Comparing Sexism In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Were racism and sexism that different on a California ranch 1930’s? In the novel Of Mice and Men, there is evidence of both sexism and racism throughout the story. Curley’s wife and Crooks are both characters who have first witnessed these views first hand. The two characters might be very similar in many ways but they also have differences. Even though Crooks and Curley’s wife are treated in the same ways one of them is not as badly treated as the other. The men of the ranch also have different opinions of the two characters. Curley’s wife and Crooks are both badly treated throughout this story. They both aren’t allowed to talk to the other men at the ranch and are kept away from them. The two of them are outside of the group of men because of their differences. Both Crooks and Curley’s wife are unable to socialize with people which cause them to long for friendship. Another similarity between them is that they are more constant at the ranch. Curley’s wife and Crooks have many similarities but they also have differences. There are more than just similarities between the characters, there are also many differences between the way Crooks and Curley’s wife are treated at the ranch. A difference between them is Curley’s wife is given some attention

Between Curley’s wife and Crooks, Crooks is the less powerful of the two. Even though women have lowly ranked in society, African Americans are ranked even lower. The ranch is similar, Crooks is a stable buck who is on the lowest social level at the ranch. In the story, Curley’s wife threatens Crooks that she will tell everyone a lie and they will believe her because she has a higher social status. Crooks has the least amount of power and respect at the ranch. Throughout the story, Curley’s wife is also viewed as an object to own and her owner is Curley. They act as if they can’t talk or be with her because someone else is already in control of