In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses stereotypes and discrimination to convey a message .
of how the characters feel. A lot of the stereotypes and clichés are just common beliefs of the times, but a .
few are situational. To quote a quite distinguished reader, "Characters are trapped'- either by what others .
think of them, or by their situation." A lot of the character's feelings about themselves and what others .
think of them will lead to loneliness. .
Crooks is a character who is mistreated in many ways because he is black. Crooks is the stable buck of .
the barn. It's not certain whether Crooks is his name, or his nickname, but we know he got kicked in the .
back by a horse and had a crooked back ever since. Nevertheless he gets yelled at by the boss every time .
something's wrong. " The boss gives him hell when he's mad. But the stable buck don't give a damn .
about that, " says Candy, p.32. Crooks also isn't allowed in the bunk houses because people say he stinks. .
Crooks talks with Lennie in the book, "Crooks laughed again. A guy can talk to you an' be sure you won't .
go blabbin'." p.78. This most likely makes Crooks feel not wanted at all, Which roots to loneliness. .
Lennie is not so much stereotyped, but rather trapped because of his size. Because Lennie is so big, .
Curley thinks he has to prove something by beating up Lennie. Lennie gets on Curley's bad side when he .
didn't do anything wrong. Lennie is then forced to fight. " I don't want no trouble, he said plaintively. .
Don't let him sock me, George. " p.32. This is not an everyday discrimination like racism. It's one of .
those circumstantial incidents that was described in quote in the introduction. This is an excellent example .
of how John Steinbeck uses extraordinary circumstances to create appeal and realism to the reader. .
Curley's wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch. Because of the way she looks and acts, people .
think she is easy, or a "tart".
