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Feudal System In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Society feudal system is explored through of mice and men through characters of contrasting social status and racial backgrounds. Steinbeck uses Crook and Curley’s wife to demonstrate how social a racial background impact an individual’s life and ow they are exploited by the high class. The period which the book was composed influences the context and message being communicated by Steinbeck. During the Great Depression black man was not considered a person because of history of slavery and the American society that form the perspectives of society. An individual’s voice and rights can be compressed when classified of a lower class. Evidence of inequality in the text is Curley’s wife threating Crooks life because she is of a high class, she forces to submit to her in fear of his life. …show more content…

1937, page 91), the quotation communicates Steinbeck message that, when a person classified as inferior tries to have a voice, are discourage through discrimination and violence. The makes individuals feel isolated and useless, needing to protect what they have left. “You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.” (77) He is angry because the only private thing he has is his room which is in the barn, now that is being invaded by Lennie. Indirectly Steinbeck is saying that Crook can be compared to an animal as his room is the barn, symbolising the stereotyping and inequality of the society. In relation to the history of slavery, when the Great Depression the role of African Americans and women in society had been pushed back to the marginalised ways of the 1700s. In conclusion the statement to be validated is correct as the society has a feudal system where white men are on top and women not considered wise or equal. African Americans considered no more than animals’ life is tremendously difficult, making dreams out of

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Crooks and Curley’s wife are both main characters in the story. Although they both repel each other's characters, both of them highlight the prejudice which Black people and Women suffer in the 1930’s society. During the 1930’s, black people from the south were excluded from white people activities, which then forced them to leave and travel north and west in hopes of a better life. In the same time period,women still faced discrimination in workplaces, households and suffered in the great depression. Steinbeck uses this era of isolation to illustrate the segregated society which the characters live in, and allude their personality to racial attitudes and

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Steinbeck explores discrimination in the novella by using multiple characters to show different views. Crooks, Lennie and Curley's wife are all used as vehicles to demonstrate Steinbeck's message, opposing views in 1930s America. Steinbeck uses crooks to explore the racism experienced by African Americans in 1930s America. He is used as a vehicle to oppose racism, showing Steinbeck’s message. One way in which Steinbeck does this is by having Curley’s wife say, “I could get you strung up on a tree so easily it ain’t funny,” in chapter 4.

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The reaction derived from Crooks is rather peculiar and shows how Curley’s wife, a woman without a name, even still has power because of her relations to the man in charge. Another example of Crooks’ privileges is: Crooks could leave his things about and being a cripple, he was more permanent than the other men, and he had accumulated more possessions than he could carry on his back (Steinbeck 66-67). Therefore as a cripple he has the bittersweet privilege of deserving work out of pity, but was also pinned to the same position for the rest of his

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Imagine being discriminated by your community due to your ethnicity, or being the only women stuck in a loveless marriage, or having to kill your friend, and bury all chances of breaking free from the life of the average migrant worker. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck develops a conclusion based off how people survived in a modern tragedy Crooks, the African American stable buck, is isolated from the community of migrant workers because of his race. When Lennie goes into the barn to see his puppy, he and Crooks have a conversation. “'Why ain't you wanted?' Lennie asked.

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John Steinbeck's ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a novella that discovers the ideas of what makes us human and the desire all have for dignity. It also discusses chasing the impossible dream and the consequences of doing so. These characters are timeless with each having a unique identity. This text was set during the Great Depression and discusses the economic/employment crisis as well as the casual racism of this period. This dehumanises the quality of life of those who don’t fit the status quo of wealth or land.

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Crooks is excluded and abused, because he is African American. Candy is continuously rejected, and made to feel helpless and unworthy, because he is old and only has one hand. These traits have singled out Crook and Candy, and left them in a state of hopelessness and misery. The awful way that these characters are treated on the ranch embody how those who are different are treated in a uniformitarian society. Steinbeck exposes the horror of a exclusive society through the heartbreak that his characters go through.

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Furthermore, the reader can clearly tell he is very possessive of his wife and he still visits brothels, which again, reinforces cruelty and sexism. The use of the imagery with connotations of sexual relationship between Curley and his wife, show how only sex is the most important thing for men in those days. Curley’s wife is the only girl and Curley isn’t really interested in her. He only wants her to satisfy his necessities. Women weren’t treated or respected as men were, they were only used as sexual objects.

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Books ain't no good.” (P. 72). Here Steinbeck lets the reader know that Crooks "has nobody”. He has no family left and no friends on the ranch. He reads books to fill his time and keep him company because the other workers do not want him in the bunkhouse to simply play a game of cards, but a book cannot compare to a human being.

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The 1930s had been a particularly difficult year for African-Americans. Prior to 1954, racial segregation was not illegal yet and thus racism was still rampant. Steinbeck usage of Crooks in Of Mice and Men reflects powerfully the racial discrimination at that time. Crooks is not only mentally but also physically separated with the others. Crooks has his own room, but the room is comparable to an animal shed, with “… [a] bunk in the harness room [and] a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn,” and “ [a] bunk [that] was a long box filled with straw, on which his blankets were flung.”

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In Steinbeck’s book, strength dictates the order of society: men superior to women, women superior to African Americans, and African Americans inferior to everyone. This dictates the actions and words of the weak and subjects the powerful to prevail.

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This here is my room. Nobody got any right in here but me. "(Steinbeck 68). This proves how Steinbeck believes when you are oppressed, you oppress others. Crooks had an opportunity to treat Lennie the way others treated him and he took it.

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Curley’s wife and Candy’s dog are the only two characters in the novel that don’t have names, through this parallel, Steinbeck brings to light the fact that women were treated no better than animals in this time. The other characters think of Curley’s wife as nothing but “jailbait” (Steinbeck 32) and isolate her because of this. Often one of the most detrimental effects of oppression on an individual is the isolation that comes with it. Humans are naturally social creatures, when isolated they grow resentful and angry, and often this anger is misplaced. Curley’s wife, for example, uses what status she does have in society to say to Crooks

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The impact societal issues of the 1930s have on the characters in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is shown through the way Crooks is treated because of his race, the way Curley’s wife is treated because of her gender, and the way George has to take care of Lennie due to his mental

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876 Words | 4 Pages

Societal norms, bias, and antiquated ideologies have major implications in the lives of both George and Lennie. Steinbeck, through character’s actions, portrays how deeply inbred discrimination can affect a person’s emotional well-being. The social norms of the 1930s were very derogatory especially towards African Americans and women. For example, Slim is talking to George and Lennie about Crooks, who is an African American and stable buck — this is someone who is usually a black man who works in a stable.

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In the novel “Of Mice and Men” the theme of social injustice is presented by John Steinbeck through the characters of Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks. By examining the theme of social injustice one can be taught that treating someone based on their mental capability, gender, or race is wrong. Rather treat them base on the person they are on the

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