Crooks’ Dreams: a Reflection of Social Inequalities in “Of Mice and Men”

The Elusive American Dream

The author of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, masterfully crafts a compelling argument about how people of varying social classes were treated differently by society at a time when people needed people most. The story Steinbeck creates follows two main characters, an average working-class man named George and a huge man who is physically strong but mentally disabled. Steinbeck uses power structure throughout the novel to show how disadvantaged archetypes are often treated as inferior.

Steinbeck’s main argument is that the American dream is almost impossible to achieve by those put at a social disadvantage by mind, body, race, gender, and even age.

Lennie’s Unattainable Desire

Lennie is, scientifically put, intellectually disabled. Lennie has quite a simple American dream. Lennie wants to tend rabbits. It could be argued that Lennie’s goal is to live off the fat of the land, but when it boils down to its simplest form, Lennie wants some rabbits to pet. Now, having rabbits is more complex than it sounds; to have rabbits, you need a place to put them; to have a place to put them, you need land. This is where George comes into play. George is essentially Lennie’s guardian, ensuring Lennie’s childish mindset does not cause him to be put to death.

Regarding power structure, George is the major authoritarian in Lennie’s life. This passage demonstrates this when Lennie says: “George ain’t gonna let me tend no rabbits now” (Steinbeck 87). This illustrates how George dictates what Lennie can and cannot do. The dream to live off the fat of the land belongs to George.
Unfortunately for George, this dream is nearly impossible for him to attain, but alas, God has burdened him to watch over Lennie. Despite this, the story puts them in a position where, against all odds, the dream is within grasp. At this point, Lennie’s straightforward dumbness shatters the whole plan. Curley’s Wife treats Lennie as a child; this is a mistake. Upon asking him to sit and chat, she invites him to satisfy his desire to pet something soft in her hair. Lennie snaps her neck and ends up in a situation without a solution. Because society treated Lennie as a child, his dream was shattered.

Crooks’ Dreams and Power Dynamics

Crooks is a character representative of two different social disadvantages. A crook is a black man with a crooked spine; during this period, black people were looked down on as inferior, and it certainly did not help that he had a physical handicap, as a horse kicked him at a young age. Crooks has been sentenced to a life as a stable buck by society. Regardless of his dream, it would be unattainable, lest his dream was to do manual labor and live in a horse barn for the remainder of his existence. This is undoubtedly unfair as he was born black, and society scorned him for it, and it is near impossible to prevent a horse that wants to kick you from kicking you. Despite all of this, he has an exciting power structure dynamic.

Crooks seems to have power over Lennie even though he is a black man, as this quote demonstrates: “You got no right to come in my room…” (Steinbeck 68). This is directed at Lennie; it was unheard of at the time for a black man to command a white man, but here Crooks does, and Lennie does not do anything about it. Overall, Crooks was unfairly disadvantaged from birth, but despite this, he still had power over a mentally inferior white man.

Subjugation of Women and Age

Curley’s Wife was considered so vastly unimportant that she did not even earn the luxury of having a name on the farm. Curley’s Wife could have had a name; she allegedly had an agent that could have made her famous. However, her man, who in this period essentially owned her, said no; he made her stay on the farm to be a good wife, and he would keep his hand soft for her. She was expected to do as her husband pleased because she was a woman living in the early 20th century. Just by being born a woman, society forced her to drop her dream because a man said otherwise.

Candy was disprivileged by age. Though Candy was not treated quite as lowly as the other inferior archetypes, he was still treated as inferior to the other men. This is shown when he is left behind when the others go into town: “Candy’s voice answered. ‘Slim went in town…'” (Steinbeck 74). This shows that Candy was left behind with Crooks, Lennie, and Curley’s Wife when the other guys went out on the town. Though Candy was not treated like an object, an animal, or discriminated against, he still was not treated like one of the boys.

At one time, he may have exhibited more kindness and social ability, but now, in his old age, he is treated like a tender child; this is also shown when (Candy’s dog shooter) kills Candy’s dog for him so he will not have to suffer, this is done in a similar fashion that a father comforting a child would do if their dog had to be put down. Overall, though not treated poorly in the same way as many others, Candy is still not treated as a regular blue-collar worker, and the most exciting part is that Candy does not seem to care that he is treated so.

In conclusion, the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck skillfully implemented varying-sized nods to how characters are variably treated due to a social structure that marks them as inferior. This is exhibited throughout the book through multiple characters, such as Lennie, a man born mentally inferior. Crooks was born with a skin color that made him inferior to his fellow man. Curley’s Wife was born into a period when disobeying a man was more of a crime than being beaten by one. Society disregards Candy and casts him away just because he has lived past his prime. All of these characters were representative of a whole archetype of similar people who lived in this time of social injustice. By doing this, Steinbeck weaves a web representing how the American dream is unachievable by those who have been placed under the boots of society.

Reference

1. Steinbeck, J. (1937). Of Mice and Men. New York: Covici, Friede.

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