From your reading of the novel so far, (up to and including chapter four), comment on the way in which the theme of prejudice is presented.

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From your reading of the novel so far, (up to and including chapter four), comment on the way in which the theme of prejudice is presented.

The subject of prejudice is one of the major themes throughout the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’. There are three main characters that suffer prejudice from others, although this isn’t always intentional. Crooks, Candy and Curley’s wife are all examples of characters that are discriminated against, whether because of race, sex, age or appearance. Lennie receives some prejudice, however not nearly as much as the others.

Candy is the oldest of all the ranch workers, and has lost his hand (presumably in a working accident), so therefore is resigned to be the swamper, as he can’t do anything more. Because of this, he is isolated from the other workers in the bunkhouse due to his age and disability, and has become incredibly lonely.

Candy is one of the three pairings in the novel, a relationship that is quickly destroyed. At the start of the novel, he is not as lonely as his old sheepdog provides company for him so his seclusion does not affect him hugely. However, in chapter 3, the other members of the group pressure him into allowing Carlson to shoot his dog, on the basis that he “Don’t know nothing that stinks so bad as an old dog.” Although Candy loves his dog and doesn’t want it dead, he eventually gives up and allows Carlson to take away his dog and shoot it. This shows how desperate he is for the other workers to like him more: that he would allow his only real friend on the ranch to be killed just to please the others in the bunkhouse. This also shows the amount of prejudice Candy suffers: it was inevitable that his dog was going to be killed, and if it had come to it he probably would have had no say in the matter. The event is foreshadowing of the fact that Candy is also old, and he too will die sooner than any of the other men. Further prejudice is seen as Slim offers him another dog from his new litter of puppies. The other ranch workers cannot see his misery, and treat him more like an animal by simply offering to replace what has been lost.

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Another of the victims of prejudice is Curley’s wife, who is never given a name during the novel, to show that she has become one of Curley’s possessions in the eyes of the workers, and, like all women, could never be treated as an equal. She is treated very harshly, suffering much verbal violence, for example being referred to as a ‘bitch’, ‘tramp’, ‘poison’, ‘jailbait’ and a ‘looloo’. Most of these names are said in a cruel way, however some are merely how the workers refer to all women in general. Because of the neglect that she is given ...

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