Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Discrimination Analysis

The use of categorization to discriminate others is just another tool that people use to denounce the status of others in the social hierarchy. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie and George make their way to Salinas, California, to work on a ranch during the Great Depression. The common occurrence of discrimination is portrayed throughout the novel to the trophy wife, old ranch hand, and African American man. Those with power will undermine people with perceivable differences to feel superior. The young woman, solely known as Curley’s wife, is faced with demeaning labels and solitude. After George’s first interaction with her, he calls her a “‘b****’” and ‘“jail bait’” as he attempts to convince the others and himself that she is less than undesirable (Steinbeck 32). When the men see Curley’s wife, they see the life with a family that they desperately yearn for; by degrading her, they feel as if they are better than Curley for not being married to a “slut”. To continue, out of sheer loneliness, Curley’s wife tries begin a conversation with the men, and Candy tells her, ‘“You ain’t wanted here,’” because she is a constant reminder …show more content…
To deal with being unwanted, Curley’s wife calls Crooks a “‘n*****’” to remind him that she has a higher social standing than he does (Steinbeck 81). Curley’s wife felt estranged from everyone because of her gender, so she lashed back, labelling him, so he too would feel alienated from the other men. Furthermore, Crooks is segregated from the other men and “‘ain’t wanted in the bunk house…’cause [he’s] black’” (Steinbeck 68). Ubiquitous amongst the men is the sole feeling of isolation; the ranch hands force Crooks to sleep in the barn so that they can project their solitude onto him to a further extent. Crooks is left to the company of no one but himself because of the so-called dignity of the ranch