Examples Of Exceptionality In Of Mice And Men

All humans are unique. Ranging from characteristics like eye color to ones self stamina. However, from time to time individuals come across others with exceptionalities. An exceptionality is a state of being rare and being easily distinguished among others and to some, that may seem like automatic dominance. Nevertheless, being exceptional does not always mean being the best in one's sport or being the best in one's class. Being blind, dyslexic, or being physically impaired are all exceptionalities that will ultimately make everyday life ten times more strenuous. In Of Mice and Men, a novella written by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck illustrates the nature of humans with exceptionalities to convey the emotions felt by disabled people such as isolation

In this novel, Steinbeck introduced several characters who are either the cause or the target od discrimination. One example of a discriminative relationship is Curley and Lennie. When George and Lennie first arrive on the ranch the two meet a swamper who informs them of Curley. He remarks “Curleys like a lot of little guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with the big guys.” (Steinbeck 26). Similarly, when Curley meets Lennie for the first time, Steinbeck illustrates his glance as “calculating and pugnacious” (Steinbeck 26). Ultimately, Curley is one of the few characters who specifically target Lennie because of his mental disability and he intentionally looks at Lennie quarelly because of his size causing Lennie to feel attacked. Another instance of discrimination is Crooks. In the novella Crooks is the only black man on the ranch, which makes him exceptional. Crooks is often left out from the rest of the ranch men and he explains “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black.” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks is forced to stay in a shed all by himself, isolated from the others and is prohibited from participating in social activities only because of his differences. When certain characters get discriminated against, like Crooks and Lennie, it will cause them to become isolated in their

When one is built physically or mentally different, like a few of the characters in Of Mice and Men, one soon will feel an intense wave of loneliness. For instance, when Lennie and George are traveling to the ranch, George informs Lennie of the isolation ranch men experience exclaiming “Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world.” (Steinbeck 13). Even though Geroge feels a sense of isolation, Lennie experiences more intense feelings of isolation because he is unable to connect with others due to his intellectual disability. Likewise, the character Crooks, is also isolated as well. While Lennie and Crooks have a conversation in Crooks’ shack, Crooks remarks “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you,” (Steinbeck 73). Crooks is the only character that is physically isolated from others because he carries traits that are “abnormal”. This specific dialogue from Crooks exhibits his own feelings of loneliness even though he is described as a “proud, aloof man” (Steinbeck