How Does Steinbeck Use Mental Disabilities In Of Mice And Men

If Lennie were living in today’s society, he would be treated more equally. In the 1930s during the time period of the book, Lennie was treated inferior to everyone else. Mentally challenged people dealt with abuse and cruel treatment . Although many were placed in institutions that were meant to help them, they were still treated poorly. When the patients were not in bed they were forced to labor long hours. Luckily Lennie had someone like

In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie learn to travel and experience the world together as they take on a new job working on a ranch in central California "bucking barley" for the ranch owner and his son. Lennie, not being able to control his actions, hurts too many people and things and men were chasing after the two, so George decides to take action and shoot Lennie. Although some may disagree, George did the right thing by shooting Lennie because he could not have avoided hurting someone else in the future, he could not eventually learn that the things he did were wrong due to his disability, and he could not learn to eventually control his own strength.

Capital Punishment is a sensitive topic that seems to constantly generate controversy amongst many individuals. To give a little background, capital punishment involves executing a person deemed guilty of a severe crime. Various countries, including America, accept the use of this method. However, other countries such as Canada are strictly against the act due to many reasons. Although some argue that they are the best form of punishment, life imprisonment is the better alternative. It is more humane, improves the financial and social state of the country, and finally is safer.

Lennie is rejected by everyone at the ranch, except George, because of his mental disability (“Of Mice and Men” 248). People with a mental disability are often looked down upon in society. Lennie is a very large, strong man, however, people on the ranch don't believe he is a good worker because of his disability. Although Lennie has a mental disability, he has the strength to do a lot of the ranch work and is a very good worker. The men on the ranch do not realize the strength that Lennie has until he breaks Curley’s hand and ends up killing Curley’s wife. Having a disability does not imply that the individuals aren’t skilled in different areas. Handicapped by his lack of adult intelligence, Lennie is doomed in the world of a migrant worker (“Of Mice and Men” 246). He is not able to think as highly as an average adult and often times does not make the best decisions. In the novel, we are able to see the strength that Lennie has and how he is not able to control it when Steinbeck talks about how Lennie killed the mouse, the puppy, Curley’s wife and crushed Curley’s hand. Curley is a small man who tends to pick fights with the bigger men to show his strength. Curley knows about Lennie's lack of intelligence and decides to start hitting him. Lennie doesn’t do anything back until George tells him to fight back. The next punch Curley threw, Lennie caught it and squeezed Curley's hand

In Mice And Men, there are a variety of characters that have many different personalities. Some are mean, kind, and there are some that are just plain jerks. One character in particular that has a distinct personality in Mice And Men, is Lennie. Lennie is misjudged, underestimated, and treated unfairly just because he has a mental disability. Society and many different characters treat him differently in the book.

The moral and ethical debate on the sentencing and enforcement of capital punishment has long baffled the citizens and governing powers of the United States. Throughout time, the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and the vast majority beliefs of Americans, have been in a constant state of perplexity. Before the 1960s, the Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution were interpreted as permitting the death penalty. However, in the early 1960s, it was suggested that the death penalty was a "cruel and unusual" punishment and therefore unconstitutional under the Eighth Amendment. Many argue that capital punishment is an absolute necessity, in order to deter crime, and to ‘make things right’ following a heinous crime of murder. Despite the belief that capital punishment may seem to be the only tangible, permanent solution to ending future capital offenses, the United States should remove this cruel and unnecessary form of punishment from our current judicial systems.

If you were mentally challenged and could not perform daily tasks like everybody else, would you want to be shamed and belittled to words such as ‘crazy’ or ‘retarded’? This was the situation for Lennie Small in the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. In the novel, Lennie works on a farm with his friend, George. George and other characters in the book trivialize and dismiss Lennie as crazy, instead of what he really was; mentally disabled with cases such as Autism, Asperger's, or even mild down syndrome. Lennie possess many characteristics that are very similar to those who have mental illnesses. Also, during the time that the novel Of Mice and Men was published, these illnesses

Capital punishment has been a hot topic for quite some time now. In earlier times it was merely a way to punish as well as an attempt to deter members of society from committing heinous crimes. In the last century we have actively monitored the effects of capital punishment, and this has revealed the truth. It is for these reasons capital punishment is not morally acceptable.

Wole Soyinka once said, “I have a kind of magnetic attraction to situations of violence.” In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, Lennie seems to attract violence and tragedy like a moth to a flame. George takes care of Lennie because of Lennie’s mental disability, and Lennie manages to find some trouble in every place George takes them. Lennie’s actions throughout the novella, play a major role in the events that occur, they leave Weed because of him, his new puppy dies because of him, Curley’s wife dies because of him, and their dreams shatter because of him.

Lennie’s mental disability is one of his most defining traits of how he tends to forget everything. The origin of his mental disability is unclear but his mind seems to be like a two year old and forget everything. George seems to stick around Lennie because he cares for him but most importantly for his disability. In the first chapter when Lennie and George are settling down by the

According to www.dualdiagnosis.org, in the 1930’s, “Techniques that were used on the mentally ill included insulin-induced comas, lobotomies, malarial infections, and electroshock therapy.” The novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, describes the story of two migrant workers named George and Lennie, and their adventure during the Great Depression. Lennie is a man who is challenged with mental retardation. During the Great Depression, this was not an acceptable thing in society, so George acts as his caretaker and has to cover for Lennie. Eventually, George and Lennie find themselves working on a ranch where they meet new people and find themselves in trouble. I think that George did the right thing by killing Lennie. If George would not have killed him, Lennie would have been taken to the mental hospital and treated badly, if Lennie was killed by anyone else, George would have had regrets, and Lennie was at risk of getting himself and George into more trouble.

In of Mice and Men, the climax of the story is when Lennie kills Curley’s wife. Although it was on accident this scene brings up much controversy. Should Lennie to jail? Some say Lennie shouldn’t, because his mental illness caused him to kill Curley’s wife and it’s something he can’t control. And others differ and say he still should go to jail for the crime. Throughout the book, readers can pick up on the strength Lennie has and that he cannot control it, from seeing him kill puppies from petting them too hard to squishing mice. Lennie although does not have too serious of a mental illness to the state where he doesn't know what he's doing. Lennie was well aware of what he was doing to Curley’s wife and even if he wasn’t he still murdered

Around 20% of the world's children and adolescents have mental disorders or problems. Back then a lot of people were not aware of the mental illness. They thought those people were just straight up crazy. In the story of mice and men,” Lennie has a mental illness, which leads to many problems in the book. Foreshadowing plays an influential role in of mice and men through, lennie's obsession with soft things, lennie's death, and lennie's strength.

Later in the novel, after accidentally breaking Curley’s wife’s neck to get her to stop screaming and attracting attention, none of the other men, including George defend him. Curley, upon seeing his dead wife, is furious and swears to punish Lennie: “‘I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself’” (Steinbeck 96). Lennie is shown absolutely no mercy after the crime, emphasizing how society treats the mentally challenged with significantly less understanding and respect. Even Crooks, the stable buck, mocks Lennie, taunting him that if George is gone, “[t]hey’ll take ya to the booby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog” (Steinbeck 72). This is proof of the unjust treatment of those with mental disabilities, as most people during this time care less about helping others and more about themselves.

Despite all the pros and cons of capital punishment, society must think about what is truly correct and most practical for our world. Capital punishment is not functional in today’s legal system. There are countless amounts of evidence that proves these legal killings to be ineffective. We, as Americans, must correct this irrational practice before it does anymore permanent damage.