Of Mice And Men Segregation Essay

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In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men characters in the novel are segregated by sex, race, and age, physical and mental disabilities. John Steinbeck portrays the intolerance and bigotry of 1930’s America through the separation of his characters based on their handicaps. Lennie, Candy, Candy’s dog, Curley’s wife and Crooks all face social pressure from the other characters on the ranch based on their intelligence, physical disability, age, sex and color. Stereotyping based on ethnic or physical characteristics is typical to the 1930’s depression where civil rights for minority groups had not yet been addressed. Almost all of the characters who, in the 1930’s, classify as a minority in Of Mice and Men face social persecution and feel the force of society’s preconceived notions about the color of their racial and physical features. Because of this social persecution Lennie and George find that it is truly impossible to achieve the American Dream because of the segregation. This segregation causes conflict between the characters in the novel and causes those who hold the majorities to not only maintain the majority but also to suppress those who comprise the minority. The most obvious of the social persecutions is that of Lennie’s mental disability. Throughout the novel Lennie is segregated from the rest of the workers. After a hard day at work the farm hands play poker and other card games. Lennie is sent away to play with the puppies because he isn’t smart enough to understand the game and segregate him because of his stupidity. In order to appear superior to Lennie characters take advantage of his gentle and gullible nature. A major motif of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is the American dream and the drive to attain it... ... middle of paper ... ...ream escapes their grasp. Lennie, who is eventually killed by his best friend, was perhaps the most dependent upon the dream of owning land and tending the rabbits. George, who is forced to kill Lennie rather than leave him at the mercy of Curley, is almost as reliant on the dream as Lennie. Candy and Crooks have invested much less in the dream and, consequently, suffer less when it fails to reach fruition. Dreams are a significant motif in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. The author presents a couple of destitute workers driven by a single dream that seems unattainable. However, their friendship keeps the dream alive, and Steinbeck uses other characters to cause the reader to believe that they might actually succeed in their goals. Nevertheless, the dream is never fulfilled, and the characters who have counted on it the most are the ones who are the most devastated.

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