Chapter 4 in Of Mice and Man, paints a very realistic portrait of racism in the 1930s. Discuss at least two ways in which racism is explored in this chapter. Include quotes and your own analysis of key moments in this chapter that clearly demonstrate the racism that existed in the American 1930s. What do readers understand about racism as a result of reading this chapter?
Check out this article titled, "Racial Segregation in the American South: Jim Crow Laws" to gain a better understanding of the timeline of racial segregation in America.
There are a couple of ways that racism is showed in chapter 4 of "Of Mice and Men." One being that right at the beginning, the book expresses that as a black man, Crooks is forced to sleep by himself in the stables, is not allowed into the white ranchers' quarters, is not allowed to play cards with other white ranchers, and is also not allowed to go out into town with other white ranchers. At this point in the story, Steinbeck lets the readers understand that there can be strict separation of human beings just by the color of your skin.
Another part in the chapter that shows racism is when Crooks is telling about his past life to Lennie, when he was on a chicken farm and played with white children. He also tells Lennie of how lonely he felt back then, when his is family was the only black family for miles, and how his father warned him against keeping company with their white neighbors. In this situation, the readers can understand of how cautious blacks had to be when encountering white people, because one wrong step could have gotten them into deep trouble with the law.
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