Racial Tension In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

When one thinks of discovering America, Christopher Columbus usually comes to mind. However, to broaden the meaning symbolically is to encompass the finding out about where one lives, how others live, and the life that can result from discovering America through a personal journey. In Travels With Charley and Of Mice and Men, the landscapes, racial tensions, and pursuit of the American dream all figure into Steinbeck's distinctive portrayal of what it means to truly discover America.
Breathtaking landscapes are what make up the most beautiful parts of this Earth. The numbers of stories about self discovery and self worth happen all while watching a sunrise, lying by a streaming riverbed, hiking a forest trail, and so on. The point is that

every human is somehow connected to the landscape. Steinbeck describes his connection to the landscape of Montana in Travels with Charley, where he states, "I’m in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love. And it’s difficult to analyze love when you’re in it," (Steinbeck 158). During this quote, Steinback is captured in the landscape, and realizes how big America actually is. Steinbeck trapped himself in New York for twenty-five years, and felt as if he did not know America anymore, but when he was in Montana he could finally see the real America and understand what he was missing. America is described as "a land of wanderers all merging together to become a new nation," (Fredrico 8). With this merging came the creation of California in 1850, Hawaii in 1959, and Alaska in 1959. This merging of people created a merging of landscapes, and a melting pot for the different mountains, valleys, and riverbends that were all over the United States of America. The fourty-third president of the U.S., George W. Bush, compared America to a land of second oppertunities by saying, "America is the land of the second chance - and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life," (The American Dream). America is referred to as the land of the free, the land of the wanderer, and the land of second chances, and these are only a few of the names she goes by. America is a land that shapes every citizen in her boundary's life. The land is connected to the people after all.
Racial tension has been a huge, yet negative part of United States' culture and history.

Racial tension has played such a big part in American history that it appears as themes for even the most famous novels. In Of Mice and Men, the character of "Crooks" is the biggest symbol of racial discrimination throughout the entire novel. Crooks is a worker on the ranch, just like the main characters Lennie and George, but Crooks is an African-American man. Since there is a difference in race between Crooks and the other workers on the ranch, Crooks has to live in smaller, filthier quarters than the other ranchhands. An article written by eNovels.com goes more in depth about the racial discrimination that Crooks faces in the novel. The article explains an event in the book, where Curly's wife just walks right in to Crooks' room because she thinks she is higher in status than him. The source quotes a line by Crooks that says, "You got no rights comin' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all," in which Curley's wife replies, "Well, you keep your place then. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny," (Steinbeck 17). The source also points out that Crooks and Lennie are both social outcasts. Crooks is because of his race, and Lennie is because of his awkward personality and mental handicap ("How Does Steinbeck Show Racial Discrimination with Crooks in Of Mice and Men?"). Steinbeck shows the audience the discrimination Americans

give to other Americans, and shows how wrong that discrimination can be. At the end of Of Mice and Men, George ultimately has to shoot Lennie before anyone else can because he knows that the other shooter would not be as kind to him because of his mental disability, (George 32). George shows that even in the darkest moments that gentleness and morality are what each and every American citizen deserves.
The American Dream is something that all people want.

Everybody wants a job that pays nicely, but doesn't take up all thier time. Everybody wants love and wants to be loved in return, and everyone wants a home to go to when the day is done. This American Dream was all the hype back in 1848 when settlers would travel thousands of miles across the United States just to reach gold, and to ultimately reach a new life. The California Gold Rush is just one example of how the American Dream has shaped the American people. In Of Mice and Men and Travels With Charley, Steinbeck engages the audience with the protagonist(s)' search for their perfect American dream, ("Steinbeck's Theme of Friendships"). On page 103, the character George describes to his best friend Lennie how they are going to be different than the rest of the other ranchhands. "“George's voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before. 'Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to. But not us. We gon be different," (Steinbeck 103). In Travels With Charley, the main character, Steinbeck himself, emphasizes the theory that all Americans are constantly searching for a better American dream. He says, "I saw in their eyes something I was

to see over and over in every part of the nation- a burning desire to go, to move, to get under way, anyplace, away from any Here. They spoke quietly of how they wanted to go someday, to move about, free and unanchored, not toward something but away from something. I saw this look and heard this yearning everywhere in every states I visited. Nearly every American hungers to move," (Steinbeck 230). Steinbeck's arguement here is that every American, whether native or immagrant, is looking for something better, something they think they have earned the right to deserve. That is the biggest arguement that supports the American Dream. The American Dream is an american right, Steinbeck's arguement claims, and every American is entitled to that right.
American is a land of hopes, dreams, big ideas, and innovative ways of expression. Rafael Cruz said, "Only in America can someone start with nothing and achieve the American Dream. That's the greatness of this country," (The American Dream), and that has never held more true than it did in John Steinbeck's novels Of Mice and Men and Travels With Charley: In Search of American. American history, anyone can see that the United States of America has had her fair share of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Everybody can also see, however, that she has become more beautiful and more experienced over time. She is the promise land, and people have flocked to her for hundreds of years. Whether it be searching the landscape for answers, researching the racially tense past, or finding one's own true American dream, anybody can find their own, personal slice of the United States. All one has to do is start looking.