Stereotypes Faced In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

During the Great Depression, people who were disabled or part of racial minority groups were the subjects of discriminatory stereotypes. This idea is exemplified throughout John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men, which centers around the issues faced by white migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, while navigating work and life on a ranch amidst the Great Depression. Particularly, Lennie, who is mentally disabled, faces discrimination because he is stereotyped as a “dumb” and “childish” person. Yet these problems are not only faced by white workers like Lennie, but more so black migrant workers, since Crooks, a black stableman who is barred from socializing with the white folks on the ranch, is subject to inferiority and isolation from his white

Contrary to Crooks’ treatment, Lennie is treated hospitably despite being mentally disabled. According to Vincent Benlloch, “Lennie, despite his size, temperament, and position as a stranger, was welcomed immediately into the bunkhouse along with all of his fellow white ranch hands.Conversely, ‘Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room’.forced to live with the animals even though his "rights" as a person are supposedly validated”(Benlloch). Even if Lennie’s character seemed strange and menacing, he still possessed white privilege, as evident by being instantly welcomed into the ranch along with receiving a nice place to sleep. This contrasts to how Crooks is treated, where he was not only given the harness room to live in, but was dehumanized to the point where he was forced to live like animals. It is apparent that even though Lennie and Crooks represent the minority groups in Steinbeck’s novel, Crooks is dehumanized because he is a person of color. Crooks is also dehumanized to the point where he is only thrown around and beaten up to satisfy the enjoyment of the white people on the