the first prejudice i noticed was the racism towards black people in the time the book was written racism in the usa was common to the extent that it was counted as normal the way it is first suggested when candy refers the charecter crooks as a nigger this is the first notion towards the times racial views but in the book never refers to the charecters saying this to be mean or racal this helps me make the conclusion that The men don’t mean to insult Crooks every time they call him this, but they never think to use his name which tells you alot about the author and the time at which the book was written and the time it refers to.
the charecter that shows this prejudice is called crooks is interesting to the reader he is one the only permenent enployes at the ranch yet but yet has undoubtitly the worst prejudice towards him this the author is kind to him in the way he gives him a name a background story and ges into detail when describing him this may lead to the reader beliving that the author is not racist or has diffrent views to the stereo typical wight man of the time in queston but that view is challenged by the notion that the author is to free to use racist terms crooks is a stable buck he is disfigured due to a horse kicking him in the back his back gives him constant pain He is the only black man around and feels isolated due to his colour this leads him to feel that he can’t go into the bunk-house or socialise with the men All this has made him proud and aloof. but He still feels lonely he discloses this to lennie when he comes into his room“S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy ’cause you were black… A guy needs somebody – to be near him… I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick”. the little time he spends with the other ranch hands is when he plays hoseshoes He has his own room near the stables and has a few possessions. He has books, which show he is intelligent and an old copy of the California Civil Code, which suggests he is concerned about his rights
February 4, 2012 at 11:15 pm
Mehdi, I’m really impressed with your thinking on this. All of your points are valid and thoughtful. I would encourage you to continue with this kind of individual response because you clearly have very well-thought-through responses.
To develop this for the purposes of the controlled assessment, you’ll want to:
– Break your paragraphs up into sentences. This will make your thinking much clearer to the reader and allow you to develop your points with greater precision
– Add a quotation for EVERY point you make. In your piece above, you make about 5 great points, but only have one long quote at the end. Ideally you’d also have 5 quotes to match.
– Make sure you focus your points on the question – which is how the relationship between the minority characters and Lennie/George help you to understand the prejudices of the time. I need to repeat that EVERYTHING you have written above is suitable for the assessment, but some extra links to how these things are shown through the relationships in the novel are needed. e.g. when you say “the men don’t mean to insult Crooks” – find a quotation of them treating him with dignity and use it to support your point.
– Avoid saying “I think” – just leave that part out and speak with confidence as if your points are facts.
Great work my man,
Mr Waugh