Mental Illness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The definition of mental illness is as follows: “A condition which causes serious disorder in a person’s behavior or thinking” (Oxford Dictionary). Within John Steinbeck’s famous story, Of Mice and Men, the character Lennie suffers from a mental disability, which ultimately leads to his death. In a similar way, millions of people suffer from a form of mental illness, and are often are not treated for their disorders, which frequently ends in a form of tragedy for the individual. Often, those around them are uninformed on the subject and they either become bystanders to the individual’s downfall, or treat the person as an ill-mannered idiot. Within some countries, such as the United States of America, the nation’s leaders are trying to bring their societies out of these “dark ages,” and give the current and following generations the education they require on this subject. However, some countries, such as Ethiopia, are experiencing difficulty with this task, which can lead to a deeper dive into the realm of insensitivity. Within his famous novella, Steinbeck provides evidence toward this by exemplifying the issue of how society treats mental illness and the ignorance the majority of humanity has toward the subject. Mental health is a serious issue that the entire world must face. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “One in four people in the world …show more content…
The World Health Organization is fighting toward a better future world-wide for the mentally ill and the countries of the Earth are doing their part as well. Within America, despite negative connotation with the term “mentally ill,” America is educating its population about the mentally ill and bringing forth policies that will assist the mentally ill. Similarly, countries with underdeveloped health policies, such as Ethiopia, are bringing their health care systems into the modern world by providing care and medicine for the mentally