What Do You Learn About Steinbeck’s View of Human Nature...

This essay is about how John Steinbeck represents human nature and the nice and unfavourable qualities people had during the American depression in the 1930s where the story ‘Of Mice and Men’ took place. The story shows the way different people will react diversely to various situations. In this case, living with the trouble of having to travel to faraway places to search for jobs. It shows how some people can behave overly difficult while others can be calm, friendly and easy to live with. The many characters in the story represent the many different combinations of worthy and unworthy qualities but this essay shall concentrate on three characters Slim, Curley and Crooks. In ‘Of Mice and Men’, John Steinbeck uses the character Slim to†¦show more content†¦Crooks is a very good representation of a victim of one of the worst qualities in humans – racism. He also represents how some people may react to such mistreatment. He shows how the cruelty to victims can change them and cause them to feel lonely and sometimes angry in Crooks’ case. ‘I can’t play because I’m black.’ This shows how racist people exclude him from activities and such like just because he is black in colour showing racial prejudice. Crooks also expresses the intolerance shown towards him by other people when he says ‘If I say something, why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it.’ Another example of the discrimination is when Candy compliments his room and crooks replies in the tone of sarcasm, ‘Sure, and a manure pile under the window.’ His living conditions also show the lack of respect toward s Crooks – his ‘ bunk was a long box filled with hay.’ Although Crooks has to live in this way, John Steinbeck writes how he takes it and gets on with it. ‘He kept his distance and demanded that other people kept theirs. Crooks also shows his loneliness – Sometimes he gets thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so an’ what ain’t so.’ This shows how he, unlike Lennie, has no one to talk to or share thoughts with, no one to express his feelings to or ask a question.