In 1930s America, during the time of The Great Depression, a man called John Steinbeck wrote a novel entitled ‘Of Mice and Men’. This novel was loosely based around the ‘American Dream’ which struck for change within society at that time. The American Dream, is the suggestion that everyone would be treated equally within the community and also around the basis that if you are to work hard enough, you will achieve success. Steinbeck included a character within his novel named ‘Candy’. Candy isn’t considered to be equal, as he has a disability and he is significantly older than the other characters, making him ineligible for the American Dream. Steinbeck uses this novel to show society at this time, that the American dream cannot be achieved.
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The fight Candy is describing was between a character called ‘Smitty’, and another character named ‘Crooks’, who is the only black person living on the ranch. When Candy first begins to describe the fight he says “Little skinner name of Smitty took after the nigger’. Using this derogatory choice of words Candy shows how Crooks is also considered an inequality. Steinbeck uses the word ‘nigger’ as black people during this time were still considered to be lower in comparison to people who were white. Candy later goes on to say ‘he would’ve killed the nigger’, as Candy continues his story he still uses the word ‘nigger’ and also, his excitement towards the situation grew which proves that, at the time of the novel people didn’t care for blacks and what happened to them; they could be killed, and no one seemed to care. When explaining why Crooks was not killed in the fight the whole sense of the story changed, the excitement almost changed to disappointment; ‘nigger’s got a crooked back’ he said. Steinbeck created a character that will never achieve the American Dream, he is a black, disabled man in a time where neither were treated like people; almost to convince society there’s something wrong. The sympathy towards Candy grows throughout this paragraph of the novel as he is also part of the minority on the ranch, and is also a part of the inequality …show more content…
Steinbeck does this in order for society to understand that the characters within the novel are going through the same sort of situations as well as having the same hopes as people during the time it was written. Steinbeck chose to theme the novel around his surrounding society as a way to make it change, because within novel and at the time, The American Dream was not achievable if people continued how they was. There are many heart wrenching backstories for the characters within the novel as a way to get people to care and relate to them. By doing this, Steinbeck convinced thousands of people that society and the people within it would need to change if they wanted to achieve the American Dream of equality and
The fight Candy is describing was between a character called ‘Smitty’, and another character named ‘Crooks’, who is the only black person living on the ranch. When Candy first begins to describe the fight he says “Little skinner name of Smitty took after the nigger’. Using this derogatory choice of words Candy shows how Crooks is also considered an inequality. Steinbeck uses the word ‘nigger’ as black people during this time were still considered to be lower in comparison to people who were white. Candy later goes on to say ‘he would’ve killed the nigger’, as Candy continues his story he still uses the word ‘nigger’ and also, his excitement towards the situation grew which proves that, at the time of the novel people didn’t care for blacks and what happened to them; they could be killed, and no one seemed to care. When explaining why Crooks was not killed in the fight the whole sense of the story changed, the excitement almost changed to disappointment; ‘nigger’s got a crooked back’ he said. Steinbeck created a character that will never achieve the American Dream, he is a black, disabled man in a time where neither were treated like people; almost to convince society there’s something wrong. The sympathy towards Candy grows throughout this paragraph of the novel as he is also part of the minority on the ranch, and is also a part of the inequality …show more content…
Steinbeck does this in order for society to understand that the characters within the novel are going through the same sort of situations as well as having the same hopes as people during the time it was written. Steinbeck chose to theme the novel around his surrounding society as a way to make it change, because within novel and at the time, The American Dream was not achievable if people continued how they was. There are many heart wrenching backstories for the characters within the novel as a way to get people to care and relate to them. By doing this, Steinbeck convinced thousands of people that society and the people within it would need to change if they wanted to achieve the American Dream of equality and