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Mental Illness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

700 Words3 Pages

According to the World Health Organization, over 450 million people worldwide suffer from some kind of disability or neurological problem. These illnesses are diseases such as depression, schizophrenia, and dementia. Despite this crazy fact, people with these diseases do not receive fair treatment. The 14th amendment of the United States of America states that no state shall deny the equal protection and equal treatment of all people. Although this amendment and many other laws of protection are trying to protect the rights of the mentally ill, it is not working. In the book, “Of Mice and Men" by Jon Steinbeck, Lennie, one of the characters in the book has a mental illness. His mental illness affected his life and the way others would treat him. In the US and The United Kingdom ,the mentally ill are facing unemployment, discrimination ,and unfair treatment.

For example, In the book, “Of Mice and Men” Written by Jon Steinbeck, one of the main characters, Lennie had to worry about unemployment because of his mental incapabilities. People in today's society still suffer from this exact problem. …show more content…

If Lennie would have received equal fair treatment then he most likely would have gotten a fair job, got enough money to survive, and if he could have gotten an equal trial because of his illness, his fate might have turned out different. In the United States, there are many laws and regulations protecting the rights of the mentally ill. Even with these laws, many people are many business owners are still not following them. A good example of this is a man receiving treatment for long-term mental illness sought help from a CAB in Berkshire, England after being judged capable of work and denied incapacity benefits against the advice of his psychiatrist. His loss of income and worry about appealing against the withdrawal of the benefit led to him suffering a relapse and being detained in a hospital. (The Guardian

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