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A christmas memory personal narrative
Steinbeck's techniques of mice and men
A christmas memory personal narrative
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The nineteen thirties happened a long time ago. Many things have changed since then, one of them is the treatment of people with disabilities. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie Small, a man with a cognitive disability, is gruesomely mistreated. If he were to live his life nowadays, his treatment would be extremely different. If Lennie was born in say; nineteen eighty, his treatment would be different because; people would be more supportive of him and his cognitive disability, he wouldn’t be driven out of town multiple times, and his life wouldn’t have ended so abruptly because he wouldn’t be wanted dead by ranchers. Today, everyone would be much more supportive of Lennie and his cognitive disability. There are companies …show more content…
Another example is Acces Nysed, which is a program that assists individuals with disabilities with independent living, through training, education, rehabilitation and career development. Say Lennie were alive right now, he’d have these programs, organizations, and people aiding him, unlike the support (or lack thereof) that he received in the nineteen-thirties. In the novel, Lennie’s support was George and only George. And though George was pretty good about being kind to Lennie, and reminding him of things he’d forgotten, he was far from perfect. George constantly lost his temper at Lennie and reminded him about how much better off he would be if he were to fly solo. In the novel it says “‘God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy… An’ whatta I got,’ George went on furiously. ‘I got …show more content…
In the novel, Lennie’s life ended suddenly when he was “put down” by George. In the novel it says “‘Look acrost the river…’ He reached in his side pocket and brought out Carlson’s Luger; he snapped off the safety, and the hand and gun lay on the ground behind Lennie’s back… George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again… George raised the gun and listened to the voices… And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering.”(Steinbeck 105, 106). If he were alive today, he wouldn’t be wanted dead, therefore he wouldn’t need putting down. Lennie could’ve lived not only a happier life, because of the support and understanding, but also a longer one, if he were alive
Lennie deserved to be punished for what he did, but not to be killed. Lennie was a handicapped person with below average intelligence. He didn’t really understand what he had done, but he didn’t really fit into society either.
Although Lennie was unattractive and has the tendency of accidental violence, compassion was still something readers had for him. Steinbeck constantly reminded us that he has a mental disability which automatically makes someone feel pity for him. Additionally he was ignored and made fun of by other characters, “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you”(Steinbeck 10). Him getting in trouble was beyond his control because of his mental disability which is something else that makes a reader feel sympathetic for him. Also, the readers are solicitous towards Lennie because of how much he looks up to George. This is portrayed when Crooks asks Lennie what he would do if George never came back, “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”(Steinbeck 70). Because of his inability to comprehend information, he got extremely defensive and said, “George is careful. He won’t get hurt” (Steinbeck 70). This scene is crafted in such a way that it automatically
We also notice that Lennie is always traveling or right next to George. Lennie isn't “living” because “If you need assisted living 24/7 you are not living” (we need to talk about euthanasia). Without George Lennie would just cause more and more harm to his surroundings and would be unable to live and operate without becoming a danger to
“The Great Depression was a worldwide economic slump of the 1930’s” (Fetzer; p.338). The Great Depression caused a catastrophic amount of grief and distress for the citizens of the United States. Some of these citizens, however, faced more problems which caused grief and distress than others. Among those citizens were the mentally ill. During the era of the Great Depression, the mentally handicapped were treated unfairly in almost every aspect of their lives; this included how society treated them, how they were treated medically, and even how their personal lives were affected.
As aforementioned they lived in the Great Depression a time where achieving the American Dream was almost impossible to do, especially with all the farms being lost in Oklahoma. Most of the character's perspectives of Lennie was that he was most simply a passive aggressive retard. Later in the novel the reader notices that he is incredible strong which serves to positive and negative effects in the story. Also, his thinking pattern is rather awkward or odd for someone of his age because what keeps him concentrated is this depiction of a farm where they will ¨tend the rabbits..build up a fire in the stove¨ (Steinbeck 14) which makes him mentally ill. When something is said to him about animals, he would instantly recognise with this desire, but for everything else, he is pretty much a useless man but other people who were willing to listen like Slim and Crooks who get to know him understood that he is if anything vulnerable which is what many characters were even
To begin, the death of Lennie allowed him to be freed from the cruel world in which he lived and to live in the make believe world that he and you had dreamed of. Lennie could sense danger when he arrived at the ranch; he said "Le’s go, George. Le’s get outta here. It’s mean here." (Steinbeck 33). Many characters throughout the novel antagonized Lennie; Curley tried starting trouble when he thought Lennie was laughing at him. When you were at the Cat House, Lennie met with Crooks and Curley’s wife. Crooks told Lennie that you weren’t going to come back. In the novel it states “Crook’s face lig...
Following the beginning, Lennie is seen as a bit on the softer side contrary to George who was a heavy-tempered individual. We later find out that Lennie has a mental illness implied by language, communication and actions towards George and others. Demonstration of his illness was implied by: "I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead—because they was so little. I wish’t we’d get the rabbits pretty soon, George. They ain’t so little." (Steinbeck 4). Lennie’s childish personality and mistakes in the novel somewhat foreshadowed future events. George told Slim about the incident in Weed: “Well he seen this girl in a red dress...he just wants to touch everything he likes” (Steinbeck 41). George harshly remarked that his mistakes could get him in serious trouble, which was a vital, empowering statement within the novel that hinted at a dark
George taking care of Lennie affects his life in many ways, for the better and for the worst. Lennie's memory effects his actions because he repeats some things that he forgets that he has done in the past. Lennie’s disability is misinterpreted by others because they see him as more of a burden than a good addition to society, because of his mental disability. But other people may not think about his disability like that, they might think he’s crazy in general. Lennie’s disability affects the way he thinks because it changes what he believes, what things cause him to worry, and what things cause him to
In the story Of Mice and Men there were many handicaps that Steinbeck decided to speak upon. One was the fact that Crooks was a crippled stable man, Lennie who was mentally disabled, and Candy who lost his hand in an accident and is always worried about keeping his job (Attel). All three of these characters were left behind for reasons. All three had handicaps that prevented them from getting along normally in society. All three of these characters had handicaps, b...
... killing the only friend he had and was someone who he had promised to protect, but he still believed he had to do this. Lennie did not have a chance to stand up for what he had done, society in the 1930’s was different from us today. People did not receive the chance to stand up for what they did and receive the actions of punishment, they would just be shot on the spot or taken and hung. This was the major mercy killing in the book and was foreshadowed by each of the other killings Lennie committed.
Lennie is unintelligent all throughout the story. “‘Uh-uh. Jus’ a dead mouse, George. I didn’t kill it. Honest! I found it. I found it dead.’” This quote shows that Lennie doesn’t understand that keeping a dead mouse as a pet is not sanitary and not the right thing to do. Another time, George was exclaiming to Slim that he once told Lennie to jump into the Sacramento River and there Lennie went, right into the river. This trait of Lennie’s effects the story because it got him and George kicked out of Weed when he wanted to feel a girl’s dress. It also got him into trouble when they got to their new job. His unintelligence gets him into more trouble as the story goes on making him anything but a sympathetic character.
Lennie doesn’t know his own strength. He couldn’t pet animals because he would always kill them. He just liked soft things. But every time he pets soft things he either kills the animal or gets into trouble. That is why George and Lennie left weeds (PG41) “Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch everything he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel the red dress and the girl lets out a squawk, and gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on because that’s the only thing he can think to do.” All Lennie wanted to do was touch the ladies dress. He is just not mentally strong. And honestly if it wasn’t for George Lennie would have been hung or killed a long time ago. It must be hard when you don’t understand certain things that can label a person. Especially when someone is just too dumb to realize what is going on. It makes life much more difficult. Another thing to think about is that when you are mentally challenged trying to find a job especially in that day and age it is just about
In the Salinas River Valley, after the Great Depression, there were a large number of unemployed workers seeking jobs. In the fiction novel "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck, Lennie Small is among one of those men. Lennie and his friend George both have just received jobs on a ranch as farm workers. What brings the two together is their dream to someday own their own land. Lennie has a lot of character and personality traits that define him. One trait that he has is he is very forgetful. Another trait he has is he is very curious. A final trait he has is that he is very reliant. Although he might not be the intelligent person in the book, he has a very well developed personality. Lennie demonstrates his personality and character traits throughout the novel.
Lennie was not very smart and couldn't do much by himself. He had to be told what to do or he wouldn't do anything at all. He fits all the profiles for a retarded person. He doesn't have any self-control. When he starts to panic he gets out of control and even kills Curly's wife because she starts to scream. Lennie loves animals and can't stop talking about them. He always says that when they get their own place that he wants lots of rabbits, his favorite animal. To him George is like his father figure, since Lennie never really had any parents. He is easily amused and panics quickly.
...ntally disabled people prevented Lennie from being trusted and be respected as a human being. In this novel, discrimination that Lennie had to face prevented him from showing his abilities.