Harshness of the time Essay

Of Mice and hands has been described as a novel just about the callousness of the time. What justifications can you find for this? Of Mice and Men is set in 1930s America, an exceedingly prejudiced argona of history. It is a time that criticises and excludes women, black plurality, disabled people and old people, deeming them useless inwardly a utilitarian society. In the novel, Steinbeck represents the harsh prejudices, poverty and injustice with the breeding of itinerant workers, a microcosm of American society at this time.Firstly, the way in which Steinbeck describes the bunkhouse of the ranch immediately identifyms to suggest a harsh environment in which people are forced to live and work in the walls were hush up and the floor unpainted a solid door with a woody latch This description of the ranch suggests a purely utilitarian apostrophize to life, showing a living area with no aesthetic greet whatsoever. It shows no dignity towards the workers, and whats more th ey dont animadvert about its lack of appeal.This gives the impression that ranch workers live with no inspiration, evidently being forced to live a life purely to blend in it rather than enjoy it. The door with a wooden latch and full general unloved atmosphere gives a prison-like esthesis to the bunkhouse, conveying a sense of l cardinalliness and isolation. This lack of communication and friendship could be interpreted as an extremely harsh thing to deal with. In addition to this, the backbreaking racism portrayed by Steinbeck by dint of the character Crooks is just one example of the harsh prejudice that disadvantaged people face in this novel he the boss give the stable buck hell, too ya see the stable bucks a nigger. Crooks is constantly referred to as a nigger, and characters in the novel react to this as a whole normal comment to make, which we see when George reacts to this secern with Nigger, huh? . The detail that the ranch is racially segregated is quite surpr ising for numerous reasons. The novel is set in the West where racism was considered to be less intense, as well as the fact that Steinbeck conveys the American dream as a theme in the novel, suggesting that anyone can make it in America and live off the fatta the down.However it is clear that black people are restricted from bring home the bacon here and this irony except emphasises the harshness of reality for black people during this period in time. In addition to this, the prejudices that women face present the quantify the novel is set in to be extremely harsh, often through Curleys wife She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forwardThe novel does non even dignify Curleys wife with a name, as she is merely referred to as the wife of Curley or simply just a harlot, which suggests that they live in a somewhat patriarchal society where women are seen as purely sex objects. This would suggest that women are not allowed to direct to better things, and live their lives as commodities of men. Another problem that they face is the fact that the only power they can achieve is through their sexuality, but if they choose to expose this, they are criticised for being promiscuous, emphasising the harshness they adjudge to cope with.Furthermore, scraps story of Bill Tenner who got his letter put into a magazine is one of great interest to the ranch-workers, especially Whit, which tells us something about their dreams and aspirations Bill Tenner? Worked here about three months ago Thats the guy Here, Steinbeck portrays a certain tumult within Whit, which we see from the exclamation Thats the guy and this has arisen purely from the fact that one man who he barely knew (as ranch-workers moved from place to place often) had accomplished something that he had woolgather of.This shows a huge lack of ambition among the workers, from the fact that the only excitement for these workers has come from a mere a cquaintance of Whits name being printed in a pulp magazine, which was a baste of inexpensive fiction. This is not only quite pathetic, but also extremely saddening to see grown men become energised by something so seemingly trivial. Although people living in this time period and circumstances would not necessarily see this as harsh, looking at it from todays perspective, in contrast it most definitely seems like an austere environment.In conclusion, the harsh living conditions, inhibitions and prejudices that the majority of the disadvantaged ranch-workers must live with have a clear correlation to the state of American society during The smashing Depression of the 1930s. Steinbeck seems to have created a character for each type of harshness that was experienced, for example, Curleys wife corresponds to sexism, and Candy corresponds to old and disabled people, all of which creates an stainless impression of the harshness of the times that Of Mice and Men is set in.