“And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger.” In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Lennie’s mental health issues are brought to an end just like that. However, the bullet that killed Lennie was not the end of mental health problems globally. Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men tells the story of Lennie, a man whose lack of mental health causes diverse problems. However, Lennie’s case is not one of mere fiction, as people in the United States of America and Sierra Leone too suffer from cases like his. Of Mice and Men is John Steinbeck’s plead on behalf of those suffering with their mental health. When reading the novel, multiple incidents occur that show the Lennie’s needs. For example, when Slim, a co-worker or Lennie and George’s inquires, George says, “Sure he’s jes’ like a kid. There ain’t no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he’s so strong” (22). Lennie kills mice, a puppy, and even a woman, without any ill intentions. Lennie does not mean any harm, but simply does not know quite how to act …show more content…
According to the World Health Organization, the US has 648 mental hospitals, 1170 psychiatric units in general hospitals, and 1,656 residential care facilities, which take care of those who suffer from their mental health. Many people in the US require extra attention for their special mental needs, and Lennie’s needs are no exception. According to a study by Indiana University and Columbia University, 12.1 percent of Americans surveyed in 1996 perceived mentally ill people as “violent, dangerous, frightening” (Callahan). In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is seen by many people as a violent person, and in that sense, he is not at all unlike others with mental illnesses, as many Americans also associate mental illnesses with
John Steinbeck wrote a story about two men that only had each to depend on. Many of George and Lennie's struggles come from things they cannot control such as Lennie's mental issues. George and Lennie are very poor and they work on farms together, but they have to move a lot because Lennie always does something stupid. The greatest tragedy in Mice and Men was when Lennie was left alone with Curley's wife. She was the reason why Lennie ended up being killed. She knew of to manipulate others to get her way and that is what she relies on most of the time.
Emotionally and Physically Crippled Characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Works Cited Missing "Of Mice and Men is a novel in which the majority of the characters are crippled, whether physically, socially or emotionally" is a very astute statement. Many of the characters in the novel suffer due to the time period the novel was set in. The 1930's were a terribly lonely time for the itinerant, ranch workers, ranch wives and Afro-Americans. Their lonely lives left them emotionally crippled, for they didn't have much company. This was because they had been alone for so long that they had chose to live isolated from other people.
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
In Of Mice and Men the character Lennie is big and has a diminished mental capacity. Lennie is s...
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck Lennie has many traits that define him. One trait he has is he is very forgetful. Another trait he has is he is very reliant upon George. A final trait that Lennie possesses is he is very curious. These three ideas are all traits that Lennie uses to manage his life and they help him by staying positive. Although Lennie is mentally deficient, he can still maintain a healthy lifestyle by using his happiness.
At the beginning, the author describes his movement using a metaphor, as Lennie “[drags] his feet… the way a bear drags his paws” (p.2), to show that he is much alike a bear physically. In addition, Steinbeck uses a simile to emphasize Lennie’s animal-like behaviour, as he “[drinks] wit long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse” (p.3). By comparing his physical and behavioural characteristics, this can foreshadow that the author implies that Lennie is seen as more animal than human because of his metal disabilities. George further makes it evident when he infers that “somebody [would] shoot [him] for a coyote if [he] was by [himself]” (p.12). This shows that people are scared of him and his unpredictable, animal-like behaviour because of the lack of understanding about mental health during the early 1900s. Furthermore, this can be the foundation for the theme where the lack of communication and understanding with the mentally disabled can lead to dire and tragic
Lennie is depicted in a very childlike manner throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Accordingly, he acts in a manner that is persistent with a child in that his motivations precisely lead to his actions. He does not act in a pure sense of dishonesty, reflective of the purity that is peculiar to someone who is like a kid at heart.
Since the beginning of the book, Steinbeck characterizes Lennie as a man who sees the world through the perspective of a child, as if it is a dream. Lennie is a big guy, but he acts like a baby. In the beginning of the story, after George threw the dead mouse Lennie was petting, Lennie was “…‘Blubberin’ like a baby!” (9). This juvenile action demonstrates Lennie’s immaturity and childish
Allegedly, those in the game of life, all have a chance to win. For a man like Lennie Smalls, in John Steinbeck’s novella in “Of Mice and Men”, has less of a chance as everyone else. Lennie is a mentally handicapped man who wishes to pursue a life as normal as others. In the novella, John Steinbeck provides no chance for his dehumanized character, Lennie Smalls, to obtain the American Dream because he is mentally handicapped.
Lennie’s innocence and inability to recognize his own strength is shown through his interaction with the mice. Lennie intends to innocently and affectively
John Steinbeck explores human experience in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ in friendship, loneliness and marginalisation. He does this through the characters as explained thought the paragraphs below.
Lennie’s illness was seen as common and nothing to take concern over, which pertains to the vague yet soft sympathy from George whom “babysits” Lennie. George was an older brother to Lennie in a sense, helping him to get through life without any mishaps. However for George, Lennie’s illness determined their income and job status. In several incidences, Lennie overreacted in certain situations causing them to lose or leave their job spontaneously. At different points in the book, George became frustrated with Lennie: “You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time. An' that ain't the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out” (Steinbeck 12). This showed the overall frustration yet compassion towards Lennie, however extreme concern. According to Lennie, when he killed the puppy he said: “Why do you got to get killed, you ain’t as little as mice I didn’t bounce you hard” (Steinbeck 85). This really brought out the fact that Lennie’s illness was not to be tempered with, as he really couldn’t ever contemplate the harsh, unintentional things he’s done. When George and Lennie arrive at their new job, tension rises in the book and the author brings out that possible aspect of Lennie unintentionally doing something wrong which in turn would cause them to lose their job--or
Character Assessments of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 'Of Mice and Men' is written by John Steinbeck. The story is based in
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck brings out the themes of Lonliness and companionship, and strengths and weaknesses through the actions, and quotations of the characters. Irony and foreshadowing play a large roll on how the story ends. Lennie and his habit of killing things not on purpose, but he is a victim of his own strength. George trying to pretend that his feelings for Lennie mean nothing. The entire novel is repetitive in themes and expressed views.
Numerous people believe that a person's life should be saved at all costs, but if the person is too far gone, it may not even be worth keeping them alive. In the novella Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck, introduces a mercy killing controversy. The story starts off by following two men in the 1930s, that are best friends. They talk about getting a job and putting down a stake to live off of the land. Lennie, one of the men, has a mental illness that causes him to act like a child. He will often fail to remember things, accidentally kill animals because of his unprecedented strength, and become upset easily. This ends up placing him into a severe dilemma and he ends up murdering a man’s wife. George chooses to end Lennie’s life so