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Prejudice and discrimination in society
Of mice and men compare and contrast characters
Of mice and men compare and contrast characters
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Many people are disabled and have trouble doing things. In fact, a young boy named“Jude was so severely disabled he could not speak or write, he was miraculously able to verbalize the alleged abuse….” (Rosenberg). As a young child, Jude could not talk, or even function, and he was abused because of his condition. This relates to Lennie because just like the child, Lennie is so, so, so disabled that he can barely speak full sentences, write, and was abused.
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.
People today with mental disabilities are often criticized for not being “up to par” with everyone else in the world. This is true especially in the 1920’s, in which the novel Of Mice and Men takes place. Take Lennie Small for example, a large and hefty man, who has a mental disability. He, as a character, is blamed for the heinous act of murdering the antagonist’s wife, whose name is never revealed. It is true that Lennie does fracture her neck, but he does so without knowing.
Theodore J. Kaczynski once said, “Our society tends to regard as a sickness any mode of thought or behavior that is inconvenient for the system and this is plausible because when an individual doesn 't fit into the system it causes pain to the individual as well as problems for the system. Thus the manipulation of an individual to adjust him to the system is seen as a cure for a sickness and therefore as good.” How does a society get affected when citizens feel marginalized? Throughout the shocking read Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, John expresses the difference between the past and present with marginalization. The two main characters George a small, wiry, quick-witted man and Lennie a large, lumbering childlike man both dream of owning
The book Of Mice and Men takes place in salinas valley on a ranch during the great depression. The book mainly focuses on the life of Lennie and george. Lennie and george have known each other for a very long time and they are traveling companions. Lennie has some sort of mental disability and this hinders how him and george earn money and get work. Lennie’s mental disability creates problems for him along with his strength.
In Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck creates sympathy for Lennie by writing him as a person with a disability, and a misunderstood character. Lennie is an easy character to sympathize with since he’s mentally challenged, and judged by others. Many times, in the book Steinbeck shows Lennie doesn’t know what he’s capable of, for instance when he kills Curly’s Wife. It is shown that Lennie lacks social skills since Steinbeck has George talk instead of Lennie in important situations. A final example of is how Lennie speaks; he speaks with improper grammar and his speech is underdeveloped.
Sydney Votino Mrs. Daquelente English 2 12 May 2023 Formal Outline: Cause-and-Effect Essay Thesis: Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks are characters from John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men who struggles with mental issues, being used, and racism leading to broken dreams that negatively impacted their lives. Body Topic A: To begin, Lennie’s experience with mental issues ruined his dream and drastically changed his hopes for the future. Direct Quote
In conclusion, John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, includes many marginalized characters, the most of which is Crooks. Due to being African American, especially during the 1930s, he was subject to harsh discrimination and racial segregation by those he worked with. In modern times, Crooks would be able to have a life filled with opportunity. Although life for African Americans today continues to be flawed, changes through movements such as “Black Lives Matter” are taking place to reach social
Lennie Smalls one of the main characters in the novel of Mice and Men, is impacted by the human rights issue of discrimination and living with an intellectual disability. “Intellectual Disability, formerly referred to as "mental retardation, is characterized by "significant limitations both in intellectual functioning and in adaptive behavior, which covers many everyday social and practical skills” (Death Penalty Info). Lennie exhibits several signs of having an Intellectual disability, for example, he has problems remembering things. George is constantly giving Lennie directions that he has to repeat several times to help him remember.
Even with his big heart and his lack of intelligence, George is always there; without him, Lennie is lonely along with vulnerable. Many of the men were alone as they traveled, however, the uncommon characteristic of George and Lennie traveling together shows their bond. Meanwhile, Lennie’s intelligence’s, having a mental disability, does add to his loneliness as a character. Lennie still is not able to understand much of what people say, and this is what makes him vulnerable (71). This vulnerability causes him to be looked upon differently, as a weird person.
He is not physically separated from everyone else, but the other workers perceive him abnormally. Even though Lennie has a mental disability, it doesn’t affect how he works. He’s a strong and hard worker, nevermind the issues that differentiate him from the other
The theme of marginalization in society and how it has impacted on people’s lives is a significant theme for all. Marginalization is where a certain group of people are treated differently than others due to their race, gender or beliefs. The marginalized are not usually considered “main stream”, which means to have the power in society, and thus have no say in how you are treated. We see this theme in four texts, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, To Kill a Mockingbird directed by Robert Mulligan (1962), The Test by Angelica Gibbs and The Worn Path by Eudora Welty. Each of my selected texts has a character who is marginalized (Crooks & Tom Robinson & Marian & Phoenix Jackson) and is considered not part of the mainstream of society, consequently
Demitri hines Period 3 1/30/2018 In John Steinbeck 's classic novela of Mice and Men, we see the character Lennie smalls descending into the stereotype of being handicapped. During the time of the great depression the handicapped never reach there American dream. Steinbeck crafts Lennie a sincerely mentally handicapped man, as an archetype the mentally handicapped in our society in order to imply that the type of people are excluded from the american dream. Lennie doesn 't get to accomplish his american dream due to him being mentally handicapped, but also gets in trouble even though he doesnt mean to.
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” the theme of social injustice is presented by John Steinbeck through the characters of Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks. By examining the theme of social injustice one can be taught that treating someone based on their mental capability, gender, or race is wrong. Rather treat them base on the person they are on the
Social inequality is overlooked by many. It affects so many of us, though we have yet to realize how extreme it is. Lee argues in this novel how much stress social inequalities put on the black and white races throughout the 1930s. Although, social inequalities did not just affect different races, it also affected poor people and family backgrounds. These are proven in the novel multiple times through Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and the Cunninghams when the book is looked at more in
