Examples Of Outcasts In Of Mice And Men

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In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck there are many outcasts. An outcast is someone rejected by society because they are different from what the world views as acceptable. Two examples of outcasts in this story are shown through Crooks and Lennie. Both of them display important topics on the subject of discrimination and it affects them harshly throughout their lives. Being shunned by society is never a good thing and can leave people with deep emotional or physical scars. It can also cause someone to become reclusive, or isolated, which can make them a very lonely person. They may not be understood because of this which can also make them a target against judgemental or hurtful people. The need for companionship and somebody to …show more content…

Crooks is a black man and because of this, he is oppressed and looked down upon by the men around him. Because of his skin color, all throughout his life he has been treated unfairly. Such as when he was a little boy. “ ‘I was born right here in California. My old man had a chicken ranch...The white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them...My ol’ man didn’t like that. I never knew till long later why he didn’t like that. But I know now.’ ” (4.69) What Crooks means by this is that his father didn’t like him playing with the white children …show more content…

Lennie has a mental disorder and because of this has the brain of a child. This can cause him to not comprehend a situation which can get him and George in lots of trouble. Such as when he got them kicked out of a job in Weed when Lennie “pet” a girl’s dress. Or when Lennie got into a fight with Curley. The most severe problem Lennie has ever caused though was when he accidentally killed Curley’s wife. All Lennie was trying to do was to pet the soft hair of Curley's wife when he accidently snapped her neck by grabbing tight on the hair and not letting go. “Lennie’s big fingers fell to stroking her hair...She jerked her head sideways, and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on...And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror...and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” (5.88-89) In the end of the book, the only way for Lennie to be truly free was when he would go to heaven. So George made the decision to shoot him, but not before making sure Lennie’s last moments on Earth were happy

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