Examples Of Eugenics In Of Mice And Men

Undertones of Eugenics in Of Mice and Men

People are influenced by their surroundings. Environmental influences allows for the birth of many leaders and actions. In this case, it is seen that Steinbeck wrote this book due to his experiences in California and the Great Depression. The laws that ostracized and allowed for the euthanization and sterilization of people with mental disabilities drove the literary piece Of Mice and Men to be written. A recurring theme throughout the novel consists of death and disabilities, also known as eugenics. This topic leads the audience into the dark alleyway that is Steinbeck’s writing. A crude and realistic issue is displayed in his literary work. Steinbeck, influenced by his surroundings, interpolates the

Lennie demonstrates a mental incapacity and inherently destructive tendencies from the start. As a result, Lennie struggles to reminisce anything and fixates himself on two major obsessions: owning rabbits and making George happy. Lennie is incapable of possessing any cognitive skills or remorse, and therefore may be considered a detriment to society. Lennie is depicted as someone who kills with ease. For the most part, Lennie does not intend to hurt others, but sometimes his power exceeds his control. “As for Lennie [..] ‘He ain’t mean…. He’s jes’ like a kid….’ Lennie’s killing of Curley’s wife, as of the mice and puppies earlier in the book, is done out of some level of love and innocence,” (Lisca 82) suggest Peter Lisca, who has been writing about Steinbeck for a quarter of a century. Although he does not carry ill will, Lennie holds the mind of an underdeveloped child and the body of a brute man, “Course he ain’t mean. But he gets in trouble alla time because he’s so God damn dumb” (41). Due to his circumstances,

Environment along experiences allow people to shape their beliefs. Their current position in the vastness that one calls space and the immortality of an idea that one calls time places one within different circumstances from that of your neighbor. It is narrowed down to environmental influences, which Steinbeck is often inspired by. It is is seen through novels such as the Grapes of Wrath, and in Of Mice and Men that Steinbeck writes out of experiences, ideologies, and notions of the time. Steinbeck was born and raised in Salinas, California, where many of the laws regarding eugenics were passed. Although he came from an affluent family, he was fascinated by the farmer life and wanted to discover more. At the time he left to experience the farmer life, the Great Depression hit. Therefore, the mixture of society’s notions with laws marginalizing a certain group of people gave birth to the book Of Mice and Men, where Steinbeck accurately demonstrates the population's fears and thoughts. Lennie represents the mentally disabled peoples, while George represents the population and their beliefs during the time. Michael S. Kimmel, a sociologist in gender studies and editor of academic journal Men and Masculinities, solidifies the flourishing idea of eugenics by stating, “The fusion of masculinity and eugenics became a subtext in