Crooks was a very lonely man with a lot of dignity and a proud man. Being lonely and isolated for a lengthy period of time he became protective “you have no right to come into my room”. Throughout the book Crooks frequently faces inequality as he isn’t allowed to sleep with the other men in their dormitories and is frequently subject to racist abuse and threats. Things such being called a “nigger” and also that he “stinks” and being threatened by Curley’s wife, “you know what I do if you open your trap” and “I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny”.
This is the reason Crooks has become so defensive. There is a small protest for the weak.
During the time of the Depression, women were looked upon as housewives and family makers whilst men where seen as breadwinners. During this period of time white women were treated more or less the same as black people.
Curley’s wife is seen as a possession, it shows this by her never having a name. However she doesn’t act like a possession as she roams around the workforce attempting to flirt with men. The men just reply to Curley’s wife saying “you got a husband”. Curley’s wife gets frustrated by not being able to talk to any one “why can’t I talk to you, I never got to talk to nobody, I get awful lonely”. This proves that when she is lonely it can lead to her getting into trouble and then ultimately death. Curley’s wife has more power than Crook’s but are both overpowered by white men.
Another character who faces inequality is Candy. Candy is an old man “The Swamper” and has only one hand caused by an accident whilst working. This prevents Candy from doing everyday things. Candy has a dog and has kept it since it was a puppy “I had this dog since it was a pup”. The dog is constantly criticised by Carlson “God almighty that dog stinks”. Candy faces inequality because he is ageing and Carlson assumes that Candy will let him (Carlson) kill his dog. The dog is old and “Having no teeth and is full of rheumatism”. Another reason for inequality is that he gets paid monthly but doesn’t get very much as he can’t do as much as he would like to.
The final character facing inequality is Lennie. Lennie is a big giant who arrived at the ranch with George. He acts, in a way, like a child by not remembering things he should but remembering silly little things such as “tending them rabbits” and “the fat a the land”.
As soon as he enters the ranch to talk with Curley’s dad he asks him why he isn’t talking. This is because he can’t talk properly as he was “kicked in the head when he was a child”. Lennie comes under even more inequality when Curley enters the dormitory to ask George if he had seen his wife. Straight away Curley stared over at Lennie and gave him dirty looks showing that he wasn’t appreciated by Curley. Another form of inequality is where Lennie isn’t clever when he is told to stay away from Curley’s wife, he doesn’t and this result in him killing her. Lennie is compared to a bear because of his great big hands and his bear like tendency to keep hold of things and “petting things”. Lennie relies on George as he acts like a father figure and knows that he is a burden to George. Lennie is at first naïve and innocent but as he falls from grace due to him killing the “pups” and “rabbits” he doesn’t gain the paradise of the dream and is shot dead by his only friend George.
