The Mentally Ill in an Inconsiderate Society

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Recommended: Health literacy and mental health theory

People with mental illnesses are often vulnerable in today’s corrupt society; most of them cannot reason and support themselves when left alone. Some are ridiculed and bullied by their mental inability to reason and not act as everybody else. Usually in today’s society, it takes another person or a group of people who will educate and support this person to be successful in life. Today, individuals around the world try to make these people be accepted and feel the same level of awareness as a normal person has. On the other hand, in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, mentally ill people are treated differently. Since the setting of the book takes place during the great depression, most mental ill individuals at the time were either sent to horrible asylums or slain mostly because in that society, people just had misjudged those mental ill individuals and did not consider them as real human beings. George and Lennie, the main characters share abounds with each other. Lennie, who is the ill minded individual, depends on Gorge in order to survive and overcome the misunderstood society. However, Gorge is the stronger person who cares for Lennie. George tried everything he could to care for Lennie but by keeping his mental illness a secret; it makes Lennie vulnerable for attack. From the struggles of mentally ill vs the inconsiderate society; through the character of Lennie, John Steinbeck suggests that although people with mental illnesses who strive to be normal individuals, and often try to fit in a society that does not support their needs they ultimately fail. Although, individuals with mental illnesses are dependent to stronger individuals and need to follow specific instructions from those they trust to be successful; often times... ... middle of paper ... ...s, he quickly perished and completely got wiped out. Thankfully, in today’s society, people can assist others who are suffering of mental illnesses. Although, Lennie tries to fit in by becoming a hard worker, and have the support from George covering his back. It still leads to a complete disaster after Lennie got in to trouble, causing George to give him up, to prevent George from getting fired more often. On the other hand, people today are educated enough to understand the individual’s needs, and recommend that they should seek help. Even so, some people today under estimate what people with mental illnesses are capable of. Many people today receive help from professionals which can improve their lifestyles. From Lennie’s experiance, individuals should realize that people with mental illnesses can be just as smart, agile, and responsible as any other person!

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