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Accept Your Differences In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Accept Your Differences Audre Lorde once said in her book of poems, Our Dead Behind Us, “It’s not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences”. We shouldn’t feel ashamed of our differences, we should love ourselves because of them. However, there are many situations where you just feel ashamed of those differences. The characters of John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men reveal that everybody’s different, and you should accept their differences. The character Lennie is discriminated because his mental state isn’t particularly the same as everybody else’s. Since he has these mental disabilities, he struggles to communicate with people, control his emotions, and keep a strong memory. …show more content…

Curley’s wife was the only woman who was brought up in Of Mice and Men, and she wasn’t even given a name. There are many examples of her diverseness in the text involving how she acts, what she looks like, and for just being a woman in general. One example that shows her discrimination is a conversation between George and some of the other guys in the novel. While the guys were talking about the attention Curley’s new wife desires, George was worried about her being a burden. George says, “‘She’s gonna make a mess. They’s gonna be a bad mess about her. She’s a jail bait all set on the trigger. That Curley got his work cut out for him. Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her’” (Steinbeck 51). He only thinks that she’s going to cause trouble, yet he’s barely even talked to her. The only reason he believes this is because she’s a women. Because of being a woman, Curley’s wife deals with being left out all the way up until she dies. Later on in the book, we get introduced to a character who is African American, named Crooks. During Crooks whole life, he’d been treated differently for what he looked like. As a matter of fact, Crooks said, “‘There wasn't another colored family for miles around. And now there ain't a colored man on this ranch an' there's jus' one family in Soledad.'

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165 Words | 1 Pages

She thinks this because she is a white female and Curley’s wife, and Crooks is black. She is expressing her power, and taking advantage of Crooks. She does this because she recognizes he cannot do anything about it. Curley’s wife then takes the conversation farther, “ Well you keep your place then nigger. I could

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234 Words | 1 Pages

Throughout the book, gender exemplifies discrimination by the only woman on the ranch. She is the wife of the boss’s son. Curley’s Wife is called a “tart” by some of the men, because of the way she dresses. Curley’s wife is lonely; therefore, she manipulates the men on the ranch with her looks to talk to her. Nobody enjoys talking to her

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718 Words | 3 Pages

”(Steinbeck 87). This shows how lonely she really is on the farm. Nobody will talk to her because they don 't want to upset the boss 's son. Curley’s wife

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338 Words | 2 Pages

Lennie’s handicap forces him to obey his conscience. He has little perception of right and wrong. John Steinbeck stresses this through the difficulties George and Lennie face as migrant workers in the great depression. Due to Lennie’s handicap it is difficult for him to know what he is doing wrong when he is making a mistake. “I did a real bad thing.

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493 Words | 2 Pages

Curley's wife's manipulative nature is evident throughout the novel. She uses her looks to "control" the men on the ranch, as seen in her conversation with Candy and Crooks. For example, when she says to Candy and Crooks, “If I catch any one man, and he's alone, I get along fine with him”(Steinbeck, 77).

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1543 Words | 7 Pages

Beginning with the introduction of Curley’s wife to the story, it is obvious that she faces sexism and is treated poorly compared to and by the men. She faces bigotry and mistreatment from nearly every person that she interacts with. All of this malapropism can explain her behavior throughout the novel. The fact that almost every conversation about Curley’s wife includes a remark about how she is a slut and should not be hanging around other men, shows that the men only view her as less than human. She is called explicit names, objectified, and abused by almost everyone.

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720 Words | 3 Pages

Curley is such a jealous man that he can’t handle his wife talking to other people and because of that, he puts restrictions on who she can talk to. Curley’s Wife, though, is generally an independent woman and a rule breaker, but what sets her apart from the some characters in

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168 Words | 1 Pages

A theme that is emerging from the story is discrimination against people with disabilities. The central problem is about Lennie’s struggle to remember things. For an example, when Lennie and George were at the Weed, Lennie touched a girl’s dress, refusing to let go of her. When Lennie refused to let go of the girl’s dress, the girl accused Lennie of rape. Another example is when Lennie is talking to Curley’s wife Lennie explains to Curley’s wife that when Lennie was playing with his pup, the pup looked like he was going to bite Lennie, so Lennie smacked him.

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218 Words | 1 Pages

I do not agree with Meester’s analysis on this character Curley. She writes, “But if sexism is one of the featured themes, why not say it? As clear as day, the color of his skin is the reason for segregation. A modern audience cringes and immediately identifies. Such an explanation is never given as to why Curley's wife is shunned.”

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1182 Words | 5 Pages

George says, “She’s gonna make a mess… That Curley got his work cut out for him. Ranch with a bunch of guys on it ain’t no place for a girl, specially like her” (Steinbeck 51). The men all know that Curley’s wife is a flirt, and Steinbeck makes it clear to readers that she puts herself out there and throws herself at people. Curley’s wife is treated very poorly by every single man working on the ranch. Readers, especially young boys, will receive the wrong impression on the correct way to treat women.

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435 Words | 2 Pages

The reader is led to believe this through the author's quotes when Lennie asks, "Why ain't you wanted?”, and Crooks responds, "Because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” (P. 68). The reader understands that Crooks is not accepted by the other workers on the ranch because of his race.

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602 Words | 3 Pages

Respect Esteem, rather than tolerance, must be the goal to lessen prejudice in life. Discrimination is frequently based on a person’s knowledge, age, or race. For many reasons, people suffer from loneliness as a result of this kind of discrimination. Everybody should receive fair treatment. In the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, one can see how discrimination greatly affects Lennie and Crooks, which is important because it shows the detrimental effects of oppression and loneliness.

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833 Words | 4 Pages

The reader is positioned to view her negatively as she uses her beauty as power to seduce the workers on the farm and make her husband jealous. The men often complain about her throughout the novel, calling her names that no woman would ever appreciate. Candy tells George and Lennie his honest opinion of Curley’s wife, “You know what I think?” George did not answer. “Well, I think Curley’s married…a tart.”

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842 Words | 4 Pages

Steinbeck: who has deliberately places her in the book to emphasise the known fact that women were not respected in the 1930’s. They were there to provide relief to the mans needs and be able to start a family. Basically treated like they were nothing. The audience discovers this through the fact that the only other female characters in the book are prostitutes. “"...Seems like Curley is cockier'n ever since he got married."

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973 Words | 4 Pages

Sexism is shown in the book when Curley’s wife is regarded as a bitch merely owing to the fact that she is flirtatious and wears appealing clothes. People are prejudiced against Curley’s wife because she is a woman and also because she wears makeup and dresses. She is constantly called derogatory terms throughout the book simply because of her appearance and coquettish actions. She is perceived as Curley’s property so she is not to be looked at or spoken to.

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