Mental Impairments In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Improved Essays
Jiwon Chae

OMAM Essay

In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, several characters display physical and mental impairments which reflect their humanity. The characters include Lennie, Crooks, and Candy. Lennie is mentally disabled, Crooks has physical trait that isolates him from others and, Candy is old and feels useless. Even though Lennie has strength, Candy is aged, and Crooks has knowledge and courage, it is demolished by their physical or mental impairment and as a result, drifts them away from being perfectly normal person.
Lennie is a powerful protagonist of the book, who has mental impairment. In the book, he is described as having powerful strength but it always tends to create problems because he can not control himself.
…show more content…
She has mental impairment as Curley is always in possession of her. The fact that Curley’s Wife’ does not have an individual name shows that Steinbeck wanted to remind the readers that she is Curley’s possession. As she is the only women, she is lonely and eventually gives “the eye” to men and talks with them. But by these, Curley gets triggered and starts to drag her away from communicating with anyone. It is an action that shows she is always controlled by Curley and she rarely has opportunity to communicate which makes her lonely. But Curley, who is one person who Curley’s Wife can talk to is always out and she describes him says “Swell guy, ain’t he? Spends all his time sayin’ what he’s gonna do to guys he don’t like, and he don’t like nobody.”(84) This shows she really has no one with talk to making her lonely, causing mental impairment. Without the impairments, she could be a successful movie star, which is her dream. But while trying to cure her loneliness by talking with Curley, her dream crushes as she gets murdered. It shows what kind of unfortunate things loneliness can bring to young people and how it reflects their role in the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Of Mice and Men is a classic novella that paints a tragic portrait of America in the 1930’s. Steinbeck reveals prejudice that was aimed towards women during the 1930’s. The novella consist of male characters with the exception of Curley's wife. Curley’s wife is the only female that we are introduced in the story, since she is the only female she is often treated differently from everyone else. She is the only female on the farm making her isolated from the other workers.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the novel “Of Mice and Men”, written by John Steinbeck, the main character, George, shows his selflessness when he made the decision to kill Lennie after he ultimately kills someone. In the book, Lennie, who is mentally handicapped, doesn’t realize his own strength when he uses it in key moments in the story. For only his best friend and care-taker, George, can really control him and later in the book he decides his fate. Steinbeck uses George and Lennie’s friendship to show that the killing of Lennie, after what he has done, was selfless. First, Lennie and George have to flee their town of Weed and run off somewhere else to find work and living.…

    • 650 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “An’ why? Because….because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why” (Steinbeck 14). In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, he portrays a story of a mentally handicapped man born in the wrong generation. The novel shows many differences between mentally handicapped Lennie and his best friend, with full mental capacity, George. Although George and Lennie have countless differences and play contrasting roles, they are alike in several ways. The way the story is written, it would not have been the same without Lennie’s character not having a mental illness.…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Curleys Wife's Loneliness

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages

    It seemed as though she is lonely due to her disappointing marriage with Curley. One of the reasons for her marriage’s failure to satisfy was simply that she did not like Curley and the type of man he was. While speaking with one of the guys on the ranch, she confessed ‘“I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella”’ (Steinbeck 88). She also expressed her frustration with him by announcing ‘“Sometimes I’d like to bust him up myself”’…

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Curley’s Wife had big hopes and dreams, which ended in heartbreaking failure that resulted in her rushed marriage to Curley. Her life spiraled down from hopeful opportunities too marrying a man that oppresses her. She feels that she has reached a dead end, and is searching for a companion confide in, because she doesn't feel she can open up too her husband. Companionship is something that humans need, and an unloving, controlling husband does not fit the bill. He cannot provide her happiness or peace of mind, so she is searching for someone who can.…

    • 594 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I think you have seen them before. That little kid bound to a wheelchair because he has a disability that paralyzed his legs. He will never walk. That old man who still lives with his mother, who has a brain deficiency. And that lady who walks around town just watching talking in gibberish and never changing.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The human issues come up in the first chapter of the book because when George tells the story about getting run out of the weed because Lennie does not understand right from wrong so he don’t understood also accused of attempting rape when really he just wanted to touch the girl’s dress because he thought it was so pretty but instead of listening to his explanation and being given a fair trial a lynch mob forms to capture Lennie. This was good example of a person being understanding and treated wrong because he have a mental handicap with is human right issues…

    • 102 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American dream was a time in the 1920s during the great depression where George and Lennie attempt their success in there dream, but face many obstacles as they try to achieve it. As George and Lennie’s dream is to raise a farm with there own animals, Lennie’s minor mental disability is tough as Lennie tends to kill anything he he gets attached to. George sees Lennie stroking a dead mouse that Lennie killed unintentionally George says “you gonna give me that mouse or do I have to sock you.” Lennie replies “They was so little id pet them and pretty soon they bit my fingers so I pitched their little heads…

    • 332 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Former First Lady, Michelle Obama, addressed the issue of mental illness by saying, “At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg, or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there should be no distinction.” In America, most people view mentally ill entities differently than someone with an illness in their heart or any other body part. It’s seen as more extreme if someone has a mental issue and they are categorized as abnormal and strange. In the novel Of Mice of Men, Lennie has mental problems that affect his nervous system and mental capacity.…

    • 1568 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Curley’s wife is the loneliest of any individual on the ranch as she is not only secluded from everyone by her husband but she is also the sole female on the ranch and has no contact with the outside world. Although she is able to roam the ranch, Curley is always on the lookout for her to be around the men and does not allow her to spend much time alone with them and prohibits her from speaking to them. Curley’s status, rather than size, intimidates the ranch workers so…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In, Of Mice and Men Lennie, Candy, and Crooks are discriminated because of their physical and mental Impairments: Crooks’ skin color and crooked back, Candy’s hand and age, and Lennie’s mental handicap.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The book Of Mice and Men is full of puzzling examples of the human condition, from Lennie and his mental disability to Curley’s wife messing with all of the men’s heads. With characters like these two, the book exploits the human condition that concerns circumstances life has gives you. John Steinbeck brings to life what being a laborer in the American depression meant to the men and one woman who had enough personality to stand out. George, Slim, Curley, and Lennie are all very different people with lives that make them have different views and priorities.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 1156 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    As a result, her actions are given explanations. This lost woman trying to find her place is avoided by the ranch workers, in addition to being unvalued by her own husband. Loneliness is prominent in the novella, and Curley’s wife helps develop that theme. She is isolated from everyone except Curley, and she makes it clear to Lennie that she does not like Curley and feels like she has no one to talk to. “You can talk to people, but I can’t to nobody but Curley.…

    • 1121 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Steinbeck introduces Curley’s wife as a possession of Curley as the only girl on the ranch. Being the only female on the ranch, Curley had demanded and made sure that his wife does not talk to anyone on the ranch. As a way of revolting against her loneliness and her husband’s rules, she begins to flirt with other ranchers for attention. In the novel Curley’s wife seeks for attention or someone to talk to because Curley does not give her the love and attention she needs. Curley is rather unkind to his wife by not talking to her or caring about she has to say, leaving Curley’s wife with the need to tell someone.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays