Prejudice. of Mice and Men

During the time period of the novel Of Mice and Men, prejudice was an epidemic. It was a common occurrence to judge those based on the color of their skin or simply due to first impressions. John Steinbeck realistically depicts the era in which the two main characters, Lennie and George live. Steinbeck creates several situations where prejudice is evident against some of the characters introduced throughout the book. These characters are people who George and Lennie meet throughout their stay at the ranch such as Crooks, Curley's Wife and Candy. Prejudice occurs especially against several characters throughout the book; these characters carry around the burden of being judged. Prejudice affects these characters, and the net result is inevitable sorrow.

One can argue that the one that carries the largest emotional burden is Crooks. During the Depression, racism was still rampant. Crooks is ostracized because of his race and is also tantalized due to his physical impairments. Since he is isolated from all the other workers on the ranch. He spends his free time reading and not socializing with the other workers. "Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, all of you stink to me." (69) Due to his physical impairments, Crooks is unable to buck barley and because of this the men are more biased against Crooks deeming him useless to the ranch. "Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss gives him hell when he's mad. But the stable buck don't give a damn about that. He reads a lot. Got books in his room." (20)

Candy is no exception to the discrimination found at the ranch. Candy is an old man with a physical impairment. " a tall, stroop-shouldered old man came in . . . He pointed with his right arm, and out of the sleeve came a round stick-like wrist, but no hand" (18) His old age prevents him from working side by side with the other migrant workers, and his physical condition keeps him from being useful to the ranch. This causes the other workers to discriminate against Candy, thinking of him as an useless old man.

Curley's Wife faces the day- to-day hardships of prejudice. She is judged because of her gender and misconstrued attempts to talk to others. The ranch is a male dominant place, where she is labeled a deviant. Many of the workers don't like having her around. They think of her