Change In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In middle school, there was a kid sitting at one of the lunch tables close to the middle of the lunchroom and a few tables over there was a large group of kids laughing at the kid. It was obvious that this kid was slow and he was making noise and the group of kids were laughing and making fun of him. They yelled things like “alien” and “egg head” (using more colorful language) as they mocked his movements and the noises he made. Some people aren’t treated fairly still due to the way they look or sound. American society in the 1930s was ignorant to difference and slow to change because some people didn’t care. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men set in the 1930’s in Salinas Valley, California we meet the static character Lennie Smalls and his best friend George Milton. While it is obvious to the reader that Lennie has a mental disability because of his actions, it is never directly stated. However when he pets mice to death because they are soft, grabs a woman’s dress for the silky feel, and on the new ranch they are working at, he kills Curley’s wife. Based on these examples it can be deducted that he does not know his own strength and …show more content…
People are not educated on disabilities, so there is no help or support for Lenny and he has to rely on George to survive. Today, we have special education and support for disabled people so they can survive in society. George acted as that support, but it took a tole on him trying to start a new life, so taking care of another grown man was a large chore. Because Lennie is not able to change to society and society does not change for him, he can’t survive. On the ranch, Lennie being unable to control himself causes several problems. He kills one of Slim’s puppies and Curly’s wife. This leads to him having to be killed by George so he doesn’t hurt himself or others, as he is the only one that cares about