Examples Of Social Commentaries In Of Mice And Men

Social Commentaries in Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men, a famous novella written by John Steinbeck partakes in many aspects of social commentaries during the 1930s. Of Mice and Men takes place during the Great Depression, a time where work was difficult to find and when many were left homeless or unemployed. Two migrant workers, George and Lennie, are looking for a job in a ranch near Soledad where their lives are anything but ordinary. From being challenged for more than fifty-four times since it was published in 1937, Of Mice and Men is an example of a social commentary because it is a written form of rebellion: which sparked on issues during the 1930’s including racism, animal cruelty, women’s rights, and the negative depictions of the …show more content…
In this novella, Steinbeck portrays women as more inferior to men by provoking criticism of how women were treated as sexual objects. In order to promote societal change, Steinbeck makes other men in the story depict Curley’s wife as more inferior by not giving any importance to who she is as a person and most importantly not giving her a name at all. Whenever, Curley’s wife talks to men around the ranch they just assume that she is a tart or that she creates trouble, but really, she just wants to talk with the ranch workers because she has no one to talk to. Eventually, when Candy, an old ranch worker, first discovers that Curley’s wife passed away, so were his dreams in joining George and Lennie’s dream, therefore, Candy states viciously, “‘You God damn tramp, .... You wasn’t no good … you lousy tart’” (Steinbeck 95). Without gaining any sympathy for a dead person, Candy didn’t give any importance or pay respect for her, instead he called her a tart and blamed her for an act that she wasn’t even involved with. During this period, men didn’t treat women as if they were human beings, but as sexual objects for their own amusement. For instance, Curley wearing a glove full of Vaseline to keep his hand soft for his wife or the ranch workers comparing what cathouse is best for them to hang out in are social commentaries that Steinbeck also …show more content…
In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck includes the character, Crooks, an African American stable buck with a crooked back in order to promote different viewpoints of African Americans during this time period. During this time, the general populace usually assumed that African Americans were illiterate farmers who worked off southern plantations. Steinbeck changes viewpoints by having Crooks be an educated African American who reads a lot of books, such as the California Civil Code for 1905. Most importantly Steinbeck includes that Crooks, during his childhood, would play with white children to explain that racism is a thought thing. As much as everyone else feeling lonely on the ranch, Crook’s deals with being more of an outcast because his race. Since racial segregation took place during this time, Crooks has to live in a separate, unsanitary room besides the horses with only books to keep his company. After Lennie, the disabled ranch worker, enters Crook’s bunkhouse without his permission, Crook’s proclaims, “‘I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room’” (Steinbeck 68). Since the room was the only space Crook’s has, he acts defensively because he wants others to feel the unfair treatment that he receives every day. Not only did Crook’s receive the worst room in the ranch, he also gets the hardest job, as a