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Discrimination In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Decent Essays

John Steinbeck's 1937 novel 'Of Mice and Men' presents to the reader many themes of which hold underlying commentary on American society. Set in Salinas valley in the 1930s, the novel explores the trials and tribulations of living in the Great Depression while concurrently discussing the importance of cooperation and how inequalities create harsh negative impacts on those affected by them. The topics in this story all tie into one larger theme, discrimination. Examples of inequality and discrimination occur in the story on multiple occasions, particularly associating with the characters Lennie, with a much lower IQ than average, Candy, who is getting older and has a disabled hand, and Crooks, who has an injured back, and is also African American. …show more content…

He is often excluded in many decisions as a result of his age and disabled hand. These setbacks make his life difficult. A common worry Candy faces regards his future, he is sure that once he is no longer useful, he will be “thrown out”. He is also incapable of completing tasks that the other workers can. Candy is given little opportunity to contribute to decisions, even if they are related to his life. For instance, Candy expressed his disliking towards the idea of killing his dog, and yet, the other workers seemed to not take note of this, and ended up killing Candy’s dog. Consequently, Candy felt regret for not killing the dog himself. "I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog." (30) Candy feels the need to express his remorse towards the way in which the dog had died. This quote from Candy foreshadowed the death of Lennie, and played a major role in George’s decision. Candy was specifically interested in the dream brought up by Lennie and George, and his involvement in this dream was very likely due to his need for stability in his future. The dream included living off the fat of the land, so that nobody involved would have to work very hard. He was a major factor in making the dream realistic, providing motivation for the three characters in their daily

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