Nearly 1 in 5 people have a disability in the United States. In our society, people who have disabilities are looked at differently than those who do not. In the book Of Mice and Men, one can imagine the abuse one takes because of their differences. During the 1930’s in Salinas CA, There is a man named Lennie Small, but do not be fooled by his last name because he is a large man who is also very strong. Unfortunately, he suffered an accident which caused him to have a brain injury. This forever changed his life. People should never take advantage of another person when they have a disability. For one to live a fulfilled life, they need to treat all with equality and respect. Lennie experiences some abuse throughout the book through George, Curley’s wife, and Crooks. George is a great example of taking advantage of someone who has disabilities because of the fact that they do not know better. George abused Lennie’s inability of processing when he would tease Lennie. Knowing that Lennie could not defend himself, he would mentally beat him up. He did this all for personal entertainment reasons. Lennie not …show more content…
Crooks was using Lennie’s gullibleness to tease and taunt him by saying barbarous things that he knew would provoke him. “S’pose George don’t come back no more. S’pose he took a power and just ain’t coming back. (Steinbeck 71)” This reflects on how Crooks used all of his bottled up anger on Lennie. Crooks knows that Lennie is the kind of person who could sit there and take all of his outbursts. Crooks was harming Lennie on purpose for entertainment reasons plus the overall feeling of having power, which he felt like he did not have sense people disrespect him for being a person of color. Crooks used Lennie's disability for making himself feel better. He is without a doubt a perfect example of taking advantage of a person knowing they do not know better by reason of their
Crooks isn’t allowed to sleep in the bunkhouse or play cards with the white men. He gets lonely and resentful from having to stay in the barn all the time. When he is talking to Lennie, he says, “‘S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse or play rummy
Lennie's disability caused him to engage in actions with consequences that he had no clue of this made euthanization the most compassionate option to deal with Lennie. Many argue that Lennie's death was murder because George did not want to deal with him anymore. On the contrary, George never wanted to kill Lennie but to help him not harm or cause damage to others. Lennie is often misunderstood and mistreated by others, including George, his friend, and his caretaker.
In John Steinbeck’s 1930’s classic novella, Of Mice and Men, we are introduced to one of the main characters, Lennie Small. Lennie is developed as a mentally handicapped, who doesn’t know his strengths and weaknesses, who forgets everything, and who acts like a child. By this development, Steinbeck dehumanizes Lennie in order to show the mentally handicapped population has no chance of achieving the American Dream. Lennie doesn’t know his strengths and weakness, and how to control his strengths. At the end of chapter five, Curley’s wife comes into the barn, where Lennie is alone.
Of Mice and Men One time, standing in my cabin, I glanced outside to see the grazing horses and the jumping rabbits. I felt light, yet remorse, because rabbits are a symbol in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Rabbits were the fixation Lennie had and hope he held on to for a better future. John Steinbeck gives a hopeful, sorrowful tone throughout the whole book Of Mice and Men (1937). In the book, George and Lennie bounce around from job to job, never having a solid place to call home.
John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men highlights the adventures of two best friends that stimulate modern issues such as white males dominating the world. There are many themes in the book, but one that is the most eye catching is the theme of people with differences being ostracized by society. This theme of society ostracizing different people is shown through Lennie’s disability, and Crooks’ color of skin. Lennie is a large migrant worker who is childish due to his mental disability. His best friend George, who acts like his second hand, helps him through everything in life.
“Only 50 years ago persons with intellectual disabilities were scorned, isolated and neglected. Today, they are able to attend school, become employed and assimilate into their local community” (Nelson Mandela). Prior to the later part of the 20th century people with intellectual disabilities were often ridiculed, treated unfairly, feared, and locked away in institutions. According to Rhonda Nauhaus and Cindy Smith in their article Disability Rights through the Mid-20th Century, The laws of any nation reflect its societal values. The real life issue of discrimination towards people with intellectual disabilities in the United States and Australia is demonstrated in the novel, Of Mice and Men by showing how this issue affects one of the main characters, Lennie Smalls.
But he was too dumb even to know he had a joke played on him.” (40) This shows that George used Lennie’s mental disability to amuse himself, completely disrespecting Lennie as a person and making himself feel more powerful. A third example of this from the book is where Curley’s wife says to Crooks “Well you keep your place then, Nigger.
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.
“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.
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck portrays the theme of social injustice throughout the story in the lives of several characters that include Lennie, Curley’s Wife, and the stable buck, Crooks. All of these characters are mistreated in some way, shape or form. The hardships that these characters faced help guide us to see the social injustice that is prevalent in the story. Lennie is a victim of social injustice due to the fact that he is mentally disabled. He is not treated fairly when he was accused of rape.
The first quote shows that Crooks doesn 't typically like people in his room because he isn 't used to it. This affects him because when Lennie comes into his room Crooks begin to snap at him and saying that he doesn 't have the right to be in there. Crooks ' is also affected because it causes him to be frustrated and it seems that his loneliness makes him uncomfortable around the others. Everyone doesn’t allow him because of his skin color, they think he is different from the others because at the time skin color was a big difference. Crooks gives Lennie a little talk to help Lennie understand what he is feeling.
Lennie is constantly excluded and made fun of because of his disability. People with disabilities are often bullied or taken advantage of. Because of their handicap, they may not be able to understand why they are ostracized or laughed
I had fun. Made me seem God damn smart alongside of him,’”(40). Lennie admits to Slim that he used to be mean to Lennie to make himself seem superior. Seperately, Crooks is oppressed for being black. When he speaks out against Curley’s wife, she threatens to have him hanged, because black men weren’t allowed to disrespect white people.
Crooks is a black man who isn’t allowed to be in the house with all the men. The men won’t allow him to come in because of his color. Crooks is lonely and he doesn’t bother the men. One night Lennie came in and was talking to Crooks and telling them about the farm that they were going to get. For once Crooks thought well maybe I won’t be lonely I could go with them and don’t have worry about none of them.
During the time of the Great Depression people did not know about mental disabilities and that is why Lennie was not treated fairly. Lennie got into a lot of trouble at work, which caused for him and George to find different jobs all the time. An example of when Lennie and George had to leave a job because of Lennie’s actions was when they were in Weed and Lennie touched the girl’s dress and would not let go. The only reason why Lennie did that was because he saw something he liked and he did not want to let go and he became scared when she started to scream. People during this time period were unaware of mental disabilities which made it hard for them to get jobs.