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Lennie's Mental Illness In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

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Mental illness is one of many things that can isolate and damage a person. It can cause them to be ridiculed, it can change the lives of those who surround that person, and it can even lead someone to act against their will. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie Small is a character who, because of his mental disability, portrays many of the qualities mentioned above. Lennie’s life long companion, George, is Lennie’s protector who keeps Lennie from being isolated and lonely. However, there were certain things that Lennie’s mental illness caused that George could not protect him from. Lennie’s disorder altered the way he was treated by those around him. It also drastically changed the outcome of the novel, as well as the life of George. …show more content…

From the start, George had constantly mentioned what a burden Lennie and his disability were. However, it is also known that George is just angry when he “insults” his companion, and actually loves him. “God, you’re a lot of trouble,” said George. “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl” (7). The excerpt above demonstrates how Lennie and his mental disability had negatively impacted George. It left George longing for the better life he could’ve or would’ve had without needing to take care of Lennie. Many times, Lennie said something in the novella that George got upset about and George would then talk about what potential benefits there would be if he didn’t need to take care of a friend with mental disabilities. While Lennie and his disorder had negative impacts on the life of George, they also had positive influences. For example, Lennie’s childishness caused George to have hope for their future. Lennie also kept George from being alone like many of the other migrant workers. “Funny how you an’ him string along together… I hardly never seen two guys travel together. You know how the hands are, they just come in and get their bunk and work a month, and then they quit and go out alone. Never seem to give a damn about nobody” (39). By saying that no one would often travel in pairs, Slim (the speaker of the quote) was indicating that what George and Lennie had was special, even if Lennie was a “cuckoo” and George a “smart little guy.” If Lennie hadn’t had a mental illness, then he would have never needed the aid of George. George’s protection of Lennie kept him from being along. While Lennie’s mental illness impacted many aspects of the novella, it affected George the most, and in both positive and negative

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When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out working. Got kinda used to each other after a little while (37).” This tells me that if it was not for George, Lennie would have been abandoned because he would have experienced being mistreated for being mentally disabled. Also people would to take advantage of Lennie. Instead of pushing Lennie away, my client actually took the time to care for him when he had no one else.

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Of Mice and Men How do you think society handle people who are different? People differently when I moved to Connecticut. Everyone talked about me and did not like me because I’m from Texas. Everyone called me dumb because I did not have the same education as everyone else. People use to say “You’ll never be as smart as me because you are from a dumb state.”

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To begin, Lennie Small displays severe signs of a certain mental disorder throughout John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men. The audience can clearly understand there is an issue with Lennie’s ability to think and act. However, the question lies on the actual mental issue, and after research, it is indisputable that the character suffers from a dissociative disorder. For those who do not know, a person with a dissociative disorder experiences immense amounts of stress in uncomfortable situations. “These disorders usually are associated with overwhelming stress, which may be the result of traumatic events, accidents, or disasters that may be experienced or witnessed by the individual” (Marks 17).

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By the end, it’s determined Lennie has become a danger to society. Considering the fast progression of Lennie’s behavior, George takes it upon himself to do something about

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This also shows the overpowering control George has over Lennie’s conscience, and the consequence that Lennie can’t remember his own actions, only the stories George repeats. He is never truly angry with Lennie for his petty mistakes, he is simply thinking of the limitations of their dreams because of Lennie’s unpredictable actions. It seems George can only control Lennie by threatening him with the thing he cares about most which is the farm, “But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits” he threatens, trying to make Lennie remember the importance of his actions (36). George is constantly complaining that he could have a better life and even have a farm without Lennie to look after, but he also wants a companion. Lennie is often simple minded and easily influenced, but intuitive enough to manipulate George’s loneliness, “If you don’t want me George I can go up in that cave over there and leave,” George quickly denies this saying “No, look I was just foolin’ Lennie, ‘cause I want you to stay with me” (20).

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He is a man who cannot take care of himself so he relies on his friend, George. Lennie does not fully understand that he will never be able to experience a normal life, because of his mind. This makes him suffer. Lennie is also very forgetful and confused because of his mental state which makes him suffer as well. “George scoffed, Lady, huh?

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Lennie's disability is shown in chapter 3 “Make ‘um let me alone, George” (Steinbeck 63) This shows that Lennie is affected because of his disability. Like society the girl doesn't care about Lennie's disability. This event shapes George and Lennie's relationship because after this occurs George knows that someday this disability will come back to bite Lennie

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From all of the characters in the story, I feel the most for Lennie. Going along with the literary technique of naturalism, the fact that Lennie has a mental disability is because that is how he was born. There is nothing you can do that can change your heredity, and people judge Lennie on that all the time. George is the main culprit when he says that everything would be easier without having Lennie around. We all know that, but George doesn’t have to tell Lennie that to his face to make him feel worse about himself.

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According to the text “All the time he coulda had such a good time if it wasn’t for you. he woulda took his pay and raised hell in the whore house, and he coulda set in a pool room an’ played snooker, but he gotta take care of you” (Page#101, Steinbeck). This basically proves and enforces the reality that Lennie influences almost every part of Georges life. This also shows that George could have had a good life, even a better life if his dream of being able to take care of Lennie did not become a burden upon himself and influenced his life so greatly. Everything that George did or tried to do was always influenced by Lennie’s wellbeing.

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George, was in a sense, Lennie’s caretaker. Lennie was never diagnosed with a medical condition, but he was stupid.

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To begin with, in George and Lennie’s companionship, George provided guidance for Lennie since he’s mentally like a child. The reason why Lennie acts like a child is because of his mental conditions.

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Throughout Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, George slowly starts to become more mind and accepting of Lennie in him life. Even though George’s attitude changes over the course of the novella, in ways his attitude stays the same. George may have started to be more kind towards Lennie and not want to let him go, but he still pittys him. He always feels sorrow and compassion for Lennie 's misfortunes. Though he has always helped him, he could never help him get over his mental illness.

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An intellectual disability is a mental condition characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. During the 1930’s, many people were not aware of the effects of intellectual disabilities; they were led to believe that the people who had these mental disabilities did not deserve the same amount of respect as everyone else. Inside the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the character Lennie allegorically represents the stigmas that were associated with people who had intellectual disabilities in the 1930’s through childish behaviors, animalistic qualities and being seemingly crazy. One of the most repetitive examples that explain why Lennie allegorically represents the stigmas associated

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Every time any character in the story gets attached or close to one another, something bad happens between the relationship and goes wrong. George is a very practical man. He gets the relationship between him and Lennie in a very practical way rather than being emotional. He can even kill another person just for his

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