Role Of Discrimination In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Despite the ongoing efforts to end discrimination, this topic is being used lightly because our society is becoming more accustomed to this term. However, in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, discrimination is a recurring theme that highlights the negative effects of the unjust treatment of people outside the ‘norm’. The novel features two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who yearn for a new life and promising opportunities to achieve their dream during the Great Depression. When reading the novel, one can detect that the main types of discrimination shown are based on the character's gender, race and disability. The treatment against these characters cause aggravation, as well as despair throughout the novel and Steinbeck writes about discrimination to reveal the isolation and detachment it causes.

Using Crooks, the black stable-hand, as the main focal point, Steinbeck emphasizes that isolation is the result of discrimination. There is …show more content…
Throughout the novel, the men refuse to have anything to do with her, because they all believe she’ll cause trouble. George even pleaded to Lennie, "Don't you even take a look at that bitch. I don't care what she says and what she does. I seen 'em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her.” (Steinbeck, 32). This type of treatment toward Curley's wife causes her to yearn for companionship and she desperately confides in Lennie. Regrettably, this leads to her death when Lennie accidentally breaks her neck after playing with her hair. This tragedy sets off a domino effect, as her death leads to other devastating events. Readers can conclude that although her death impacted the outcome of the novel, the treatment she received was unjust and the discrimination against her added to her sadness of not being to able to live her dream as an