How Does Steinbeck Present Bullying In Of Mice And Men

The book, Of Mice and Men, features many different types of people that are seen in today’s society. Each character has their own set of disadvantages that makes their life a little more difficult. Some characters have true struggles that cause them to have a more challenging life than others. Curley, Crooks, and Lennie cause readers to feel compassion towards them because of their disadvantages in society. Everyone has witnessed bullying at least once in their life. Some may have been the actual bully, the victim, or a bystander. In Of Mice and Men, the bully happens to be Curley. Throughout the duration of the book, Curley is consistently being a bully, especially towards Lennie. When we first met Curley, we learn that a few weeks prior to meeting him that he got married. One sign of him being bullied towards his wife is when it is revealed that he has his wife stay in his boss’ house. This shows that Curley isn’t just a bully towards the workers, but also his significant other. At one specific part of the book, Lennie isn’t talking much, so George is doing all of the talking for him. Curley says, “Well nex’ time you’re spoke to” (Steinbeck 26). When Lennie and George first arrive at the ranch, Curley

As mentioned previously, George did a lot of talking for Lennie and Curley said, “Well, nex’ time you’re spoke to” (Steinbeck 26). When Crooks revealed that he wasn’t allowed to play cards because of his race, it truly showed that he was an outcast. Slim said, “Jesus, he’s jus’ like a kid ain’t he” (Steinbeck 43). These moments truly show that these characters go through their own struggles that cause them to have disadvantages in society. The book shows readers that every person has their own set of challenges. Without showing each of these set of challenges, readers may never be introduced to them in the way that it was illustrated in the