Of Mice And Men Migrant Workers Essay

John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice And Men, follows the lives of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who experience hardships and difficulties due to their status. With the alternate text “The Harvest Gypsies” by John Steinbeck, parallels between the lives of George and Lennie, their peers, and migrant workers are revealed. In Of Mice and Men the two protagonists face challenges while trying to survive, revealing the similarities between real-life migrant workers. After facing many hardships, parallels are highlighted between real-life migrant workers and migrant workers in Of Mice and Men. The difficulties of isolation and the image they are perceived as ultimately reveal how one’s opinion truly affects others, resulting in the unfulfillment

For example, Lennie and George have to travel to a different country because Lennie has consequences of petting a girl’s dress, but George yells “we got to hide in a irrigation ditch all day with guys lookin’ for us, and we got to sneak out in the dark and get outta the country” (Steinbeck 11). George and Lennie constantly have to move because they are looking for work or are running away from problems. They cannot stay attached to any person or thing because eventually, they will have to move. The isolation causes them to feel lonely, resulting in the unfulfillment of their lives. Additionally, In Steinbeck’s excerpt of “The Harvest Gypsies,” isolation and constant traveling are shown as well. For example, Steinbeck explains the lives of migrant workers and how “The unique nature of California agriculture requires that these migrants exist, and requires that they move about…the foreign workers were usually imported without their children and everything that remains of their old life with them” (Steinbeck, “Harvest”). Migrant workers must leave those they love in order to provide for their families. They are isolated in a new and foreign environment with few resources. They are demanded in many places but once the work is done, they must move, resulting in constant traveling. Therefore, the isolation and constant traveling of migrant workers reveal how one’s

For example, when Crooks, a black migrant worker, stands up for himself, he is shot down by Curley’s wife as she says “Well, you keep your place then, N****r. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (Steinbeck 81). When Crooks tries to be seen as an individual with his own authority, he is placed down. Curley’s wife sees him as inferior to herself and so do other characters in the novella. This places more emphasis on the hardships migrant workers face, constantly being treated like nothing. Furthermore, in Steinbeck’s excerpt from “The Harvest Gypsies,” the way migrant workers are perceived is shown as well. For example, Steinbeck explains how migrant workers “have come into the country where, because of the movement necessary to make a living, they are not allowed any vote whatever, but are rather considered a properly unprivileged class” (Steinbeck, “Harvest”). Migrant workers are seen as an “unprivileged class,” highlighting the true image a majority of America perceives migrant workers as. They only wish to find work to provide for their family or themselves, but instead, the opinions of Americans influence their ability to be fulfilled in life. Therefore, the status and image of migrant workers, fictional or real, highlight the inability to truly feel accomplished or content with one’s