OMAM Harshness and Violence essay - please mark

Hello everyone,
It would be fantastic if someone could look through and mark my Unit 1 OMAM essay (20 marks) of the theme Harshness and Violence WJEC, thanks!

Harshness and Violence - OMAM essay

America in the 1930's was a rough and the harsh time for migrant workers, black people and old people, where racism, ageism, and migration was common and a huge problem. Additionally, men in the 1930's were very toxic in presenting their masculinity by hitting women and using violence often.

Curley is seen as the main perpetrator of violence as he represents many toxic men in the 1930's and Steinbeck included him in the book to show how violent and brutal toxic masculinity was. when Curley initially see's & George and Lennie, he "clenched his fist" The verb "clenched" indicates how Curley immediately resorts to violence and harshness, before even meeting George and Lennie. This shows how toxic masculinity was a common issue many people faced, and also it also portrays how in 1930's America, men needed to have the most power and craved for it. However the we see that true masculinity lies within Kindness and compassion, which the character Slim possesses. Steinbeck intention with Slim's character is that you don't have to be violent and harsh to be masculine and strong.

Next, Candy and Candy's dog are both victims of harshness and violence in the 1930's. Carlson points out how "that dog ain't no good to itself." The phrase "no good" indicates how old animals and old people are useless and not needed in the environment. Old people in the 1930's were often treated with brutality, Since many can't do labour because of old age, and therefore would be sacked and homeless. They would also typically have nobody since nobody cared about them and had no family. Additionally, 1930s of America was predominantly Darwinian, meaning the preservation of the strong required the destruction of the weak. Steinbeck's intention with Candy and his dog was to show how ageist and brutal America was to old people.

Crooks is arguably the most impacted on the harshness of 1930's America, and the reader feels a lot of empathy for him. We see how he is treated different "because I'm black" when the Lennie asks "why ain't you wanted?" The interrogative sentence Lennie asks implies how simple this question is, and the fact that Crooks has to deal with racism is disgusting. Steinbeck shows how such a simple character asks a simple question of why Crooks isn't wanted, showing how racism isn't a complicated matter, it should be considered a bad and hated idea. America in the 1930's was extremely racist, segregating whites from black's, and Steinbeck knew this was terribly occurrence.

George and Lennie are also victims of the harsh society of America in the 1930's, where they dream of living "offa the fatta the lan'" This simple dream of owning land and vegetation is destroyed the through the killing of Curley's Wife, and because of this George must kill Lennie. This portrays how America was harsh and difficult in the 1930's, as Crooks says, "and nobody gets no land" Steinbeck wanted to show how hard it was for migrant workers to live in society, as Steinbeck was once a migrant worker.

Overall, the book is based around how difficult it was to live in 1930's America, and how violent and harsh society was to many people. Steinbeck wanted to share how disgusting and vulgar America was in the 1930's.

If you could give a grade, that would be great!