Of Mice and Men

"Of mice and men", by John Steinbeck is a classic novella with containing pages filled with awe-inspiring literature, that has brought smiles as well as tears to all of its readers. There are several cultural issues that Steinbeck incorporates into this text, using effective techniques and a very articulate writing style to make this novella one to be remembered long after the final pages have been read. The main cultural issues that evolve through the course of the novel include racism, alienation and the constantly evolving issue of hope.

The main cultural issue that evolve during the course of the novella is discrimination and prejudice. There are three main people in the novella who are discriminated against in this text. They include Curley's wife, Lennie and Crooks. Crooks is an American African and because of his skin colour he is constantly discriminated against throughout the novella. As Lennie enters Cooks' room for the first time, he becomes very defensive as he says, "You got no right to come in my room. This here is my room. Nobody got any right in here but me". Lennie, as innocent as he is, does not know about racism and does not, through the entire novella understand or use racism against Crooks. Lennie, who does not know of racism, "smiled at helplessly in an attempt to make friends". Crooks realises that Lennie is mentally disabled and Crooks then tries to explain Lennie why others discriminate against him. He tells him, "Cause I'm black. They play cards in there but I can't because I'm black." He has also realised that when he looks at Lennie, he is looking into mirror. Crooks is Lennie's foil because they both are discriminated against, they both know their boundaries and they both have hope for a better, fairer world to live in. Discrimination and prejudice against Crooks begins to evolve when Candy enters his room. As Candy does this for the first time, " Crooks found it difficult to conceal his pleasure with anger". At this point, Steinbeck makes us realise that a "guys needs somebody to be near him - he goes nuts if ain't got no one". During the scene when Candy and Lennie are in Crooks' room, Crooks really feels that for once he is being included in something with the white ranch boys without being discriminated against The main evolution of discrimination that takes place is when George and Lennie agree to include Crooks into their dream of, "livin' off the fatta the lan'". Crooks' spirits are lifted and he his hopes for a fairer and better world to live in are risen. Crooks is not mentioned again after this scene, however, readers assume that he is still slumbering on with his work, waiting for his dreams to come true. It is only when Lennie dies, are Crooks, George and Candy, who are all part of the dream, cut off from their dreams and ideal visions, to be brought back to no more than the harsh reality of their lives. The unfortunate cultural issue of racism evolves during the course of the novella as characters begin to develop and realise that it is not necessarily that person's fault that they were born with a darker complexion.

Another cultural issue which evolves during the course of this novella is that of alienation. The main people in the novella who seem to be affected by alienation are Crooks and Curley's Wife. Lennie helps both of these character escape their lonely worlds for a short