An Analysis Of Stereotypes In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

“When people rely on surface appearances and false racial stereotypes, rather than in-depth knowledge of others at the level of the heart, mind and spirit, their ability to assess and understand people accurately is compromised.” (James A. Forbes) In the world, many people label and stereotype other nationalities, races, or cultures. Some do this simply to compare their culture to others’, but some label people a certain way to make them feel bad about themselves. Occasionally, groups of people don’t like the way the are labeled or stereotyped, so they work together to change the way they are perceived. Steinbeck shows how labeling and stereotyping influence how people look at the world by making the characters quick to judge one another based on their actions. Lennie was stereotyped to be a big scary guy by the woman in Weed because he touched her dress and wouldn’t let go. George and Lennie are going back and forth; “Lennie: Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress- jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse. George: Well, how the hell did she know you jus’ wanted to feel her dress? She jerks back and you hold on like it was a mouse. She yells and we got to hide in an irrigation ditch all day with guys

Slim gives his opinion on the matter of Candy’s dog; “Carl’s right, Candy. That dog ain’t no good to himself. I wisht somebody’d shoot me if I got and old an’ a cripple. Candy looked helplessly at him, for Slim’s opinions were law.” (Steinbeck 45) Slim is saying that the dog is suffering, and if he were suffering, he wishes someone would kill him. Candy knew he didn’t stand much of a chance because Slim has the final say. Slim takes this role of authority because he has the job that makes everything come together on the ranch. Thus, Slim is labeled as the leader of the ranch because he has a sense of authority about