Throughout the world there has always been a trend of excluding or mistreating a group based on its ethnicity. In the 1930’s racism was directed towards African Americans; today racism is nearly non-existent and we are reminded of it through novels, art, and other forms of expression not to repeat it again. An example of this is the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In this novel the character Crooks, an African American, experiences the social injustice of living in a racist environment. During the Great Depression racism affected the life of African Americans greatly. Getting a job as a white man was hard enough during this time period, but it was even more difficult for colored men. Many employers in cities established policies
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Crooks, the only black worker in the ranch, represents this problem along with the racism that existed back then. In the novel it can be seen that racism isolates Crooks from the other workers since he is not allowed in their bunkhouse and he has to live in a barn; in addition to this, Crooks cannot participate in the same activities as the white workers. It can be seen he feels this way when he says,” ‘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,” in response to a white worker asking him why he does not go into the bunkhouse (68). Although racism was worse in the 1930’s, there are still remains of it today and it includes racism against other ethnic groups as well. And the feeling of isolation Crooks experienced applies to other people who are excluded because of race. For example, when I first came to the US at the age of 12, my English was not as great as the speech of fluent speakers. Most of my classes were diverse; however, when I stepped into my honors math class, I felt very excluded. Most of the class was white with the exception of a group of Vietnamese students, and I was the only Latino student in the class. For the first few weeks, the
Crooks, the only black worker in the ranch, represents this problem along with the racism that existed back then. In the novel it can be seen that racism isolates Crooks from the other workers since he is not allowed in their bunkhouse and he has to live in a barn; in addition to this, Crooks cannot participate in the same activities as the white workers. It can be seen he feels this way when he says,” ‘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,” in response to a white worker asking him why he does not go into the bunkhouse (68). Although racism was worse in the 1930’s, there are still remains of it today and it includes racism against other ethnic groups as well. And the feeling of isolation Crooks experienced applies to other people who are excluded because of race. For example, when I first came to the US at the age of 12, my English was not as great as the speech of fluent speakers. Most of my classes were diverse; however, when I stepped into my honors math class, I felt very excluded. Most of the class was white with the exception of a group of Vietnamese students, and I was the only Latino student in the class. For the first few weeks, the