How does Steinbeck create the characters of Crooks and Curley's wife in the novel?

John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men depicts life during
the Great Depression in the 1920's. Life during this point in time were very different
than today.

Blacks were not looked at as being equal
citizens. They were still referred to by the "N" word. White women were looked at as
having more rights, but they were still seen as below
men.

Steinbeck used the characters of Crooks and Curley's
wife to illustrate the ways in which both blacks and women were not held up in the same
way as white men. The characterizations have provided many critics to examine the text
from both feminist perspectives and Critical Race theory
perspectives.

As for how he created the characters, no one
knows the truth behind the actual reason other than Steinbeck himself. The only thing
critics and analyzers can do is make educated guesses or assumptions about the
"hows."

One could easily justify that Steinbeck wanted to
show how women existed without true identities (they were part of their husband's
identity) and how blacks were treated (could not stay with white workers and were
treated badly by whites).