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Mentally Disabled People In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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You know, i have always wondered how people can deal with living or taking care of mentally disabled people. When you take care of a mentally disabled person, you have to constantly watch them and you have to give them your all, and i don't think i could take care of a mentally disabled person for a day! Well, in a book called “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, a small but intelligent person called George has to take care of a huge mentally disabled person called Lennie, and Lennie surprisingly loves cute little bunnies! I think that George and Lennie have a great friendship and they care for each other, one example would be right at the beginning of the book where Lennie proceeds to drink lake water and George tells him to not drink it and says "Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night." (3). This means that George cares about Lennie’s health and doesn’t want him to drink that scummy lake water. To me, George is a very kind and …show more content…

For example, when the boss asked them why did they quit the job they had in Weed, he said "Job was done," said George promptly. "What kinda job?" Said the boss "We... we was diggin' a cesspool." George replied. (11) He immediately thought of a lie really fast so he wouldn't be suspicious, and if he didn't, they wouldn't have been able to land the job. Without the job, they wouldn't have been able to achieve the dream him and Lennie wanted.
All three of these examples made think that George is a kind, responsible and a quick thinker. The part that most surprised me though, is why George kept on willing to fend for Lennie, instead of just leaving him behind in jail or on the streets. Maybe he knows Lennie won’t survive without him, but what he does for Lennie throughout the book is inspiring, and this is why i think he is a quick thinker, kind, and a responsible person. And i hope you think the same

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He must do everything for Lennie. “You never had none you crazy bastard. I got both of ‘em here. Think I

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George shows he’s protective of Lennie by saying, ‘“It ain’t your fault,” he said. “You don’t need to be scairt no more. You done jus’ what I tol’ you to. Maybe you better go in the washroom an’ clean up your face.”’ (Steinbeck 65).

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Lennie has the most obvious handicap, since it greatly affects his ability to function. Lennie has the mental capacity of a child, and he can’t take care of himself. Lennie loves to “pet” things, but he is unaware of his own strength. This results in a dead mouse, puppy, and eventually, woman! Lennie is enthralled by the idea of living on a farm with George, and he uses this picture-perfect image almost as a moral guide.

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He shows him tough love because he knows that is how they will survive. He asks Lennie, “What you gonna say tomorrow when the boss asks you questions?’ Lennie replied, ‘... I... I ain’t gonna...say a word.”

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While the reader is not informed much of Lennie’s past, it is without question uncanny to his behavior.

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Paper jams happen every day, and what happens to paper? The paper is crumbled, gutted, and cast away as if it has no purpose. While a piece of paper and a human are different; both are still neglected once they longer fit in line. John Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice And Men" illustrates the real life problem of people in America and Africa who mistreatment the mentally disable in favor of spending less money and time.

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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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In 1937 in the midst of The Great Depression, John Steinback published ‘Of Mice and Men’. This story introduced two characters by the name of George and Lennie. The two friends travel across California looking for work. In the book, the author portrays Lennie a huge, strong, and slow learning man. With the authors indirect characterization about Lennie, some critics infer that Lennie is forgetful and never intends to hurt anyone.

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George would protect Lennie at all costs even from himself. After Lennie kills a young woman, George decides it is better for Lennie to be dead rather than to be tortured and kept in a cell or a mental asylum. The decision of killing Lennie hit George like a train, but he knew it was something that was in Lennie’s own good. Knowing he could have an easier life without Lennie, George still kept him around because he needed George and George needed Lennie. George tells Slim “Course Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him.”

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Ch 1: George complains about having to take care of Lennie, though continues to travel with him. Why might George keep Lennie around? What does this suggest about George’s character? George might keep Lennie around because workers like them are the loneliest guys in the world.

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If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job” (Steinbeck 6). George is very directive over Lennie, and does not want him to mess up anything. Lennie listens to George because he does not know any better, and is like a little brother who wants to please his

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In the novel Of Mice and Men it is very obvious that there is something wrong with Lennie. He has a childlike demeanor, has memory loss, and seems to panic in stressful situations. Although Steinbeck never mentions what is wrong with Lennie in the novel, all of these symptoms match up to one intellectual disability, Autism. The first symptom of Autism is sensory issues.

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“No matter how much sometimes you dare to dream, send happy thoughts into the universe, no matter what you do some of your dreams will never come true” (Unknown). In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, at the time of the Great Depression, two men, George and Lennie, venture to California in hopes to find work. Because Lennie is wanted for raping a woman, George and Lennie must escape the “law” by fleeing to the next town. Through the character of Lennie, Steinbeck shows that issues outside the control of an individual often limit the achievement of his dreams. “‘But he never hurt her.

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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.

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Scott Hamilton once stated, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Disability is only an obstacle in a person's life, but it does not set the identity of that person. John Steinbeck's novel shows how disabled people are treated differently by writing about their heartbreak and sorrow. Many individuals with disabilities feel that a disability is a wall blocking them from achieving their goals. In our society, people are told what to be and what to do with their disability, but one should have the choice to carve their pathway to success.

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