Prejudice in “Of Mice and Men” Essay

Prejudices are the ch ains forged by ignorance to keep workforce apart. Marguerite Gardiner. In society, both modern and in the past, injury has been a tool of thinking and labeling a group of race, people, class and culture in order to distinguish ones transcendence and dominance from one another, further is scarce a way to judge with out(p) gathering valid facts. In Of Mice and workforce by John Steinbeck, we see that damage was just as rampant in the 1930s. In the novel, prejudice is demonstrated on 3 different levels racial, sexual and social.It is shown how these prejudices generate false perceptions that although meant to aid, do no such good as their end result is clouding the truth. Racial prejudice is most significant when describing Crooks, who happens to be the stable buck for the farm. Crooks is also a Black man with a back dis skill, hence the reason he is called Crooks. While most of the other workers live in the same area and dish out to jobs that are quite s imilar, Crooks is forced to live by himself, work alone in the stables and is almost never in contact with any(prenominal) of the other characters. volume such as Curlys Wife go as far as to ridicule Crooks and even look down at him simply for the fact that he is a Black man with a disability who is a laborer. In one instance, Curlys Wife threatens Crooks by notice him Listen, Nigger, you make do what I can do if you open your trap, I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it aint funny (Steinbeck, 98). The open brutality of this com ment shows that even a cleaning lady, who would normally not have much or any say during this era in the 1930s, is still considered higher in social class than an African-American man.Nothing is realizen about him as a person by any of the other farm attendants, still the prejudices that in this case are completely false help propel a gap between them, when one does not need to be. Although he may be physically handicap, he is just as capable a s any of the others. As a result of world an outcast at the farm, Crooks has become very isolated and disengaged with the other members. When Lennie enters Crooks cabin in order retrieve the puppies, Crooks lashes out and tells Lennie I aint cute in the bunk room and you aint wanted in my room (Steinbeck,124).This comment shows that Crooks has become bitter and alone because of the prejudice constantly existence aimed at him when there is no reason for the way he is treated. He is a great overall example of racial prejudice in Of Mice and Men and society, both past and present, in which a African-American male, who is as capable as any man of another color is denied the same opportunities because of stereotypes and perceptions which can whole be supported with biased false facts. Sexual prejudice is strong when Curlys Wife is a part of a scene.Curlys Wife also happens to be the only female that is currently occupying the place of work that the novel is set in. Curlys Wife is pre sented as a character who tends to be very friendly with all the men on the farm and enjoys the attention she gets because her husband, Curly does not assign her the amount of attention that she wants, so she finds it with others. Curlys Wife is often avoided by all other who work at the farm because she is a woman who could get them in a lot of trouble.Curly is the boss son and Curlys Wife being the daughter-in-law always gets her way and can have any man in the farm fired without reason. She got the eye goin all the time on everybody. I bet she even gives the stable buck they eye. I dont know what the hell she wants (Steinbeck,51). Being a woman, there is already significant amount of sexual prejudice directed to her and the fact that she is very flirtatious with the other men further strengthens their perception of her. They all try to remain as calm as possible, careful not to give her the wrong idea cause they know the trouble that she could get them in.In actuality it appears that Curlys Wife only craves attention from the other men and nothing sexual because of the lack of her husband to give her the attention that she wants. The idea of her wanting something only sexual and not spiritual shows the prejudice associated with gender in this novel and how its falsehood prevents a lonely woman from engaging and connecting with others on a mental level. Equally important is the Social prejudice towards characters such as Candy and Lennie in Of Mice and Men.Candy is very elderly and not capable of doing much around the farm but is still kept around to do the simple chores that the others are seen as more of a waste of time for others. These simple chores are envied by others and this jealousy helps create a division between Candy and the others. Candy also has a hound dog that in galore(postnominal) ways is similar to him The dog aint no good to himself. I wisht somebodyd shoot me if I got over-the-hill an a cripple (pg. 45). They are both described as being old, withered, confused and in many ways more of a nuisance who would do more good dead than alive.Socially being hated by the majority of the men at the ranch shows the prejudice that is directed without any reason, but simply motivated by jealousy. In the instance of Lennie, social prejudice is strongest evident in the perception others have of him because in their eyes, all they see is a wide-ranging oaf incapable of accomplishing anything intelligent and only kept around for his strength. Before meeting Lennie and even engaging him in conversation, his position has already been accomplished at the Ranch.With Curly we see that Hes like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. Hes alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like hes mad at em because he aint a big guy (pg. 26). Regardless of his ability to be of help at the farm, Curly already establishes his position on Lennie even though he has had no significant direct contact or enough time to accurately depict Len nie as a person and not just a big man physically. Not only Curly, but other members of the farm also have decided Lennies place at work before fully knowing him.He is left out of card games, left back at the ranch when George and the others go out to hand more important jobs. Being considered a simple minded men with little use who spend their days playing with and day dreaming about rabbits or sweeping after others, Lennie and Candy have become outcasts in the sense that one of them is perceived to be mentally unstable and added to the fact that he is physically strong, while the other one is a nuisance who many could live without, make them both isolated and all the more reason to be avoid and singled out.Of Mice and Men is a brilliant novel in demonstrating that prejudice is a tool that people use to become more familiar with other individuals in order to overcome the fear of uncertainty. However, the ending result is that it puts maintain between the person and the one they ju dge because it is not fact, but perception that is completely untrue. Prejudice is simply the reasoning of a fool to make themselves know secure.