Every human is different, and sometimes that difference leads to one being a social outcast. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, there is a ranch, and on that ranch there are three obvious social outcasts. Lennie, a child in the body of a full grown man, is the first social outcast revealed in the book. As the story goes on, we meet another social outcast, an old man named Candy. The third obvious social outcast is a black man named Crooks. The differences these three men had were big enough differences to make them social outcasts. Lennie is the first social outcast introduced in the story. He has some type of mental disability; his mind appears to be that of a child’s mind and yet he is a full grown man. While other men are driven on the dream of having their own farm (76), Lennie is driven on his dream of “tending to the rabbits” (14,16,57,58,65,69,73,75,80,85,88,89,90,91,101,102,105). Another part of the package in his mental disability, is the fact that he can’t seem to remember anything. When questioned by George about his orders, “Lennie stopped chewing and swallowed. His face was concentrated. I… I ain’t gonna… say a word” (15). …show more content…
Crooks is by far the most pitiful of the three outcasts. We have to keep in mind the setting of this novel. In this time period in history, black people were oppressed. Crooks was not allowed to play cards with the other men, nor was he allowed in the bunkhouse (68). He had to stay out in the stable with the animals, because that’s how big the difference was between him and the other guys. So significant a difference, that he was counted as closer to an animal than to a human being. Crooks expresses his loneliness to Lennie, which makes his case all the more pitiful (70-73). Crooks fits the definition of social outcast better than the other two combined and what’s more shocking is that in the time period, every man of Crooks’ type would be just as
In the short story, “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” by Bret Hart, a slew of misfits (a group of four misfits) find themselves in a life or death struggle after they are cast out of their settlement and are forced to brave the elements. The definition of an outcast is a person who has been rejected by society or a social group. The reader learns that the outcasts are run out of town because they are perceived to be improper persons. The four outcasts that make up this group are each run out of town for different reason, each reason to the townspeople deplorable. John Oakhurst is a gambler that most of the town has lost their money to; Mother Shipton and The Duchess are both prostitutes and Uncle Billy is a robber and drunkard.
It must feel horrible to be an outcast, especially when you do not understand that you are one. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Candy’s dog is an outcast to the men in the bunk house. The dog has multiple conditions which make it unwanted and unaccepted. Though Candy’s dog is not human it is still considered an outcast because it is old, smelly and suffering.
Crooks is isolated because he’s a black man that has a crooked back and that doesn’t have that much rights so he will spend most of his time in the bunkhouse reading books. Steinbeck used crooks in this story because so they can show that African Americans are lonely.
“I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they’d bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead” (Steinbeck 58). Through this quote you can see the way Lennie’s intentions are contrary to the outcomes of his actions. His innocence is revealed by his want for the comfort the mice bring him, but doesn’t think of his strength and unintentionally kills them.
Poverty, intellectual disadvantages, and society render characters in both texts powerless which potentially prevent them from fulfilling a dream or self-development. In the novel Of Mice and Men and film Slumdog Millionaire, the characters were powerless financially, due to poverty, which was an obstacle in Lennie and George's dream/development in Of Mice and Men as well as Jamal's in Slumdog Millionaire. In Of Mice and Men, the characters were subjected to poverty due to the Great Depression in America beginning in the 1930's, thus relinquishing any form of financial amelioration. The ranch hands are all victims of society and the possibility of economic growth was diminutive due to poverty.
Lennie didn’t see Crooks as different from anyone else and didn’t understand that he wasn’t supposed to talk to him. Crooks didn’t have anyone to talk to because of his race, so he was excluded from all of the games and activities by everyone else. This left him completely lonely, and isolated with no one to talk to. He had nothing besides a few books to read alone. Lennie was too mentally challenged to understand anything Crooks told him, but that didn’t bother Crooks because he just wanted to have a conversation with someone that would listen.
A theme that is emerging from the story is discrimination against people with disabilities. The central problem is about Lennie’s struggle to remember things. For an example, when Lennie and George were at the Weed, Lennie touched a girl’s dress, refusing to let go of her. When Lennie refused to let go of the girl’s dress, the girl accused Lennie of rape. Another example is when Lennie is talking to Curley’s wife Lennie explains to Curley’s wife that when Lennie was playing with his pup, the pup looked like he was going to bite Lennie, so Lennie smacked him.
We all may have had the feeling of loneliness and isolation, wanting companionship feeling abandonment. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, there are men living on a ranch having their own reasons for loneliness or being isolated. The three characters Crooks, George, and Lennie crusade dealing with own ways of loneliness and isolation. Crooks has no one that likes him because he’s black, Lennie struggles mentally and George struggles with always having to care for him. They all can’t decide whether it is that they want to be alone or not.
Lennie cannot change his mental disability nor can Crooks change his race, but due to these inalterable characteristics, Lennie hurts others unintentionally, and Crooks is hurt by others. “Naturalism does not deal primarily with individuals in themselves, but rather with social groups, settings, or movements…”( ), which relates to the story, because Lennie’s actions not only affect him and his future, but the other characters in the book. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the concept of naturalism is portrayed through the experiences of Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks. Lennie’s mental disability and physical strength often lead to trouble, because he can never fully comprehend his actions. When Lennie is the barn, he ends up
Crooks is very lonely and solitude for being alone every day. As a result, he wants to have friends who he can communicate with. No one has come into his room except for Slim and the boss, so when Lennie and Candy come, it is difficult for Crooks to “conceal his pleasure with anger” (75). Although he wants to express anger about people coming into his room, inside he is happy about it and enjoys it. This instability and loneliness that he has leads him to say how he could work for George, Lennie, and Candy on their farm.
“And her eyes traveled from one face to another. ‘They left all the weak ones here’” (77). This quote appears late in the novel when Slim, George, and a few others from the ranch left to go into town. This means they left the others that were considered ‘the outcasts’ behind. In Of Mice and Men, these outcasts, Candy, Crooks, Curley’s Wife, and Lennie, are discriminated for their physical capabilities, race, gender, and mental abilities.
Every human is different, and some become social outcasts. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, some characters are different and are left out. Crooks is a social outcast and is left out, because of his race. Candy is a social outcast because he is older, so he is left out. Curley’s wife is a social outcast and is left out, because she's the only girl on the ranch.
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.
Loneliness and isolation is an ongoing theme throughout the novel Of Mice and Men, experienced by several characters to different degrees. Some characters are more isolated and lonely than others, yet every character in the story goes through this theme during one point in the story. There are various reasons why each character is lonely or isolated. In general, all the ranch workers feel some sort of loneliness because they move alone from ranch to ranch and do not have real connections with others, Curley’s wife experiences this theme because she is the only woman on the ranch and nobody wants to interact with her because Curley is very protective and hostile of her. Thirdly, Candy struggles through being lonely and isolated after Carlson shot his dog and because Candy does not work with the others since he is a swamper.
Steinbeck’s characterization and setting expresses his belief that it is both social barriers and personal choice that causes the loneliness and isolation of the characters. Civil rights caused separation and isolation towards black people when Of Mice and Men took place. As Crooks mention himself “Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I 'm black.