During the 1930s, the ranch workers had to travel from ranch to ranch because of The Great Depression. Unemployment rose from 3% to over 26% by 1934. The people would get field jobs and would have to work in harsh conditions. On top of that they would get paid very little money. They had no choice because if they didn’t work on a ranch then they were less likely to work in other businesses.
Everyone has a dream of having a better life. In the USA, this is known as the ‘American Dream’. This term was first used by James Truslow Adams in his book ‘The Epic of America’ which was written in 1931. He states that The American Dream is "dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” Throughout the novel, we see how every ranch workers share the same dream. They all want to have their own land where they can be their own bosses and have stability in their life. George and Lennie have a dream, even before they arrive at their new job on the ranch, to make enough money to live "off the fat of the land" and be their own bosses. Lennie will be permitted then to tend the rabbits. Candy, upon hearing about the dream, wanted to join them, so that he would not be left alone.
Crooks also wanted to join them so that he wouldn't be alone. Also Curley’s wife has a dream, it is different in detail from the other's dreams but is still very similar in its general desires. She wants companionship so much that she will try to talk to people who don't want to talk to her, like all the men on the ranch. She also wants to be an actress in Hollywood. She imagines how great it would be to stay in nice hotels, own lots of beautiful clothes, and have people want to take her photograph.
The treatment of women during the 1930’s was often bad. Women were forced by the economic crisis to leave the comfort of their homes to take up jobs to help their families. Even though it was tough, this gave them the opportunity to gain a place in society. However, their status was still below men. They weren’t allowed to vote at the same age as men. Many women were locked up in their homes all day.
In the 1930s, many races were still treated as lower than others. Not only were African Americans discriminated against but also any of the more oriental groups were treated the same way, more so in the south than the north. African Americans were primary targets for the white people. Because of racism, a law of segregation was brought in. Black people were segregated from the white people. The white people were given more power. Most people in American society showed no respect or decency towards black people simply because of their colour. Segregation applied to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a washroom, attending school, and going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home.
Crooks is introduced in the story in the following way, ‘Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn.’ This shows that black people at that time weren’t treated well. Crooks is called ‘Crooks’ because his body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine. He is treated so poorly that he doesn’t even deserve a name. He was introduced when holding an animal. He was introduced to George and Lennie by Candy. He wasn’t introduced properly. “Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger.” The ranch workers treated Crooks really terribly. He is very intelligent and reads a lot (not normal at that time, in that place), but this intelligence is wasted, in my view.
The ranch workers treated him differently to others. They wouldn’t allow him to enter the bunk house. Although he is lonely, he would rather stay away from the ranch workers because of the way they treat him. “He kept his distance and demanded that other keep theirs.” However, he still wanted to have friends. “Know what he done Christmas? Brang a gallon of whisky right in here and says, “drink hearty, boys. Christmas comes but once a year.”” This shows that Crooks only gets to go in the bunk house once a year. Generally he keeps himself away from the bunk house and has a room to himself. This is because of the boundaries between black and white people. Crooks knows that he is not welcome in the bunk house; ‘I ain’t wanted in the bunk house and you ain’t wanted in my room.’ Crooks also knows that he is not welcome because of the colour of his skin: ‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play cause I’m black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, all of you stink to me.’ Although he is well educated he doesn’t get treated the same way the other men on the ranch get treated. He is one of the most permanent workers on the ranch because he has crooked back which is caused because he got kicked by a horse in the back on the ranch.
Crooks gets annoyed when Lennie enters his room because he thinks that Lennie would treat him like the other people on the ranch treat him. Slowly he starts to understand that Lennie is different. He lets him in and wants to let Lennie know how he feels. "S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that? S'pose you had to sit out here an' read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody - to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick." He then torments Lennie by saying George will abandon him. This is because he wants Lennie to know what it would be like if he was lonely. ‘You would go nuts’. In search of Lennie, Candy comes by Croooks’ room but he feels embarrassed to come in. Crooks welcomes him in. Candy doesn’t want to go inside the room because he too knows the boundaries.
Crooks is marginalized because he is black. During this period in the USA, black people were treated as second-class citizens. Although Crooks is a man he is treated as lower than Curley’s Wife. This is because Curley is the boss’s son and Crooks is black. The people Curley’s wife has power over are Lennie and Crooks. Crooks is scared of Curley’s wife because he is black and he would lose his job if she spoke a word against him. “Listen nigger, you know what I can do to you if you open your trap. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.” This shows that she has been already threatening him from before. After she enters the barn where Lennie, Crooks and Candy were talking, she changes the atmosphere. She makes him feel the same as before. She makes him feel like he can’t achieve the American dream.
Curley’s wife at the beginning doesn’t play an important role but at the end she does. She is not treated well. She is known as all the bad names such as ‘bitch’ and ‘tart’. She was introduced with these terms. She was introduced by Candy to George and Lennie. Women were also considered intellectually inferior to men. They were often seen as a source of temptation and evil. Women were generally considered naturally weaker than men, and unable to perform work requiring muscular or intellectual development. Because of these reasons, Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch. She married Curley because she wanted to be rich and wanted to be in the movies, “He ain’t nice fella …could’ a been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes…” She hangs around the bunk house and the stable because she is lonely and she is looking for companionship which she doesn’t get from Curley. She feels lonely, “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” But the men will not accept her as a friend. The men don’t want her in the bunk house because they think she is a temptation and evil. She always insults them because no one wants to talk to her. Everyone knows that they can’t talk back to her because she is the daughter-in-law of the boss. She could make them lose their job.
Curley’s wife hangs around with weak people because they would not refuse her. The weak people in the novel are Lennie and Crooks. Lennie is lonely because although he is allowed to talk to everyone he would rather talk to George. He doesn’t think of her as a sex object. She talks to Crooks because he can’t turn away. Crooks wants some companionship as well as her but she treats him badly. She shows her power over him. “I could get you lynched so easy it ain’t even funny.” George warns Lennie about her. This shows that men in 1930s America thought women could put men into danger. George didn’t want Lennie to stay with her because Curley might find out and they might have to travel to somewhere else or she might cause chaos.
Curley’s wife is described differently at the end of the story. She is described as ‘sweet’ and in a way that she has never been described before. This is because of her murder which was caused by Lennie. She is described as, “She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young.” It is as if her nasty ways have gone and she can be seen for what she was, a pretty young girl.
Curley’s wife was described differently after her death. She wasn’t described like a ‘tart’ ‘looloo’ ‘bitch’, or any bad words. She was described as ‘sweet’ ‘innocent’ and many charming words. This is because she wasn’t important at the beginning of the story so John Steinbeck described her how the culture of 1930 would describe her. Curley’s wife and Crooks are similar in a way because both of them need company from other people as they both are lonely. Crooks and Curley’s wife both in a way are hated by other people on the ranch. Because of their race and gender they are weaker than the other people. The ‘American Dream’ wasn’t possible for these characters. Curley’s wife died and Crooks wouldn’t be able to achieve it because people in the society would never allow him his freedom
All the characters had a dream, The American Dream. The dream of Lennie and George was to live "off the fat of the land". They wanted to achieve this dream so Lennie would always want to hear the dream from George. Crooks also wanted to share their dreams and so did Candy. But their dream was ruined because of the death of Curley’s wife. She also had a dream. Her dream was to become an actress in Hollywood. She married Curley because she thought that she could make a lot of money and work in Hollywood. Her dream would never be realised because she died cruelly.
In conclusion, I think that John Steinbeck’s novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ reflects a lot about the culture of 1930’s America. It focuses on various different factors; racism, the treatment of women and the jobs that most American men had. He also shows that one thing can ruin everyone’s dream. The death of Curley’s wife damaged George and Lennie’s dream. Curley’s wife was killed unintentionally by Lennie. George knew that if he didn’t kill Lennie the ranch workers would kill him, so he decided to shoot his only real friend.
Crooks and Curley’s wife are similar in some ways. They are similar in the way they are treated. They are both lonely. They have nobody to talk to. They also have an American dream. Loneliness is a result of being marginalized by society and Steinbeck shows this clearly in his novel.
