Intellectual Disability In The Novel 'Of Mice And Men'

In the classic American novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, power is a recurring theme. Most of the characters have direct ties to power, whether it is physical, social, economic, or intellectual. But the author balances their powers with flaws. Lennie, a main character, has a lot of physical power. Yet due to his mental disability, he does not understand the consequences of his actions. Because of this, he cannot control his strength. His lack of empathy results in unintentional damage to those around him. Compared to other characters, Lennie is not as high up on the social ladder. This is since he is unable to see possible outcomes from his decisions. Through Lennie’s characterization, one sees that in the novel, knowing how

In the Steinbeck novel Of Mice and Men the two main characters are a man named George who is a tough hard worker, and his cousin Lennie who has mental defects. Lennie’s mental defectiveness is at most times a problem and a hassle to George because he cares about Lennie and he only wants the best for him in life. Lennie looks up to George because George is the one who usually always get Lennie out of trouble when he does things. One time Lennie thought that a young lady’s red dress was very pretty so he tried to touch it and the girl thought he was trying to hurt her so she began to scream and run away.(“Steinbeck…”) George made Lennie hide with him in an irrigation ditch so they would not be caught by the authorities.(“Steinbeck…”) Back during the Great Depression people with mental disabilities were hard to take care of and many people did not know how to treat people with it.

The book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck is about two friends that are always working together. One of the three main characters, Lennie, is mentally handicapped, who has a muscular body, strong and tall. His other friend, George, is intelligent but unlike Lennie, he has a small body and he is smart. They move around and work together. Lennie and George try to find new jobs because they have been fired from their previous job that causes them to move to another city. They begin to work in a farm; they help feed animals and other farm works. This book is mostly based on dreams about the characters, so that it can help them keep living. The characters Lennie, George and Candy use the dream as a source of power to gain comfort when they feel uneasy.

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. For this reason, along with many others, Lennie is not to blame in any case involving his acts of violence in this novel, because of various, indisputable reasons. These include the red dress incident in Weed, crushing Curley’s hand, and the aforementioned murder of Curley’s wife, all of which prove Lennie’s innocence.

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.

Finally, Lennie is discriminated against in Of Mice and Men because he is mentally disabled. Like Crooks who is black, he has no control over this fact, but it separates him from other men and makes him feel a little isolated. It also can get him into a lot of trouble as is shown when they leave

There are many human rights in "Of Mice And Men." Some rights include right to economic opportunity. A right to a fair wage, and a right to medical assistance for those with special needs. I think the author's main message was the right to be treated equal even if mentally disabled. " A guys goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is."

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. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrayed a political statement by looking at mental and physical disabilities through different characters such as Curley's Wife, Crooks, and Lennie.

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. On of the main characters, Lennie, is retarded and often gets him and George into trouble. In the story, the author gives many clues that allude to the fact that Lennie has a mental illness. Throughout the story, he says and does things that shows the reader of this. The ways Lennie is shown as retarded is through his childish manner, his memory loss, his incapability to control his strength, and his cowardness.

"We're born alone we live alone die alone. Only through love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone” Orson Welles. In John Steinbeck's novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck focuses on the struggle of having a disability while struggling to get by during the American Great Depression on a Californian ranch life. Even though one may have to live around their disability, they do not let that become a big stepping stone in the life, whether they know about it or not. In John Steinbeck's novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Lennie Small, Carlson and Crooks are three great examples of how they keep living their lives despite the facts that they each have a disabilities to their lives.

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

In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, set in the 1930’s of Salinas Valley, California. Now main characters, a static character Lennie Small, who has a disability that he has trouble processing things, being slower than others. And his friend George who takes care of him before and on the ranch, “Lennie smiled to himself. “strong as a bull,” he repeated. George scowled at him, and Lennie dropped his head in shame at having forgotten.”(Steinbeck 22). Although Steinbeck does not say Lennie is disabled, it is implied through his actions, speech, and a short part of his younger life explained by George to another character, “I used to have a hell...lifted a finger against me,”(Steinbeck 40).

Did you know that 30 states have laws in their constitutions that prohibit the disabled from voting? Unfortunately, many people feel the need to take away basic human rights, because they feel that the disabled ones cannot handle it. Many disabled ones are born with disabilities and they cannot help how they look, talk, or act. Should this be the reason that they should be reduced to below the way that children are treated? In the book Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck demonstrates the way that disabled ones are treated in the real world through his character Lennie. Lennie is often treated as a child and is definitely mistreated. Lennie is sometimes bullied by George, his caretaker and so Of Mice and Men demonstrates how people in the real world are sometimes treated. No one should be treated poorly, because of their disabilities. Mentally disabled ones are usually the main ones bullied by their caretakers, they have to live in segregated environments and they also are sometimes treated inappropriately by their caretakers.

In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men setting of the 1930’s in Salinas Valley, California we meet the static and round character Lennie Smalls and his best friend George a dynamic character. While it is obvious to the reader that Lennie has a mental disability because of his actions, it is never directly stated. However, when he… “I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead- because they was so little.” (Steinbeck 10). This shows he

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.