Steinbeck portrays racism subtly in "Of Mice and Men" through the character of Crooks, the African American stable hand. Crooks is isolated due to his race and experiences discrimination and loneliness on the ranch. Steinbeck shows the pervasive effects of racism on individuals' lives, highlighting the challenges faced by marginalized groups in a society that discriminates against them.
by getting into crooks life and showing that black people weren't as bad as people said they were.
by the end of chapter 4 we see candy standing up for crooks in front of curleys wife, showing that crooks was worth protecting and wasn't that different
even the conversation crooks has with Lennie shows how as children you are inocent and don't realise racism and treat everybody kindly but as they grow up they feel it is the norm to follow everyone else and abuse people who are different and maybe at one time they might have played with as children.
In Of Mice and Men, the racial issue was between Crooks and the other men on the ranch because Crooks was African American. He wasn't allowed to go into their bunk-room nor them into his and also wasn't allowed to play cards or horseshoes with them.
Read the novel again, and then make connections yourself! Here are my notes on realism:
Realism in Art & Literature
Accurate or realistic portrayal of life
· Ordinary occurrences and/or ordinary characters
o peasants,
o businessmen,
o housewives
· Deals with daily struggles and/or disappointments of ordinary characters
· Not always a happy ending; things don't always work out
· Detached observation,
o recording facts to describe their characters
o Objective descriptions
· Upper class characters portrayed with faults, rather than idealized (unlike heroism in Romanticism)
Steinbeck presents the lives of the ranch workers as very lonely.
Because it was simply an accepted fact of life during the period in which the story was set. Not to have included it would have been to try to hide one of the important aspects of man's cruelty to man, which is the overall theme of the story.
He doesn't have a racist view, but he tries to state how racism was socially acceptable in the time the novel was set it.
He wrote several East of Eden Of Mice and Men Grapes of Wrath are three
Some of John Steinbeck's novels that were made into movies include "Grapes of Wrath," "Of Mice and Men," and "East of Eden."
for language and racism. but it isn't band in every school.
Through crooks
Third person, omniscient
Some of John Steinbeck's famous works include "The Grapes of Wrath," "Of Mice and Men," "East of Eden," and "Cannery Row." These novels are widely regarded as classics of American literature.
John Steinbeck drew inspiration for Of Mice and Men from his own experiences living and working among itinerant laborers during the Great Depression. His personal interactions and observations influenced the characters and themes in the novel, reflecting the struggles and hardships faced by migrant workers of that era. Additionally, like the characters in the book, Steinbeck himself experienced economic instability and social injustice, which is reflected in the themes of loneliness, friendship, and the pursuit of the American Dream in Of Mice and Men.
"Of Mice and Men" is written in a third-person omniscient point of view. This means the narrator is not a character in the story and has access to the thoughts and feelings of multiple characters, providing a broader perspective on the events that unfold in the novel.
Crooks is the stable buck. Normally he is referred to as 'the n****r' because at the time racism and slavery was still an issue in America.
Ranch
John Steinbeck's most famous works include "Of Mice and Men," "The Grapes of Wrath," "East of Eden," and "Cannery Row." These novels are widely celebrated for their exploration of themes such as the Great Depression, human nature, and social issues.
The play 'Of Mice and Men' was written by John Steinbeck in 1937.