with discrimination due to his race, but through it all he continually carries pride for himself. Crooks says, “I ain’t a southern

When Curley’s wife, a White woman, harasses the men in Crooks’ room, he yells at her to leave them alone, only backing down when she threatens to have him lynched. This incident shows that Crooks will not allow other people to walk over him and by yelling at Curley’s Wife he recognizes that he deserves the same respect the other ranchers have. Crooks says to Lennie “You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks insists that Lennie leave him alone showing how he demands that other workers listen to him. By standing up to a white man Crooks demonstrates that he believes he needs to fight for his equality. Finally, Crooks teases Lennie by telling him that George may not come back from Old Susy’s for him. Crooks seems like a terrible person for picking on Lennie but this situation is about Crooks fighting against a White man. This event illustrates how Crooks will make a stand against anyone who might discriminate against him because of his race in order to achieve fair treatment. Currently Crooks does not receive any respect from the ranchers on the farm yet he continues to stand up for himself despite possible negative