Intellectual Disabilities In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

“Whether someone is useful only matters if you value people by their use.” ― Corinne Duyvis, On the Edge of Gone. Only 50 years ago persons with intellectual disabilities were scorned, isolated and neglected. Little was known or understood about intellectual disabilities up until the latter part of the 20th century up until this time people with intellectual disabilities were often ridiculed, treated unfairly, feared and therefore locked away in institutions if they did not have someone to look out for them. According to Rhonda Nauhaus and Cindy Smith in their article Disability Rights through the Mid-20th Century, The laws of any nation reflect its societal values. The Novel, Of Mice and Men, demonstrates the real-life issue of discrimination

George is constantly giving Lennie directions that he has to repeat several times to help him remember. The Inability to connect actions with consequences is another sign. Lennie is obsessed with touching soft things, he is unable to distinguish when it is inappropriate to touch things. Lennie also displays some stereotypical physical characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities. He is described as being very large with a shapeless face, and he drags his feet when he walks with arms that don’t swing rather they hang loosely at his

Over the past 60 years, the legal landscape in the United States has undergone a fundamental transformation with respect to the rights of people with disabilities, a shift toward independence and full participation and away from pervasive institutionalization and exclusion (Nehaus, Smith, & Burgdorf).
In the early development of the United States the main focus for people was survival, those with disabilities were seen as diseased, weak, useless and unable to contribute. As a result, they were often ostracized, locked away and sometimes experimented on in hopes of finding a cure. It wasn’t until well into the 20th century that people with Intellectual disabilities in the United States were afforded some basic human rights. Specifically, social welfare laws were enacted, ensuring that people with intellectual disabilities could receive an education, training, emotional, psychological and financial support in an effort to help them become productive members of society. However, even with these supports in place many people with intellectual disabilities wind up in the judicial