Examples Of Outcasts In Of Mice And Men

In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there are many outcasts. An outcast is someone rejected by society because they are different from what the world views as acceptable. Two examples of outcasts in this story are shown through Crooks and Lennie. Both of them display important topics on the subject of discrimination and it affects them harshly throughout their lives.
Being shunned by society is never a good thing and can leave people with deep emotional or physical scars. It can also cause someone to become reclusive, or isolated, which can make them a very lonely person. They may not be understood because of this which can also make them a target against judgemental or hurtful people. The need for companionship and somebody to

care about you is an essential human quality. Without this, we find ourselves sad or scared, and is why rejection from a social group can affect someone so heavily.
One of the people greatly affected by being an outcast is Crooks.

Crooks is a black man and because of this, he is oppressed and looked down upon by the men around him. Because of his skin color, all throughout his life he has been treated unfairly. Such as when he was a little boy. “ ‘I was born right here in California. My old man had a chicken ranch...The white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them...My ol’ man didn’t like that. I never knew till long later why he didn’t like that. But I know now.’ ” (4.69) What Crooks means by this is that his father didn’t like him playing with the white children

because of racial issues, and even now as an adult, racism is still a big problem for him. Since he is black, Crooks is not allowed to bunk with the other men at the ranch and has to stay in a separate room by himself. “Well, I got a right to have a light. You go on outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house...Cause I’m black.”(4.67)
Another person greatly affected by being an outcast is Lennie.

Lennie has a mental disorder and because of this has the brain of a child. This can cause him to not comprehend a situation which can get him and George in lots of trouble. Such as when he got them kicked out of a job in Weed when Lennie “pet” a girl’s dress. Or when Lennie got into a fight with Curley. The most severe problem Lennie has ever caused though was when he accidentally killed Curley’s wife. All Lennie was trying to do was to pet the soft hair of Curley's wife when he accidently snapped her neck by grabbing tight on the hair and not letting go. “Lennie’s big fingers fell to stroking her hair...She jerked her head sideways, and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on...And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror...and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” (5.88-89) In the end of the book, the only way for Lennie to be truly free was when he would go to heaven. So George made the decision to shoot him, but not before making sure Lennie’s last moments on Earth were happy

ones.
Crooks and Lennie are very misunderstood people who are victims of negative stereotypes and rumors. Crooks is outcasted for being black, and Lennie for his mental disability, which may be two different things, but represent the exact same problem of prejudice or injustice. "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to." (1.15) This quote can represent both Crooks and Lennie in the sense they both work on a ranch and are very lonely without companionship.