Of Mice And Men Analytical Essay

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The author John Steinbeck once said “‘Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.’” - John Steinbeck. John Steinbeck illustrates the harsh truths of society through his stories and their themes reflect the problems hidden by others. His story takes place in an old-time when many actions would seem normal, whereas now they’d be looked down upon by society. John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, displays many systemic issues through social hierarchy, loneliness, and intolerance.

First, large numbers of people have to deal with systemic issues that affect a great deal of people. John Steinbeck displays these systemic issues in Of Mice and Men through all of his characters and in their actions. His characters either caused …show more content…

Steinbeck portrays the intense loneliness through his character Crooks who was shunned because of his skin color and had to avoid the others on the ranch because of how they treated him. Not only was he loathed for his skin color, but he also had to deal with disability so his life was very difficult from the start. “if Crooks is not essential to the story's plot, he is crucial for elaborating the story's theme” (Johnson). This clarifies the fact the Crooks did not place a huge part to the story but he is crucial to understanding the time period this story takes place in. John Steinbeck uses Crooks to display the racism that an African American would have to cope with. Even in the real world many people had to deal with the situation Crooks dealt with and this issue is displayed strongly throughout the novella. The novella also includes the obstacle of intolerance that the characters had to go through during the …show more content…

Steinbeck once again uses his character Crooks to relay this message of intolerance within the ranch. Crooks had to deal with intolerance from his fellow ranch workers because of how he was the only African American on the ranch and the others didnt respect him as an equal human being because of it. “‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black.’” (Steinbeck 68). This quote explains to the reader that since Crooks is black the others on the ranch wont allow him to accompany them. Crooks had gotten used to being alone and separated from the other characters on the ranch. The novella strongly displays the intolerance of characters for differences that the characters can