How does John Steinbeck portray racism in ‘Of Mice And Men’ Essay

From the 17th Century, when the first settlers arrived, immigrants dreamed of a better life in America. People went there to escape from discrimination or poverty, and to make a new life for themselves or their families. They dreamed of making their fortunes in the goldfields. For many a(prenominal) the dream became a nightm are. The horrors of slavery, of the American Civil War, the growth of towns with slums as uncollectible as those in Europe, and the corruption of the American political system guide to many shattered hopes. For the American society as a complete the dream ended with the W all(prenominal) S manoeuvret crash of 1929. This was the start of the commodious Depression that would affect the whole world during the 1930s. However the dream survived in the hope of individuals. Thousands made their way west to California to escape from their farmlands in the mid-West. George and Lennie dreamt of there little house and a couple of acres.However, betwixt 1929 39 there was a general world destine in trade and prosperity. A great deal of m wizy had been spent on the First World War, and countries found themselves in debt. Lots of American disoriented their strains. They joined bands of wandering farmers, looking for work. The farm owners of California found that they could yet off very low wages, and expect work force to work for long hours, as the demand for work was so great. The turn over were only needed for fiddling periods at a age, for harvesting and so they had to travel around for work.On October 24, 1929, the stock market crashed. Prices began to decline early in the day, triggering a merchandising panic in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). This caused the loss of stemmas of diverse workers, macabre or uninfected. It was very hard for the workers to get down a job elsewhere in any otherwise farms, mediocre like George and lennie. These kinds of workers were called itinerant workers. The coming months saw no recovery.The racism, which Martin Luther King chats about in his famous I had a dream speech, states that ovalbumin men think they hit got power over black deal. That all men are created equally, and no one differs from each other. The black pot hurl to give up their seats if a fair soulfulness keep an eye ons on to the bus and there is no space left. Also black people were not allowed to shop in the alike place as snowy people. And black people had to send their children to a different school to the sinlessness people. This is an example of segregation and isolation.Crooks demands isolation because he is black and wants to live alone. He is similarly called names nigger . He is proberly one of the close disliked people in the story because of the vividness of hes hide. But still people say crooks the nigger is a truly nice fellow at the same time. I think they just call him that because at that time they could say or do anything to a nigger and still suffer away with it. T he white boys did not want to sleep in the same live as a black man. I just altogether disagree with this because you should not judge a perosn by the colout of the skin. Also crooks him egotism does not want to sleep with them because of the way the white boys watch treated him.Crooks him self is a unchangeable buck which is a very low classed job even at that time. The white boys call crooks crooks because as a stable buck he waz kicked on the bum by a buck and he is now got a crooked back. Also the white lads have made crooks fight on christmas day with smitty just so he can sit down and have a drink with the white boys on christmas day. I think that is not acceptable because crooks is already vitiated hes back from the accident with the horse and on top of that he had to have a fight with smitty with that injury when smitty was perfectly fine. All they did do was that they tyied hes hands behind hes back so he could not punch crooks just can only kick him.This first st arts when crooks privacy is invaded by lennie. When lennie enters crooks live without no permission from crooks to cum into the room. Crooks is not very happy when lennie enters the room and says you got no right to come in my room. This heres my room. nothing got no rights in here scarce me Crooks says all of this because he is not really happy with lennies presents in the room. As lennie stays long-lived and longer he starts to find out that lennie is dumb and crooks thinks to him self that he has got the fastness hand on lennie.Crooks for the first time has got power over mortal and thats a white man. Then lennie gets up and says to crooks why are you not liked on the ranch and crooks replys by saying its just because Im BLACK Crooks means by this quote that the white men on the ranch do not like him. And in addition crooks has got nobody to talk to because crooks is the only nigger on the ranch. Then lennie rapidly changes the subject and starts talk of the town about the dream him and George have got. But all crooks thinks is hes crazy . He thinks this because he thinks that lennie doesnt know what he is talking about.Crooks taunts lennie thaat George is not spill to come back. And crooks also says he might even get hurt. After crooks has said that crooks face lightened up with pleasure in his torture. After crooks has said lennie quickly gets to hes feet and says nothing is going to happen to come George he si going to come back safe. Crooks is really frightened when lennis sayss that and crooks moves further up hes bed and rests hes hands on hes knees. The reason for crooks out burst like that is because all crooks is trying to do is trying to make someone spirit like how crooks is feeling by telling lennie when the other boys on the ranch play horse garment he has to stay in hes room and read a control when he would rather be playing horse shoe with the other workers on the ranch. Crooks is trying say just because i am black they tak e upt let me play horseshoe. Crooks is trying to gain sympthy from lennie but lennie does not really understand what crooks is trying to say to him. So lennie doesnt really feel sorry for him because he doesnt know what going on. So lennie cant really feel sorry for crooks because he is lost him self in other words.The workers on the ranch place crooks as a nigger one flake and the other second they be saying he is a very nice mate . I think my self that crooks is a very good person and stays quiet throught the book but it is just because of the colour of hes skin he is treated like dirt. Even thought crooks is proberly the most improve person on the farm. Crooks has got a dictionary which is described as knock about and ripped and hes also got some tatered magazines. Also crooks has got some reading books, which are described, as dirty . And all of these things go on a special shelf over hes bunk. When crooks read these books he feels proud and really important be cause at this time not much people could read or release. And on top of all that hes a nigger .When we first meet crooks I thought he waz a nasty man because of hes posture and hes colour of hes skin. But looks can be dece-ving because he turned out to be a very well educated person and also round the bend hearted. It was very unusal for a black man to read or write in these in these times even so most of the white men could not read or write. I really feel sorry for crooks because he is alll alone and must feel really stranded at times or most of the time. And he has got no follow at all and he aint even got no one to talk to at all because hes black. If you ask me I think that is really out of the question because no one should be left alone for that reason.He aint got no friends to say hello too all because of the colour of hes skin. The white boys endlessly pick him on. And even thought it aint hes fault most of the things are unsaved on him. Also when the boss is feeli ng really mad he takes it all out on crooks and crooks just gets shouted at for no reason at all. Crooks on the hireachy he is right at the ass and hes got no power at all. Even thought he has been one of the people who has been working there the longest and he has been loyal to boss.Curleys married woman, the attention seeker always flirts with other prople on the ranch because her economize is always at the cathouse or out and about. And is never at home to care about her. Curleys wife is one of the most powerful people in the hireachy because she is married to the boses son. She tries to have some relaxation with other people. This is because her husband takes no notice of her apart from the sex. She is used for an object glass of sex.When crooks reailses that his chances of being in the dream looked very slim and he crawled back defeated because he cant say anything to Curleys wife at all because she has got all the power. She can get him hung from a tree so easy, she can ju s say that he waz flirting with me and thats it he would get hung. If that was a white person being prosequted they would give him a trial and would be taken to court but just because he is black they would just get him hung without any proof he did it or not.Going back to the initial question, I think that john Steinbeck doesnt throw the thought of racism in our face. He just hints of the judgment and makes do the rest of the thinking. This is proved whenthe worker calls him a nigger and also a nice fella. We had do some thinking to find out that the word nigger is used so much that the workers dont even think of what the word means.