Lennie’s Problem
Mental illnesses are different with each case, each person; which sometimes makes it hard to decipher what is unusual. John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men introduces a character Lennie who displays obvious signs of having a mental disorder, though not schizophrenia according to multiple outside sources. This novella takes place during the 1930’s, when mental illnesses were not acknowledged or treated. This proves to be devastating to Lennie in the book, for no one understands him. But if he lives in modern society, he can be properly diagnosed and helped. Referring to multiple sources, it is assumed that Lennie does not schizophrenia, based on the lack of common symptoms like delusions/hallucinations, catatonia, and disorganized thoughts/speech. Lennie has only one incident of hallucinations, with no other mention of hallucinations at all. He displays no other obvious signs of positive/negative symptoms or catatonia. Although Lennie lacks …show more content…
He does not display any of the common symptoms of schizophrenia, like hallucinations, catatonia, or any other major positive/negative symptoms. He displays signs of slow mental growth, but that is no indication of schizophrenia, which is usually a loss of self-control. Lennie Small, a main character in Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, suffered because his illness went unrecognized and untreated. The setting of the book, the 1930’s, is a big factor for why Lennie suffered, one logical reason being that mental illnesses were not recognized at the time and that his illness cannot be properly treated. However, it is truly scary how easily this can still happen it today’s society. Even though now more is known about these mental disorders, still so many people choose to be ignorant; this ignorance, combined with the complexity of each and every case, makes it hard, even in modern society, to perfectly diagnose and help each
Mental illnesses are different with each case, each person; which sometimes makes it hard to decipher what is unusual. John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men introduces a character Lennie who displays obvious signs of having a mental disorder, though not schizophrenia according to multiple outside sources. This novella takes place during the 1930’s, when mental illnesses were not acknowledged or treated. This proves to be devastating to Lennie in the book, for no one understands him. But if he lives in modern society, he can be properly diagnosed and helped. Referring to multiple sources, it is assumed that Lennie does not schizophrenia, based on the lack of common symptoms like delusions/hallucinations, catatonia, and disorganized thoughts/speech. Lennie has only one incident of hallucinations, with no other mention of hallucinations at all. He displays no other obvious signs of positive/negative symptoms or catatonia. Although Lennie lacks …show more content…
He does not display any of the common symptoms of schizophrenia, like hallucinations, catatonia, or any other major positive/negative symptoms. He displays signs of slow mental growth, but that is no indication of schizophrenia, which is usually a loss of self-control. Lennie Small, a main character in Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, suffered because his illness went unrecognized and untreated. The setting of the book, the 1930’s, is a big factor for why Lennie suffered, one logical reason being that mental illnesses were not recognized at the time and that his illness cannot be properly treated. However, it is truly scary how easily this can still happen it today’s society. Even though now more is known about these mental disorders, still so many people choose to be ignorant; this ignorance, combined with the complexity of each and every case, makes it hard, even in modern society, to perfectly diagnose and help each