Mental Disabilities In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Lennie is polite when George is around, but if George leaves, it’s a whole different story. Lennie misbehaves and acts mentally disabled. George tells Lennie that he is sick of him complaining all the time. George starts going on about how life would be easier without Lennie around so he could live his own life. George is annoyed with Lennie, and he is trying to parent him so that he can be more thankful for things others may not have.

Robert Jenkins Mrs. Daquelente English 2 8 May 2023 Formal Outline: Cause-and-Effect Essay Thesis: Lennie, Curlys wife, and Crooks are characters from John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men whose struggles with mental disability, overly protective mother, and racism lead to broken dreams that negatively impacted their lives. Body Topic A: To begin, Lennie’s experience with his mental disability ruined his dream and drastically changed his future of owning a farm with George and taking care of bunnies. Direct Quote #1-Lennie explained that “I’d pet 'em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead”(Steinbeck).

How do the disabilities of the major characters prove to enhance the quality of the story, Of Mice and Men? Their disabilities influence the plot because without Lennie, Crooks, or Candy the story would be uninteresting to the readers because their challenges cause the dramatic events in the story. All of the characters in the book work on the farm. Lennie has a mental handicap, Crooks is a black man with a crooked spine, and Candy is an old man with only one hand. Lennie has a mental disability that creates depth in the story.

Though, not a commonly perceived theme, Of Mice and Men is a book that exemplifies themes of love, friendship and compassion. From the very beginning of the story it’s clear George and Lennie are close. It’s also made clear Lennie is a bit of nuisance, George saying “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl.” Though, despite this George remains with Lennie, despite knowing

Almost everyone can see that society as a whole is being or is already broken down into separate classes that receive different treatments as others. This is a problem that has been shown throughout many generations, my example would be how Lennie is treated because of the impulses that his illness causes and how the strength that he possesses causes problems for himself and his caretaker, George. In Of Mice and Men, it is seen that the mentally ill not being treated the same in society as a healthy man, some examples include the boss's son trying to fight Lennie because he can’t fight back but when he does he crushes every bone in the man’s hand. So, Of Mice and Men is a compelling story of a mentally ill man trying with all his might to be

Untreated mental illness is dangerous and over time we have learned that locking people with a mental illness is not the solution but makes it worse. People with untreated mental illness face many consequences. “People with untreated psychiatric illnesses comprise 250,000 people, of the total homeless population” (mentalillnesspolicy.org). The quality of life for these individuals is extremely heart breaking, and many are victimized regularly.

This is due to George’s human need for companionship. Though it is barely self-recognized, George would not be able to keep his composure without the “burden” of Lennie by his side. Lennie acts as an anchor for George, and though that may sound like a bad thing to many, for a man living during the Great Depression, it is good. Lennie is almost like a child for George, he is a second being that can not thrive without the help of George. Without this, George would most likely, like a lot of poor men, spiral into a state of craze where saving money and being responsible becomes less important.

In fact, in “Of Mice and Men” the character Lennie shows how the mentally ill are treated and viewed. “I go get my shotgun. I’ll shoot ‘im in the guts. “Of course, Curley is referring how he will get his gun, and kill Lennie before he knows all the facts. This shows how the mental ill are viewed as a problem, and the only solution is a quick fix.

"We're born alone we live alone die alone. Only through love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone” Orson Welles. In John Steinbeck's novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck focuses on the struggle of having a disability while struggling to get by during the American Great Depression on a Californian ranch life. Even though one may have to live around their disability, they do not let that become a big stepping stone in the life, whether they know about it or not. In John Steinbeck's novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Lennie Small, Carlson and Crooks are three great examples of how they keep living their lives despite the facts that they each have a disabilities to their lives.

When people hear the words, “mental illness,” they think of insane asylums and psychiatric wards, but that’s not necessarily the case. Yes, back in the 1800’s they did have asylums for people with mental disorders. But that was when doctors didn’t fully understand mental illnesses and disorders. But currently, doctors are able to comprehend illnesses and disorders.

After their journey in Weed went inadequate George went to look for jobs, but in the time of The Great Depression it was very hard to find anything. Since Lennie has his disability he can't do much without George by his side all the time, or he could do something traumatic.

Of Mice and Men: Lennie’s Mental Illness The novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is a story about two men and their companionship. The story takes place in California during the Great Depression. The two men have a dream to one day own a farm of their own. This dream never comes true and they are forced to work for someone else on a ranch for the rest of their lives.

Scott Hamilton once stated, “The only disability in life is a bad attitude.” Disability is only an obstacle in a person's life, but it does not set the identity of that person. John Steinbeck's novel shows how disabled people are treated differently by writing about their heartbreak and sorrow. Many individuals with disabilities feel that a disability is a wall blocking them from achieving their goals. In our society, people are told what to be and what to do with their disability, but one should have the choice to carve their pathway to success.

There ain 't no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he 's so strong’" (Steinbeck 43). What George refers to in this quote is what is known today as an intellectual and developmental disability (IDD). Lennie’s IDD affects the way his brain

You know, i have always wondered how people can deal with living or taking care of mentally disabled people. When you take care of a mentally disabled person, you have to constantly watch them and you have to give them your all, and i don't think i could take care of a mentally disabled person for a day! Well, in a book called “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, a small but intelligent person called George has to take care of a huge mentally disabled person called Lennie, and Lennie surprisingly loves cute little bunnies! I think that George and Lennie have a great friendship and they care for each other, one example would be right at the beginning of the book where Lennie proceeds to drink lake water and George tells him to not drink it and says "Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night."