Mental Health In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Although the stereotype towards the mentally ill is very current in society, it is not to say that all of the public agree with it. For example, there are many stereotypes of different ethnic groups but not everybody would agree with them. In contrast, prejudiced people will endorse these negative stereotypes, an example of this being that ‘those who are mentally ill are violent’, as a consequence this then

The real issue is the fact that people With mental illness are two and a half to four times more likely to be the victims of violence than any other group In our society.

Historically, society has believed that people with mental disorders tend to be more violent than normal people, creating a stigma for patients. They thought that a mentally ill person tends to cause harm and chaos which was difficult for this person to deal with. In fact, research suggests that public opinions on the relationship between mental illness and violence do not reflect reality, although some people with psychiatric disorders commit violent crimes, it was not really clear about how much mental illness or substance abuse affect violent behaviour. Media had a great effect on people by making them think that the mentally ill are violent which was proved to be a myth, as they are more likely to be victims than offenders.

Most people probably know someone with a mental disability. Just because someone has a disability does not mean we have to ignore, or neglect them. People with a mental disability are not to be shunned. The statement by J.F. Clarke proves true when using psychological lens to analyze conflict and characterization in the novella Of Mice and Men, by John Stienbeck by Stienbeck's use of conflict throughout the novella.

In the past, mental illness has been misunderstood as nobody knew how to treat it and didn't know how to react to it. In the novella Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, George Milton and Lennie Small are two ranch workers traveling together looking for a better future. While on their journey, they face hardships. For example, Lennie has a mental disability that makes him depend on George for guidance and protection. Lennie is depicted as a sympathetic character through his mental disability and his childlike personality; Steinbeck is trying to convey that people with mental disabilities have a challenging life and face difficult situations.

Currently, and in the past, we see racism and problems with the mentally ill quite often. In Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice And Men, we see both of these issues with some of the characters. Racism seems to be the larger of the two problems: due to all of the rallies, riots, and what are supposed to be peaceful protests. These issues though, all fit into the rhetorical lens as people are trying to let others see their point of view in the dark times of the

Powers states that right after gun violence takes place, “is perhaps the worst time to talk about mental health when you consider that the large majority of those with psychological disorders are not violent. In fact, media reports connecting violence to mental illness only increase the stigma directed toward the mentally ill” (2015). It is easier for the media to discuss mental illness when it is in the context of gun violence because it gives the media something to blame for the violence. However, many mental illnesses are not violent. Outside of gun control, mental illness is not talked about enough in the media, meaning that it does not get the attention that it needs (Powers, 2015).

Conversations associating mental illness with extreme cases of violence have become, and continue to become, more and popular in the United States of America. Many people across the nation, and even in other countries around the world, are demanding answers to an outstanding number of questions. Why did these tragic events occur? Why do these tragic events continue to occur? Why is it that whenever a mass shooting occurs the suspect claims insanity? What is insanity? Are they telling the truth or is it just a cover up? Does mental illness really cause crime? There are so many questions all with varying supplementary scenarios however, I will focus on my belief that although mental illness does not cause crime and violence, it does contribute to it. I believe that the first and most important problem in this controversy is the lack of understanding what both mental illness and crime is. Robert Schug refers to both terms as “umbrella terms” in Stacy Mallicoat’s Crime and Criminal Justice: Concepts and Controversies (2016). Mental illness consists of numerous complex conditions that alters one’s state of mind with ranging severities and crime consists of varying levels of behaviors and actions that are against the law.

Mental disabilities are struggles that many have to face. In the novel, Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, Lennie is illustrated as mentally challenged man with a dense, shapeless body. He and his minder and also friend, George are wanderers. Together they travel around California in search of work as they wish to earn money so that they can follow their dreams. The pair long to buy a little house along with a couple of acres and farm animals but Lennie’s disability causes difficulties that not even George expected. This novel lets the reader into the mind of Lennie, to give us an understanding of his mentality, interests and emotions.

The 1937 novella by John Steinbeck is one that grasps the cruel world. In Of Mice and Men, the author explores mental health in which, Lennie Smalls, is put in a world of wayfaring strangers with

Approximately 1 in 25 adults in the U.S. experiences s serious mental illness that affects their daily health according to NAMI. It is also shown that 1 in 5 Canadians will experience a mental illness in their lifetime. This was the case for Lennie in Of Mice and Men, he was one of the statistics that had dealt with the barrier of mental health. In this essay, you will gain insight on how mental health affects citizens in the two North American countries as well as the hardships the main charters in the novel Of Mice and Men had to deal with. It will mainly focus on the hardships that come with having a mental disability such as, unfair treatment in the workplace, being discriminated against by others in your community as well as the barrier that is set when someone with a metal disability doesn’t get the help they need.

(Hales et al., 2016) The researcher discussed that they looked into their crimes, and labeled them violent and nonviolent, and certain mental illnesses can be linked to violent tendencies, it can be part of their symptoms. If the

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, "Approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S, or 18.5%, suffers from some mental illness.” As the years go by, there is more and more information uncovered about mental illnesses, and how they can be treated and cured. At the time of the novel Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck, creates one of his characters with a mental disability, named Lennie. The setting is during the Great Depression, and not much is known about mental disabilities at this time, so no one really understands Lennie and Lennie doesn’t really understand anyone else. The main characters, George and Lennie, are ranchers who travel together to different ranches to work, and they have a goal of buying their own ranch

Published studies report that about 25% of all U.S. adults have a mental illness and that nearly 50% of U.S. adults will develop at least one mental illness during their lifetime. This is a very surprising statistic because if more people knew about this they wouldn’t treat someone with a mental disability or a mental illness like they are not human. There are people that would not even associate themselves with someone who has some type of mental disability or illness and they might be developing a mental illness and not even be aware of it. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men a huge human rights issue is about someone having a mental health problem or illness and could have fixed or worked on if he had the proper healthcare and people

As mentioned by Howitt (2015), a mental illness can be defined as ‘a variety of psychological conditions in which there is a characteristic disabling and distressing impairment in some aspect of the psychological functioning of the individual.’ However, not all mental illnesses are found to be at risk of violent offending. Such illnesses as anxiety and depression are found to be less violent than mental health problems such as bipolar and schizophrenia, both of which will be included in the subset of mental health problems recognised as violent for the purpose of this essay. The relationship that has been identified between mental illness and crime has the ability to be misconceived through misclassification of violent mentally ill offenders and a variety of factors which have the ability to cloud the evidence of the