Injustice in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Essay Example

Crooks, an African American character, is marginalized based on his skin colour and treated like a second-rate citizen forced to live with the animals despite his abilities he is forced to fail purely off of his skin colour and as a person can never thrive under any circumstances.  When describing Crooks Steinbeck shows his living situation showing his house stating “Crooks … a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn” (66). While the other ranchers are allowed to have proper housing lying in bunk beds and being able to roam and interact with one another Crooks is isolated and forced into living with farm animals. The system he is in doesn’t allow for him to grow as he is robbed of chances to interact and create bonds. No matter how skilled one may be they require human interaction in order to thrive and Crooks is robbed of that due to his skin colour proving he never was given a chance to succeed in the world. Along with that his situation, being African American, leads to a large amount of discrimination as he walks on eggshells due to his lack of power; Curleys wife displays this when she states“Listen N-word … You know what I could do to you if you opened your trap” (80). Crooks, as an African American, is set up to fail as he has no rights. Any middle class female can ruin his life in seconds creating a false narrative, allegation. His life hangs on a thin rope as nobody would believe a black man over a white female.  Success can only come when you are given rights and Steinbeck shows that all African Americans, not just Crooks, are set up to fail due to a lack of rights and opportunities due to their skin colour. In conclusion, Crooks, representing all African Americans, cannot survive or thrive in any circumstance because of the systems placed around them subjugating African Americans to have no rights or opportunities.

Another person that is forced into an endless cycle of pain and suffering is Curley's wife who is confined to being a housewife despite wanting to live as a movie star; She can never thrive because of what she looks like thus she can never succeed. When conversing to Lennie about her life she talks about her aspirations stating “ He says he was gonna put me in movies … I never got that letter … so I married Curley'' (88). Curley's wife was never given an opportunity to succeed as society demanded her to get married and have children to remain unseen and unheard.  Due to being a woman, in the 1930s, people already believed that she should not be allowed to control anything to have power so she can never achieve what she wants, she can never thrive. Another hurdle presented in Curley’s wife's path is the view of her from the rancher's perspective, they don’t think highly of her thus she can’t live a free life filled with the attention and companionship she yearns stating “Why can’t I talk to you. I ain’t doing’ no harm to you” (88). Curley’s wife is once again unable to succeed due to the personal biases of those around her.  Due to being a woman the ranchers already form an opinion believing her to be a tart which no longer allows her to build a bond with those around her. The system in place doesn’t allow for her to have opportunities consequently only allowing her to fail. In conclusion, Curleys’ wife is unable to succeed in the situation she is placed in due to the systems she is in giving her no opportunities and thus giving her no chance of success.

A group that is overlooked are white men with people believing that they are atop the social hierarchy despite a majority of them living lives of isolation and struggle, working long hours daily, without ever being handed a chance to truly succeed. This is most prevalent in the case of the ranchers who are forced to fantasize what life could be imagining owning a farm and being as rich and as successful as the owners who force them to destroy their bodies for measly pay. Crooks shows how desperate the rancher's situation is when conversing with Lennie stating “You’ll talk about it a hell of a lot but you won’t get no land …  like ever’ guy got land in his head” (75). Crooks quote puts into perspective the lives of ranchers while we only go in depth into Lennie and George we see how every rancher is the same. All of the ranchers have no true chance to move up the social ladder. Steinbeck shows that no matter what you look like you can never move up the ladder due to every person facing obstacles that are impossible to overcome whether that be your lack of rights or your lack of opportunities. The ranchers can never own land due to a lack of funds so they only dream of what their life could be if only they weren’t disenfranchised and poor people. Along with that we see how the ranchers live, how they are isolated in their own worlds and how depressed they feel with their lives being so mundane without many opportunities. These feelings culminate when they play card games with Steinbeck writing “George brought the cards together tightly and studied the backs of them. The silence was in the room again” (49). The ranchers live horrible lives never conversing and not having the ability to ever be free. Despite being white and a male , the ranchers are just as marginalized as the rest of the people, only given a little more freedom in their lives. They are still looked down upon and are still in the same boat as everyone else. In conclusion, Steinbeck shows that no matter what you look like, no matter how privileged you may look you are set up to fail due to a lack of opportunities and freedoms given to everyone.