Lennie And Crooks Discrimination

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Individuals Coping with Racial/Disability Discrimination

“You’re a retard!” Did that surprise you there? For most people, it did not really hurt as it is thought of more as lame insult. However for others, it is a whole different story. In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, Lennie and Crooks are different from the rest of the characters.The story takes place in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression. During that time, the colored had no rights and the disabled were not respected. They diverge from the other characters because Lennie has a disability and Crooks is black. People can easily discriminate others for their color or disability because our society prejudice the “normal” rather than having equality. Do you ever wonder what they are feeling when you say these things to them? They feel like they …show more content…
He is a worker on the ranch that is old and also lost his left hand due to an accident. Since he is old and not useful, he can not do as much work on the farm as the others. The others take advantage of that and Carlson kills Candy’s best friend, his dog. Carlson says that it will take him out of his misery. Candy’s dog symbolizes the old and disabled are not valued on the ranch. Just like his dog, Candy is also not valued on the ranch like the others. Similarly, in the book Between the World and Me, Ta-nehisi Coates explains the life living as a black male in America. In the book, he says “I recall learning these laws clearer than I recall learning my colors and shapes, because these laws were essential to the security to my body”(8). This quote is another sign of symbolism. He use the word “Body” to symbolize freedom or liberty. He is trying to explain that the laws are to protect our freedom and liberty, but the colored are still not treated the same. This shows that the injustice with authority can do anything while the minority are
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