Similarities Between Of Mice And Men

Innocence Lost

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Considering that racism and gender inequality were prominent during the pre-Civil Rights era, most books used them to portray a certain side of a character. Two books that used racism and gender inequality to deliver messages and develop characters were To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. These books both took place in the 1930’s in different locations in the United States. The presence of racism and gender inequality in Of Mice and Men, and To Kill a Mockingbird help convey the message that innocence is lost upon the discovery that such attitudes exist.

In the novella Of Mice and Men there are many racial attacks towards blacks. The story took place on a ranch in a small town. The stable buck on the property is a black man known as Crooks. Crooks is forced to “sleep away from the white workers on the farm.”(Cite Source) Due to Crooks’ isolation, he

There were also inequalities towards woman in To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout is shocked when she discovers that women can’t serve on juries. Her father explains to her that woman all across the country were banned from juries. Scout concludes that “it was wise because women would ask too many questions.” In fact, women didn’t receive the right to vote until less than forty years before the book was published. Women didn't even gain fully equal rights until twelve years after the book was published. Women were discriminated against especially in the courtroom. Since they were thought to be fragile, men thought it would serve them better if they stayed off the jury and at home during court cases. This also relates to the topic of killing innocence because Jem and Scout’s innocence was killed when they realized how little rights women had. The pre-civil rights era affected genders, not just race or