Life isn’t fair for many people, and in the Novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, this is evident through the characters of Crooks, Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife. In comparison to the other workers, these four outcasts are more closely related to each other than one may at first realize. Lennie has a lack of mental capacity, Crooks is black and has an injured back, Candy is missing a hand and is also old, and Curley’s wife is isolated by the other men due to being too flirtatious. These qualities, albeit unfortunate at best, gives these characters all one thing in common; they’re neglected and undesired by the other workers on the farm.
In Of Mice And Men, Lennie is treated different because people don’t understand anything about the problem that he is suffering with. “The boss said
Together, they work to make the American Dream a reality. In his novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses Lennie and his disability, Curley’s wife and her sex, and Crooks and the color of his skin to prove there is institutionalized oppression in American society. To begin, Lennie and his disability prove there is institutionalized oppression in American society. Lennie is depicted as a large man, capable of doing manual labor, but not capable of thinking for himself. Thus, George, his closest companion,
When stepping inside a hospital to receive help, one should expect care, treatment, and respect. However, shown in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and “Howl,” American society equates mental illness with inhumanity. In both texts, the characters are forced to live without basic human freedoms and a voice to change it. Society pressures the mentally ill into becoming submissive counterparts of the community by stripping away their physical freedoms, forcing inhumane treatment, and depriving them the freedom of expression. By pressuring confinement and treating the patients inhumanely, society strips away their freedom to express themselves.
Robert Jenkins Mrs. Daquelente English 2 8 May 2023 Formal Outline: Cause-and-Effect Essay Thesis: Lennie, Curlys wife, and Crooks are characters from John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men whose struggles with mental disability, overly protective mother, and racism lead to broken dreams that negatively impacted their lives. Body Topic A: To begin, Lennie’s experience with his mental disability ruined his dream and drastically changed his future of owning a farm with George and taking care of bunnies. Direct Quote #1-Lennie explained that “I’d pet 'em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead”(Steinbeck).
John Steinbeck highlights the theme of powerlessness in his novel Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck showed this through the characters of Lennie and Crooks. Both of these characters felt like they were trapped. Both characters lives were useless to most at the ranch due to powerlessness in the story. Lennie died from this and Crooks won’t be able to do anything for the rest of his life.
Because crooks was black he was isolated and not allowed to near the other men. Lennie asks, “ Why ain’t you wanted… Cause I’m black” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks at first did not want Lennie entering his room but realizes Lennie is different and is not racist. Usually Crooks would tell people that they have not right coming into his room. He uses his isolation as a way to hide from everyone and get privacy.
There are many examples of social injustice throughout Of Mice and Men, but Steinbeck included Lennie
He is told that he “stinks” because he is black, and they do not let him be around the others because of that. Crooks has absolutely no social power on the ranch because he is constantly treated differently and discriminated against. Crooks also says, “You got no right to come in my room... Nobody got any right in here but me.” (Steinbeck 66).
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, we see Lennie and George during the 1930’s traveling together. Lennie is always causing trouble which results in George having to fix his messes. It also gives us a glimpse of discrimination against basic human rights. Discrimination drastically affects the lives of groups and individuals in society.
Life is known to throw all sorts of unwanted and unfair events into the life of every person on Earth. People have now just accepted the fact that life is unfair sometimes and there is nothing to do about it. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the theme of life being unfair is shown through George’s struggles with Lennie and the struggles Candy faces. Throughout his life, George experiences the unfairness of life through his burden of having to take care of Lennie.
Of Mice and Men is a novel known across the globe, its delicate tone and emphasis on humanity and the struggles of the world locks the readers in. What dazzles readers most about this folk classic is how it is expressed in a way that all can understand, but few comprehend the deep and dark turn of events that lie between the lines of the book at first glance. The book isn’t referenced so often for its events in the past, but more for how it is related to the present as well as the future. The main issue discussed in this masterpiece is inequality, this subject applies to not only those of the past, but to everyone in every circumstance across the world today. Although it’s the 21st century, this issue is still present in everyday life.
Of Mice and Men: Lennie’s Mental Illness The novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is a story about two men and their companionship. The story takes place in California during the Great Depression. The two men have a dream to one day own a farm of their own. This dream never comes true and they are forced to work for someone else on a ranch for the rest of their lives.
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck portrays the theme of social injustice throughout the story in the lives of several characters that include Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and the stable buck, Crooks. All of these characters are mistreated in some way, shape or form. The hardships that these characters faced help guide us to see the social injustice that is prevalent in the story. Lennie is a victim of social injustice due to the fact that he is mentally disabled. He is not treated fairly when he was accused of rape.
Lennie cannot change his mental disability nor can Crooks change his race, but due to these inalterable characteristics, Lennie hurts others unintentionally, and Crooks is hurt by others. “Naturalism does not deal primarily with individuals in themselves, but rather with social groups, settings, or movements…”( ), which relates to the story, because Lennie’s actions not only affect him and his future, but the other characters in the book. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the concept of naturalism is portrayed through the experiences of Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks. Lennie’s mental disability and physical strength often lead to trouble, because he can never fully comprehend his actions. When Lennie is the barn, he ends up
