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Book grapes of wrath essay
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Analysis of John Steinbeck
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Have you ever felt like you don’t fit in, like you don’t belong? Like an outcast? In the story of Mice and Men there is many discriminatory actions happening due to sexism, racism and even disabilities. Lennie and Crooks are both considered outcasts in the story of Mice and Men. In the story Of Mice and Men Lennie is considered an outcast. First off, Lennie Small is consider an outcast due to the fact he is mentally challenged. “He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid” (23). In this quote George Milton is explaining as to why Lennie’s face looks the way it does to their boss. Also Lennie is incapable of taking care of himself due his disability. “Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself.” (14)
In Of Mice and Men the character Lennie is big and has a diminished mental capacity. Lennie is s...
didn't allow him to hang out in the bunkhouse with them. At one point in the
Crooks, Curley’s wife, and most defiantly Lennie are the outcasts on the ranch. The novel presents Lennie as a mentally challenged, but an unusually strong worker who travels with his friend George. George takes care of Lennie as if he was his own child and Lennie cares for George the same way. “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you” (14). Lennie describes how he cares for George although he honestly just messes everything up for George. Lennie has the mind of a child and does not understand how to act and be an adult. Lennie continues to pet dead mice, feel shiny and smooth objects, and not know how to interact with other people. From time to time, George continues to care and try to make improvements with Lennie, but it just does not happen. Lennie continues to have the mind of a child and can never distinguish the different between right and wrong. Throughout the novel; from being a mentally challenged; tall, muscular man; Lennie is most definitely an outcast in the story Of Mice and Men.
Right off the bat, Lennie is described as lesser, and rather than helped he is given a “slap on the wrist”. To begin with, Lennie is always described as less capable or unable to do certain activities to the extent of others. For example, at the beginning of the book George and Lennie were attempting to get a job. George always said, “He can do anything, just give him a try” (22). George implied that the likelihood of Lennie receiving a job is significantly less due to him being disabled. Lennie being less likely to receive a job due to his mental disability shows discrimination and expresses how difficult it could have been for a mentally handicapped person to get a job during this era. Moving forward, rather than George helping Lennie, Lennie is put down and scolded for his mistakes. During a scene between Lennie and George, George exclaimed, “You forget. You always forget, an’ I got to talk you out of it” (23). As it is not necessarily Lennie’s fault, George is in the wrong to put down Lennie for his actions. However, rather than attempting to help Lennie, George puts him down for his mistakes and then is forced to apologize for his own actions later. Lennie is a prime example of oppression against the mentally disabled in Of Mice and Men.
One of the factors that create an imbalance of power within a society is a person's socioeconomic status. Often people with low socioeconomic status are undervalued in society. This imbalance can cause issues with the feelings of security and confidence. Also opportunities and choices can be limited for some people, but expanded to others. People often identify with roles of different socioeconomic status groups, based on their own socioeconomic status, and this can limit creativity and the potential of groups or individuals. If the world believes that people can go from “rags to riches” in America, then there should be an opportunity for all socioeconomic groups.
First, Lennie is a lonely outcast because he is retarded. One of the reasons he doesn?t fit in with the other ranch hands is because he doesn?t always understand what people are talking about. He doesn?t even always understand George. Lennie admits this when Crooks says to him, ?Sometimes he talks and and you don?t know what the hell he?s talkin? about.? (Steinbeck,77). But Lennie always needs companionship. He is never alone, even if he has a dead mouse or a puppy with him. George would sometimes punish Lenny by not letting him tend to the rabbits on the ranch. And Lennie?s biggest fear is of being abandoned by George:
In this fictional novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck sought to bring out the racial differences in George and Lennie's time. This racial diversity impacted African Americans socially and economically. Crooks is one example of an outsider, from this novel. He is an African American that grew up with white people in his childhood, but took a separate path, once realizing society's standard of segregation. Loneliness was a new feeling to Crooks; because he had always been compatible with other people. Even though being an outsider made him grumpy, he was forced to learn how to be independent. As a result, his space, while still giving others theirs.
and has no family and the only old man on the ranch. We are told him
Back in the day far too often people looked down on or took advantage of people with mental or physical disabilities. Those are the kids nowadays that ride the short bus, are in a wheelchair, or their brain or other organs or limbs never completely developed so they have trouble completing simple everyday activities. About 15% of the people in the world today have either a significant mental or physical disability (according to Disabilities of America website). In John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men, Lennie Small displays three common qualities of a person with mental disabilities. Lennie is innocent, loyal, and has amazing physical strength.
When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.
...ntally disabled people prevented Lennie from being trusted and be respected as a human being. In this novel, discrimination that Lennie had to face prevented him from showing his abilities.
The title of the novel Of Mice and Men has a unique meaning behind it. The saying “Are you a man or are you a mouse?” has a connection to novel itself but more importantly the characters. Each main character in this novel can be classified as either a “man” or a “mouse”. The “men” seen in the novel are George Milton, and Curley. The “mice” can be classified as Lennie Small and Curley’s wife. The “mice” are represented by the weak or the socially unacceptable characters; the “men” are represented by the strong, independent characters.
Although John Steinbeck’s novelette Of Mice and Men included a vast away of interesting characters, Lennie was one that sparked my interest the most. Small’s personality is similar to that of an innocent child’s; he is also often depicted like an animal, as he is as strong as a bull (as Milton describes him), but acts like a dog. Small is also mentally handicapped, feels security when it comes to touching soft items, and does not understand many abstract ideas. We can look at all of these traits through his devoted dependency towards George. Though he acts this way, he does not actually comprehend this idea of loyalty. As a result, he often gets into trouble without the intention of doing so, and once he does, only defines his troubles in terms of consequences, as he says “George goin’ to give me hell” or “George ain’t gonna’ let me tend them rabbits no more.” Despite his repetitive behavior, he never understands the reason why his actions are incorrect. In the beginning of the story, an instance the reader can observe his animal-like (or childish) behavior is when he slurps...
“ She turned on him in scorn. ‘Listen, Nigger,’ she said. ‘You know what I can do to you if you open your trap”(Steinbeck, 116)? In this quote Curley’s wife, in the novel Of Mice and Men, knew she was superior to the character Crooks because of his race. She took her power as an advantage. Discrimination is being in favor or against someone or a group of people for any reason. Lennie and George are what you may say “bestfriends”. The two traveled together to find work when that isn’t common in the time they were in. Lennie has had his problems in the past with not knowing how to keep his hands to himself. He wouldn’t purposely try to hurt anyone, he just doesn’t think like everyone else. Lennie is the reason for the two moving from Weed. The two move to this new ranch and things took a turn , it was for the best at first but it quickly changed for the worst. Lennie couldn’t keep his hands to himself and accidentally killed
Mental illness. Since the beginning of time, people have had them. Ticks in their brains that made them different, and often shunned or feared. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the character Lennie is shown to have mental illness, making him childlike and stronger than he knows. Steinbeck illustrates this by giving him Animalistic Qualities, He listens to George and only George, and showing how childlike he can be.