To what extent is Of Mice and Men a novel of protest? Essay

The novella, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck , is set in California in the 1930s. The story revolves around and Lennie and George, two workers who travel together. They find their way to Salinas Valley, where they hope to begin work. They hope to make it big, get rich, and buy some land for themselves. However, they encounter some challenges that could possibly be a roadblock to their dreams. One of these challenges is discrimination because not everybody in the novella is treated equally. Discrimination is displayed in many ways in the book, especially with the characters of Lennie, Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy. Lenny is discriminated against because he is mentally disabled, Crooks is black, Curley's wife is a woman, and Candy is old.

Candy was discriminated in the story because he was old and handicapped.”But he was reassured by the swampers defense.”(Steinbeck 24) Candy was discriminated against his age because he was old, they even gave him a nickname which is swamper because he was old and smelly. “I ain’t much good with on’y hand.”(steinbeck 59) Since he lost his arm and was handicapped he was discriminated against because he couldn’t do much work. His dog played a huge part too because the dog was like a symbol. Since the dog was too old it was

In a room right off the side of a barn sits a crippled colored man. A big, kind, mentally disabled man sits on a nail keg. An old, one-armed man leans against one of the walls. A lonely wife looking for company stands in the middle of the doorway. They are the outsiders and prime examples for a theme that is the backbone of the story. Discrimination not only affects the story’s characters, but it also impacts the story itself. Discrimination greatly affects the outcome of the story and its characters’ actions and thoughts in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Although each character faces discrimination in various ways, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife are all viewed as outsiders and share the common key theme of discrimination in their lives.

Displaying characterization, Steinbeck portrays Candy as a depressed and inferior individual (as a mouse), lacking the self-confidence to hold a purpose: “When they can me here I wisht someone’d shoot me…have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs”(Steinbeck 60). Candy’s description illustrates his diminutive mouse-like starting point. Subsequently, Candy recognizes the vital importance to contribute, and to exhibit purpose (as a man): “Maybe if I give you guys my money, you’ll let me hoe in the garden even after I aint no good at it”(Steinbeck 60). This brief period defines Candy’s evolvement as a new man-like character; he gains the essential hope to embrace a

The bunkhouse was nearly empty, the men in the dining hall. The sun was just rising above the horizon, peeking through the dusty windows. If a blind man walked into the rectangular building, he would have never known a man named George was sitting on a bunk near the blackened stove, gazing at the floor, his eyes full of morose. The mattress next to him and the shelves hanging above it were empty, as if no one had sat on the bed or placed their belongings on the makeshift apple box shelves in a long while.

This passage comes from the fourth chapter in Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. George and the other workers are “gone into town” (69). Lennie, Crooks and Candy are the only men remaining on the ranch. This excerpt characterizes Crooks and promotes the themes of loneliness and dreams. In addition, this passage characterizes Lennie and reinforces the theme of companionship.

At the mention of the name, "John Steinbeck," many associations can be made to the classic works produced by the man. However, he did not begin his life as a successful writer. Growing up in Salinas, California, Steinbeck lived the life of a common man, working to survive in the Land of Promise. He began to develop a taste for writing; however, he studied marine biology while he attended Stanford University. Without graduating with a degree, Steinbeck began working as a laborer and reporter for the American in New York City. After realizing that he was not meeting his goals, or at least coming close to them, Steinbeck moved back to California where he continued to work in various odd jobs while he pursuing his career as a professional

The only character who really cares for Candy’s dog is Candy himself. He is the only one opposed to the dog being put down because he has become attached to it; Candy has spent a lifetime with his dog and the thought of putting him down is too much for him. Candy wants to keep the dog alive for his own

In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men characters in the novel are segregated by sex, race, age, physical and mental disabilities. John Steinbeck portrays the intolerance and bigotry of 1930’s America through the separation of his characters based on their handicaps. Lennie, Candy, Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife and Crooks all face social pressure from the other characters on the ranch based on their intelligence, physical disability, age, sex and color. Stereotyping based on ethnic or physical characteristics is typical to the 1930’s depression where civil rights for minority groups had not yet been addressed. Almost all of the characters who, in

ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend

In addition, the author sets up a parallel between Candy and his pet by describing them both as ‘old’ and no longer physically strong (Candy is missing a hand and the dog is ‘stiff with rheumatism’). Candy walked ‘slowly’ whilst his dog ‘struggled lamely to the side of the room’. These similarities between the old dog and its owner reminds the reader of the harsh environment the workmen are in. Steinbeck is trying to point out that anyone who is past a certain age and isn’t completely physically able is considered useless and, according to Carlson, better off dead. Candy’s despair is highlighted even further when he says, ‘When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me.’

How does John Steinbeck present Candy's character in the following extract from Chapter 2? Candy has been working at the ranch for a long time. He is elderly and has a physical disability, as he lost his hand in an accident with a machine. Candy walked into the room with his dog who 'struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down'. Candy and his dog are both of old age, and this implies that they are in a physically similar state.

From black people to white people, to the old and the young, almost every person was discriminated against in some way during the depression and even today. Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men takes place during the Great Depression, 1940s era and describes a very realistic situation about characters who are simply trying to get by and chasing the “American Dream” but struggles with conflict within themselves and the outside world. Discrimination was a common theme of Of Mice and Men and greatly affected the lives of the characters in the novella. Some characters include: Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy. The novella is a realistic representation of discrimination in society.

"Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck is about two special individuals by the names of Lenny and George, who have the typical American dream in the 1930’s. Their previously acquired work was situated on a ranch in the town of Weed but when their obligations were met they had to move on which is where this tale begins. This novel takes place at a farm where discrimination comes in many different forms. There are a variety of discriminatory examples in this novel such as; Crooks, a black stable buck; Curly’s Wife, the farm owner’s neglected daughter-in-law; and Candy, an old, disabled housekeeper. It’s clear in this novella that the time period consisted of a lot of discrimination as it was not illegal and equality was non-existent. Since laws

In Of Mice & Men by John Steinbeck, several characters were used to portray the effects of societal discrimination during the 1930s. One of these characters was Crooks, a disabled African-American horse tamer who is alienated due to his race; causing him to doubt the possibility of attaining a better future for himself. Like Candy, --a swamper who is becoming fearful for his own future as a disabled elderly man--, his biggest aspiration is to be seen as an equal to everyone else; something society has stripped them both from. Because Candy and Crooks are continually shut down by those around them, both characters struggle to formulate a future for themselves, revealing the difficulty to achieve one’s dreams when placed in a low social status.