Which characters receive racial abuse in OMAM?
-Crooks
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Context for racism in the 1930s America
- Racial discrimination was not illegal in 1930s
- whites were seen as superior
- black people paid less than white despite doing harder work
- Crooks -disabled as well as being black, classed him as the lowest in the hierarchical system, resulting in him being paid less than others.
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Give evidence which supports how Crooks was suffered from racism
- derogatory name- referring to crooked back
- physically seperated from others on ranch,
- lives in the barn- considered in the vein of animals-has a lack of his own space- he is not a creature deserving of dignity and empathy
- he is lonely and isolated making him resentful and bitter to the other characters when they
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Give quotes which support how Crooks was treated racially in OMAM
‘Crooks the negro stable buck’- disability and race defines him- used frequently- shows how its normal vocablury to these men
‘a mauled copy of the Californian civil code’- educated, lonely, never be able to use intelligence, supposed to protect him from racism
- ‘Cause I’m black’
- ‘Nobody ever gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land’- Crooks tries to deflate lennies hopes- this shows how
- ‘Crooks’ face lighted with pleasure at the torture’
Analysis of quotes:
‘Crooks the negro stable buck’- disability and race defines him- used frequently- shows how its normal vocablury to these men
- ‘Nobody ever gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land’- Crooks tries to deflate lennies hopes- this shows how
- ‘Crooks’ face lighted with pleasure at the torture’
- disability and race defines him- racial slurs used frequently- shows how its normal vocablury to these men
- he uses the same language to describe himself- showing he understands his place in society
‘a mauled copy of the Californian civil code’- educated, lonely, never be able to use intelligence, supposed to protect him from racism
- wouldn’t have grown up with many educational opportunities as a result of race
- lots of books- suggests Crooks’ desire to educate and improve himself
- Californian civil code outlined the new rights for black people proving they were no longer slaves and should be treated equally to white people
- however crooks= treated almost like a slave, faces casual racism
- book may protect him in practise but not in real world
- ‘mauled’- shows he values the book, read it often, clinging to the proof
- educated, lonely, never be able to use intelligence, supposed to protect him from racism
