Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

Decisions shouldn’t be made based on fear and the possibility of what might happen, but sometimes it’s that fear of the possibility that forces the unwanted decisions to be made. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a man with a mental disability accidently kills Curley’s wife; that man is known as Lennie. Curley immediately sends his men after Lennie when he found what Lennie had done to his wife. Lennie escapes into the bushes and waits for his best friend, George. When George found out what had happened, he sneaks off to help prevent Lennie from possible punishments; he shoots Linnie behind the head. What George did was best for Lennie.

Lennie’s inability to think for himself and know the difference between right and wrong is most apparent in his actions when he talks. Even though Lennie’s physical strength makes him appear to be a person of power, his physical strength is the only form of power that he possesses. Lennie is constantly powerless against his mind’s perception that limits him to behave in a child-like manner against the consequences of his actions. For example, he knows that he needs to act correctly and does not want to do bad things, however he lacks the mental capability of an adult that lets him differentiate what’s right from wrong causing him to rely on George for protection and guidance.

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

I knew he wouldn’t make it into the society ,but he didn’t see it. People had always looked down on him and excluded him from the society because he wasn’t ordinary like us. I agree, he wasn’t ordinary. He was extraordinary. You will never come across a man like Lennie in your life. Even when people thought of Lennie less than what he is, it never made it to him. He didn’t know what people thought of him because he viewed everyone the same. Whenever I thought Lennie was struggling, he showed me that he wasn’t. He showed me that he is able be a part of this society without looking down on others and not letting others to look down on him. When Crooks was neglected by others from ranch members like us, Lennie still talked to Crooks as if he was just a guy from next door. When Crooks told Lennie to go away, he didn’t. He stayed because he wanted to be friends with him. Lennie saw more than us. Lennie was like a kid who saw importance in everything. What Lennie didn’t see is the segregation between us humans. He didn’t see it. Lennie loved everything and Crooks, he loved you too. Well me on the other hand, I learned to love everything. That’s one thing I learned from

Steinbeck creates Lennie as a sympathetic, slow, not very bright character who does not have enough knowledge to stand up for himself; especially to George.

Lennie is treated differently because the other men don’t understand him as little was known

Do opposites really attract? Can two people, with no similarities, share a close bond? It proves to be so in the novel Of Mice and Men , written by John Steinbeck. A novel which tells the story of two men, George and Lennie, and their journey of a new job working on a ranch. A novel with a different but interesting style of writing. A novel where John Steinbeck utilizes how powerful George is over Lennie, to signify how people believe they are dominant over others, because of their greater intelligence, social standards, or wealth.

In the Salinas River Valley, after the Great Depression, there were a large number of unemployed workers seeking jobs. In the fiction novel "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck, Lennie Small is among one of those men. Lennie and his friend George both have just received jobs on a ranch as farm workers. What brings the two together is their dream to someday own their own land. Lennie has a lot of character and personality traits that define him. One trait that he has is he is very forgetful. Another trait he has is he is very curious. A final trait he has is that he is very reliant. Although he might not be the intelligent person in the book, he has a very well developed personality. Lennie demonstrates his personality and character

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.

Some characters in this novel are alienated by mainstream society because they do not fit society’s ideal image of a person. And they are all not accepted as human beings. Throughout John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the social injustice of how people were treated during the Great Depression is explored through the characters Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Lennie, to show that society actually needs to become stronger than it really is.

Steinbeck also foreshadows that Lennie won’t last long in this harsh world. At the beginning of the novel, Steinbeck portrays the scenery to be bucolic and wonderfully peace however that happy sanctuary

Throughout the novel Lennie is heavily discriminated against. He is different than the rest of the men that work on any of the farms. George tells Lennie to be quiet when meeting new bosses because he doesn’t want people to jump to conclusions about Lennie before they get a chance to see the work that he can do.””O.K. Now when we go in to see the boss, what you gonna do?” Lennie thought. His face got tight with thought. “I…. ain’t gonna say nothin’. Jus’ gonna stan’ there.” ”Good boy. That’s swell. You say that over two,three times so you sure won’t forget it,”” (6) George treats Lennie like he is a helpless little kid who can’t think for himself, so George always tells Lennie how to act or what to say. George wants to get the job and if he says the wrong thing about him and Lennie being together or why he won’t let him speak it could cost

In a discussion John Steinbeck said, "I worked in the same country that the story is laid in. The characters are composites to a certain extent. Lennie was a real person. He's in an insane asylum in California right now. I worked alongside him for many weeks . . .” (Parini 27)

People discriminate because they are insecure about themselves. What this idea means is that people are not true to themselves, so they have to reform in bullying and discriminating each other. So when Candy or anybody on the farm tries to bully Lennie, it is because he not the same as a “normal” person in that society and that he is not the same as everybody else in the book. For example “Lennie lumbered to his feet and disappeared into the brush. Furthermore, proving my point, “George lay where he was and whistled softly to himself. There were sounds of splashing down the river in direction Lennie had taken. George stopped whistling and listened.” “Poor bastard,” he said softly, and then went on

Lennie is a man of tremendous formed a family clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. Lennie had the personality of a child. Because of the Great Depression, Lennie couldn’t get the help he needed and he had to go off of what his friend George told him.