The Role Of Impairment In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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“They left all the weak ones here,” she finally said. (Steinbeck 77) Of Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck during the Great Depression. The story takes place in California on a ranch. There are two men in this book that are the main characters, they travel from ranch to ranch to make money to live off of. In addition to these two men, there are many other characters that are already living on the ranch when the two men arrive. The book Of Mice and Men have many characters that have impairments. Some of these people include Lennie, Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife. One of the many characters with an impairment in this book is Lennie. Lennie has some sort of disability which is not directly stated in the book but, the reader can infer this because of the way he talks and the way he acts. An example of Lennies impairment is when Lennie says “ and we could live offa the fatta the lan” (Steinbeck 105). …show more content…
Crooks first problem is that he is black. His second disability is that he got kicked in the back by a horse and now his back is crooked and he can not walk normally. The problem with being black is that at the time black people did not have the same rights that they do today. They could not really so anything outside of work and try to make some money. An example of this discrimination is when Crooks says to Lennie “... You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room.” “Why ain’t you wanted?” Lennie asked. “Cause I’m black...” (Steinbeck 68) This shows his handicap because when Lennie walks in he immediately says to get out because it was his room and since Cooks was not wanted in the bunkhouse Lennie was not wanted in the barn. A final instance is when this impairment is seen when Crooks got kicked by a horse. This causes his back to be crooked and as a result he can not walk properly. Curley’s wife, as well as the other characters listed has a

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