Abstract

John Steinbeck was an American writer with a number of excellent works in fiction. His work, Of Mice and Men is regarded as the masterpiece of the “Realism Literature”. In 1962, the masterpiece Of Mice and Men won him the Nobel Prize for literature and established his unchallengeable position of American literature. Born in the early twentieth century, Steinbeck had experienced the hardship of manual laborer and thus had a strong and deep sympathy for the people on the heights of despair. The breadth of experience and the popular culture of his time had laid the foundations for his success in literary society. Being one of John Steinbeck’s renowned works, Of Mice and Men has generated plenty of controversy on its themes, such as the sense of solitude, the benevolence and wickedness of human nature. This thesis would deeply elaborate on the racism in Of Mice and Men by analyzing the characters, the general context of the Great Depression, and depression in the economy, social security and human nature from the perspective of the title, features of the characters and animal imagery. The purpose of this thesis is to remind readers of an overall picture of the world of complete solitude and images of feeble people in cruel fates.

Key Words: John Steinbeck  racism  Of Mice and Men

摘 要

约翰•斯坦贝克名是20世纪美国最有影响力的作家之一。他的作品《人鼠之间》（又译《人与鼠》）被誉为现实主义文学代表作。1962年，《人鼠之间》为他赢得了诺贝尔文学奖并为其在美国文学史上奠定了不可动摇的地位。生于20世纪初，斯坦贝克目睹了并经历了作为劳动人民的艰难生活，因此，他对这些挣扎在痛苦边缘的人们充满了深切的同情。他的丰富经历以及当时社会的流行文化为他在文学上的成功奠定了基础。作为约翰•斯坦贝克的名作之一，《人鼠之间》在主题上招来了大量争议，比如孤独，比如人性的善与恶。本论题将从题目、人物特色、动物意象等角度，大萧条的内容，如在经济、社会安全及人性道德上的萧条，探究种族主义在人鼠之间这部作品中的体现。本文意图为读者展开一幅关于孤独的画卷，关于弱小的人类在面对命运时无力反抗的景象，希望使读者从这部沉重的社会史诗中深刻认识到大萧条时期美国社会底层劳动人民的悲苦命运，以及欺凌弱小、人不若鼠的畸形现象，从而对该时期美国文学和文化有进一步了解。

关键词：约翰•斯坦贝克 种族主义《人鼠之间》

1 Introduction
John Steinbeck is a widely renowned American writer in the 20th century. His work, Of Mice and Men, which has earned him both the New York Drama Critics Award in 1937 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962, is widely regarded as the masterpiece of the “Realism Literature”. Born in the early twentieth century, Steinbeck had experienced the hardship of manual laborer and thus had a strong and deep sympathy for the people on the heights of despair because of racism etc.