Chapter 4 in Of Mice and Men, paints a very realistic portrait of racism in the 1930s. One way in which racism is explored in this chapter is the fact that Crooks, the one African-American introduced in the story, has his own room away from the bunkhouse and everyone else. " 'I been here a long time,' he(Candy) said. 'An' Crooks been here a long time. This's the first time I ever been in his room.' Crooks said darkly, 'Guys don't come into a colored man's room very much. Nobody been here but Slim. Slim an' the boss.' "(75). This shows that white and black people were very separated, and there was much racial segregation. I don't know where I would fit in during that time period, considering I'm both.
Another way in which racism is explored in this chapter is when Curly's wife comes into Crooks' room. "She turned on him in scorn. 'Listen, nigger,' she said. 'You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?' Crooks stared hopelessly at her, and then he sat down on his bunk and drew into himself. She closed on him. 'You know what I could do?' Crooks seemed to grow smaller, and he pressed himself against the wall. 'Yes, ma'am.' 'Well, you keep your place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny.' "(80-81). As you can see, Crooks could have stood up to Curly's wife, and he did. After that warning, however, it would have made things much, much worse than it already was for Crooks.This shows just how awful African-Americans were treated during this time period. They were treated with disrespect, like animals. Life wasn't fair for them. They didn't have nearly as many rights as white people had. White people had all the power, and blacks were powerless. They were white people's slaves. There were no equal rights. Where do you think Crooks got his name from?
As a result of reading this chapter, readers could understand that racism was just a normal thing during this time period, though it was--and is-- indeed horrific. It shows that racism was a major problem that wasn't fixed until some time after, with people like Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. standing up to it at last. It's like what Crook did to Curly's wife. However, because he barely had any power, powerless even, he couldn't have done a thing to save himself, and he very well could have ended up getting killed, all because of standing up to one insignificant person. Thankfully, racism is not nearly as big as a problem today than it was back then.
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