How Does Steinbeck Present The Ranch Workers In Of Mice And Men

Of Mice and Men is a tale of the life of those who work on ranches as well as a particular friendship between two men, George and Lennie. John Steinbeck uses his novel Of Mice and Men to expose the harsh reality of life in the depression; an era of unemployment, poverty, hunger and homelessness in the 1930s. Steinbeck felt it was part of a writer’s responsibility to demonstrate these conditions, of not only the hardship of the depression, but also the poor treatment of disabled and marginalised people. He spreads his intentions through the relationship between George and Lennie and the survival of ranch workers, though some provoke more empathy than others.

Steinbeck uses the ranch workers Of Mice and Men to display the reality of what these

Steinbeck explores racism using the character called Crooks, or as referred to in the novel ‘stable buck’. Crooks, a ‘nigger’, is a colored, physically disabled man with a ‘crooked spin’. The reality of racism in this era is frightful and Steinbeck shows this by separating Crooks from the other ranch workers making him an outcast. All of the ranch workers exclude him from everyday activities, for example Crooks ‘can’t play [cards] because [he’s] black’ bringing about a feeling of insignificance. Steinbeck illustrates the constant presence of racism via the character Crooks. Sexist ideas are presented in the novel. The ranch is filled with men, and there’s one single woman amongst them, Curley’s wife and ‘it ain’t no place for a girl’. Curley’s wife is depicted as a ‘tart’, giving men ‘the eye’. Even though she’s marry to Curley the readers can infer that she is lonely due to not have a ‘nice fella’ as a husband. Steinbeck displays how unimportant women were in the 1930s by not even giving Curley’s wife a name. She is pushed to the edge of the ranch life and as a result gets ‘awful[ly] lonely’. Amongst racism and sexism there’s a theme of physical disability Steinbeck tries to highlight throughout Of Mice and Men. Candy is the oldest man working on the ranch and with that has

Lennie, from when he was born had a serious intellectual impairment involving not being able to remember certain things and acting a younger age then what he actually was. Steinbeck describes him as large and strong man who is usually unaware of his actions or his surroundings. However, George his caring and only friend has no disability and Steinbeck makes sure the readers can see the difference between the two personalities and how each of the men are treated. In the 1930s, people with a mental condition were considered inferior to the rest of the world and ended being ‘lock[ed] up’. As an outcome it is considered difficult to obtain a job. Steinbeck displays this when George and Lennie are applying for a job on the ranch, George has to hide the fact that Lennie suffers from intellectual impairment by saying Lennie ‘got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid’. The readers can presume that George has the power in the relationship from subtle hints within the novel. Their relationship is often portrayed as kin to a dog and his owner. Lennie ‘imitate[s] George exactly’ in everything he does, from doing ‘the same with his bed’, ‘remember[ing] ever’ word [George] says’ and trying only to talk to the people George talks to. Within these actions Steinbeck makes it seem that Lennie cannot think for himself. The death of Curley’s wife