How Does Steinbeck Present Prejudice In Of Mice And Men

“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” This quote demonstrates that once a person has an idea about a person pretty soon they will have many, not all of them true. Of Mice and Men is a story about two men, Lennie who has a mental disability, and George is a friend of Lennie’s that feels responsible for Lennie. After meeting with the boss they go into the bunk house where they meet Curley’s wife, who attempts to flirt with them. On the third night George and the other men go into town leaving Lennie behind with Crooks, an African American stable hand. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary prejudice is the, “an irrational attitude of hostility directed against an individual, a group, a race, or their supposed characteristics.” Prejudice is a major theme of Of Mice and Men, which can be seen through Lennie, Crooks and Curley’s wife. Lennie is assumed to be crazy by the other characters in the novella. Lennie

“‘Yeah. Nice fella too. Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss gives him hell when he's mad. But the stable buck don't give a damn about that. He reads a lot. Got books in his room.’”(Steinbeck 20) This demonstrates that even though Crooks is black he is still smart and does more than sit in his room feeling bad for himself because he is alone. This quote also shows that even though Crooks is black he is still seen as a nice guy. Another instance of prejudice towards Crooks is “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” (Steinbeck 68) The guys think that because Crooks is black that he stinks at playing cards which is prejudice towards him because they don’t give him a chance to play and show if he’s any