Characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’ are Prejudged? Essay

Do you think all of the characters in Of Mice and Men ar prejudged? (25 Marks) In Of Mice and Men most of the characters are subjected to discrimination and prejudice. The prejudice can be seen most in the characters Lennie Small, Crooks and Curleys Wife. Curleys Wife was a subject of Prejudice because she was a woman. During the 1930s a womans place was to be at home raising a family, also women were seen as second kinsfolk citizens and property of their husbands. Before we meet Curleys Wife, the reader already has an opinion of her because of what the character Candy calls her- throw out bait George calls her a tramp. Its implied that she is a tart and a promiscuous woman she craves the oversight her husband doesnt give her. A nonher way prejudice against Curleys Wife is shown by Steinbeck not giving her an actual name. She is defined by her husband, she is his property, displayed and treated like any other of his possessions.The irony is Curleys Wife coulda been in the movies (her American dream) which contrast the idea of having your name in lights. Crooks and Curleys Wife are quite similar because theyre pushed away from the principal(prenominal)stream society of the ranch, they are the foreigners. Also another thing which links Curleys Wife and Crooks is the lack of an actual name, Crooks is called Crook as he has a crocked guts as he was kicked by a horse, the lack of a prober name dehumanises the characters, making them less important, Steinbeck uses this to suck up how different groups of masses where degraded. Another character who is discriminated against is Crooks. Crooks is an African American character that is discriminated racially, he also has a crocked back. During the 1930s there was segregation between black and white people this is show in Of Mice and Men Crook is segregated from the rest of the Ranch workers. His room is on the edge of the ranch, which highlights how much of an outsider he is.When we see Crooks room for the first time its less than basic, Crooks was a long box filled with hay this is another form of discrimination as he isnt treated equally, his room shows how black people where thought of lesser people. hay is associated with animals partially horses this could suggest that the political boss thinks of Crooks as an animal and belongs outside. Crooks dont say much in the book, because during that time black people didnt have a voice and would be judged on what they said. Crooks and Lennie are also similar because there outcasts, both characters are excluded from nights out with other ranch workers andgames that the others play when they arent working. Lennie Small is one of the main characters in the book. He is mentally disabled and has the mind of a child. Lennie is a misunderstood character who has heartfelt intentions but doesnt understand the impact of his actions.The only character Lennie has a close relationship to George, who sees him as a burden blocking the way to his American dream. An example of Lennie being misunderstood is when he and George were in Weed, he touched the girls dress because it was soft and it ripped, and then they both had to leave as Lennie was accused of assay rape. In the book Lennie is discriminated against Crooks. Crooks takes advantage of Lennies lack of metal capacity, Crooks was subjected to racial hatred as the hand of white people and uses Lennie to get back at them. Crooks implies that George wont come back and hell be alone. Lennie is treated differently because the other men dont understand him as minute was known about mental illness during the time.