How Does Steinbeck Present The Theme Of Mental Inequality In Of Mice And Men

The American Dream is seen as the opportunity for prosperity, success, and upward social mobility for all Americans. Oprah Winfrey grew up in poverty in Mississippi. She worked hard and believed and became one of the most successful and influential media personalities in the world.The pursuit of the American Dream is fueled by a wide range of emotions and desires, including the hope of upward social, mobility, and personal freedom. Despite the challenges that people face, the belief that anything is possible is a very powerful motivator. Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s wife are characters from John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men whose struggles with his mental disability, racial discrimination and gender discrimination lead to broken dreams

Lennie shouts at Curley’s wife “Don’t you go yelling’, he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck”(Steinbeck 91). This piece of evidence further supports the claim that Lennie’s dream was broken when the dream started because of his mental disability. Here he was trying to pet Curley’s wife’s hair and then his hand got caught in her hair. He began to yank her hair and she started screaming. To try and calm down Curley’s wife he starts to shake her but he doesn’t understand that what he is doing is actually hurting her. So soon he ends up breaking her neck because he is not aware of his strength. The narrator explains, “And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger”(Steinbeck 106). This demonstrates that George had to kill Lennie because they didn’t need anyone else to die or be hurt by Lennie. His mental disability was holding him back from knowing his own strengths. George believed that he better do it instead of anyone else because he loved Lennie so much. All in all, this proves that Lennie’s dream was ruined before it even started because of his mental

Curley’s wife complained to Lennie, “Soon’s he got back to Hollywood he was gonna write to me about it.’ She looked closely at Lennie to see whether she was impressing him. ‘I never got that letter,’ she said. ‘I always thought my ol’ lady stole it”(Steinbeck 88). This refers to the man she met while acting. He told her she has great talent and that he will be writing her a letter to go visit him. Though she never received that letter she believed that her mother took the letter so that she can not go into acting. Or the man never wrote the letter and either forgot or didn’t want to. Curley’s wife continues complaining to Lennie, “I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.’ And because she had confided in him, she moved closer to Lennie and sat beside him”(Steinbeck 89). As a result of this, she is left with a man she doesn’t find attractive or love. So she is trapped in this relationship that she doesn’t like her life at the moment. She believes that her life would be so much better if she did get that note and went up to Hollywood. Overall, Curley’s wife’s gender discrimination against her led her to getting stuck in a relationship that she does not enjoy and losing her chance to be able to go out in the acting