Examples Of Inequalities In Of Mice And Men

Reese Stroeder

Mrs S Chernishenko

ELA B10

May 24, 2023

Inequalities in Of Mice and Men

In John Stienbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, the characters demonstrate the inequalities seen in our everyday lives. Curley’s wife is not looked at as a true character and person of capable abilities. She struggles to understand her place in life and faces sexism on the ranch in many different ways. Crooks, the stable buck, is a black man who is very lonely. He is treated with racism and segregated from the rest of the work hands because of his colour. Lastly, Lennie, because of his intellectual disability, has faced ableism for his entire life. He cannot understand problems or situations as fast as others and therefore he struggles to live an ordinary

Crooks, the stable buck, is the only black working hand and he struggles to fit in with the rest of the men. He is confined to his own loft and cannot sleep in the same room as the rest of the working men because of the colour of his skin. This shows how separated Crooks is from the rest of the men. He cannot go into town with them, nor can he be in the same room as them to sleep. This causes Crooks to be lonely and isolated, therefore he acts bitter toward the other men. When Lennie, asks Crooks why he isn’t wanted he replies with, “cause I’m black.” (67) Crooks knows that because of his race, he is excluded and discriminated against, “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black.” (67) Like Curley's wife, Crooks is very rarely called by his name. The men use other, offensive terms when talking about Crooks. They treat him unfairly solely because of his skin colour. We learn throughout the novella that Crooks just wants to fit in. When he talks to Lennie about the future, with the belief that the new ranch is possible, he speaks with confidence. This is because for a moment someone treated him as an equal. Crooks, along with Curleys wife are not the only ones treated differently for something they cannot

This description can help to visualize how Lennie's physical features, may not match his personal demeanour. Lennie has an intellectual disability and is treated with ableism in the novella. Not only by the men on the ranch but throughout all of Lennie’s life he has been faced with discrimination. Lennie struggles to understand complex ideas and social scenarios, he also has difficultly controlling his physical strength. Steinbeck writes, “ 'Jus' tell Lennie what to do an' he'll do it don't take no figuring. He can't think of nothing to do himself, but he sure can take orders. '” (39) This helps us understand that Lennie doesn’t have the ability to make choices and decisions for himself. He needs help from his companion, George. We learn in Of Mice and Men the isolation Lennie and many others on the ranch