Comparison Of Characters In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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In the novella, Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck illustrates a ranch in the 1930’s during the great depression where those who fit into mainstream society run the show, and those deemed “outcasts” are rendered useless. Steinbeck depicts characters with setbacks that diminish their value in the eyes of society, and contrasts them to characters that have no difficulties conforming to the norm. Crooks, being a black man isolated by his race, and Candy, a elderly man limited by his age and missing limb are examples of Steinbeck characters that experience hardships because of the differences. The poor treatment of Crooks and Candy by the other characters, and their chronic unhappiness in a place that doesn’t value them, comments on how …show more content…

Crooks is excluded and abused, because he is African American. Candy is continuously rejected, and made to feel helpless and unworthy, because he is old and only has one hand. These traits have singled out Crook and Candy, and left them in a state of hopelessness and misery. The awful way that these characters are treated on the ranch embody how those who are different are treated in a uniformitarian society. Steinbeck exposes the horror of a exclusive society through the heartbreak that his characters go through. He highlights the effects of exclusion and isolation based on differences, and ridices them in an effort to make people accept others in the world. Subsequently, humanity is a widespread of people and if people hurt and get rid of others that are different, the world as a whole will be excluding those who might make the planet better. By eliminating those with different traits, the world closes itself off to new ideas and improvement as a human race. Instead of fearing differences, society should embrace them, not break those who are a little