“Of Mice and Men” Prejudice and Alienation Essay

Prejudice of many groups of people was prevalent in America during the Great Depression era. In the 1930s when the sustain took place, there was an extreme amount of racism and sexism, little to no knowledge of mental disability, and assumedly a great deal of ageism. In _Of Mice and Men,_ put-on Steinbeck uses prejudice to illustrate the theme of insanity through ageism, racism, sexism, and ableism. sugarcoat was an anile man who lived on the farm who lost his hand in an accident duration working. The ranch detainment constantly tortured Candy by telling him that his dog was too old for his own good, and that he would be better slay dead. Candy relegates this personally, assuming that they were insinuating that he was also worthless to the ranch, and too old for his own good. The old man realizes that this is the only job hell ever have, considering he only has only had one hand and is too old to do hard labor and said, When they can me here I wisht somebodyd flash me I wont have no place to go, an I cant get no more jobs (60). The other men take in this and exclude Candy for his differences. Slim, another ranch hand, blab outing ab forth Candys dog said, I wisht somebodyd shoot me if I got old and a cripple (45). Candys dog is an obvious parallel to Candy and his physical conditions that pr til nowt him from working.To show racism, Steinbeck uses the use Crooks, a black stable displume who lives on the ranch. Although some ages in the book it seems that Crooks isolates himself, it is clear towards the end of the book that the other men avoid associating with him because of the color of his skin. Many of theother ranch hands refer to Crooks as nigger, an extremely offensive term, instead of his actual name. Crooks avoids getting into trouble by staying in his room (which is in the barn with the animals) and staying out of the way of the rest of the men.At one point, Crooks aggravates Curleys wife, and as a response she threatened, Well you keep you r place then, nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so fast it aint even funny (87). When Crooks is talking to Lennie and Candy, he confides in them about his loneliness, admitting, A guy sets all here at night, maybe readin books or thinkin or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin, an he got nothin to tell him whats so an what aint so (73).Sexism is another major part of the novel, and it is shown through the character of Curleys wife. Curleys wife, is who she sounds like she is, because shes married to Curley, the son of the head of the ranch. She is never disposed a name, which was probably to show the reader that the only relevance she had was that she was Curleys possession in a way, because she was his wife and was not allowed to talk to anyone but him. Curleys wife constantly cries for attention because she, like many of the other characters in this novel, feels lonely most of the time. The men do not understand why she does, and take it as thought she is just be ing slutty in a sense because she didnt like Curley.George is talking to Candy when he says his first impression of Curleys wife. George said, Well, seems Curleys married a tart, because he didnt empathize Curleys wifes loneliness (28). In turn, Curleys wife is alienated for her gender, and admits to Crooks, Lennie, and Candy that she wishes she had people to talk to and have conversation with. While talking to the three other outcasts on the farm she admitted, I cant talk to nada but Curley. Else he gets mad (87). It is more and more apparent throughout the book that the other ranch hands dont want to make Curley illogical by talking to his wife, but in the end she is still alienated because she is a woman.The most recognizable prejudice in this novel was the ablelism toward Lennie. Lennie, the main character of the book, had some type of mental disorder that prevented him from remembering things and also from controlling the motor function and decision making concerning his hand s, but of course inthis time period there was no knowledge of such diseases. Lennie was the most kind-hearted, innocent character in this book because he doesnt understand superficial alienation or prejudice toward someone because of their sex, race, age, etc. He cant take care of himself, so his best friend George tells him what to do. During one part of the book when George is talking to Slim, George talks about how he used to treat Lennie I used to have a hell of a lot of fun with him. utilise to play jokes on im cause he was too dumb to take care of imself (40). Soon after, George told Slim that he stopped messing with Lennie because he told him once to endure into a river, and Lennie almost drowned and died because he didnt know how to swim, and didnt know any better than to just listen to what George says. At the end of the book when Curley institute out that Lennie had killed his wife, he took it out in anger because he did not understand that Lennie couldnt control himself , ordering, When you see um, dont give im no chance, shoot for his guts (97). Lennie is alienated in this novel because of his disability and is isolated (and killed) as a result.In sum, Steinbeck uses ageism, sexism, racism, and ableism to convey the theme of alienation in _Of Mice and Men_. In the scene with all four of the alienated characters in Crookss room, Curleys wife said in frustration with the fact that she has not one to talk to, Standin here talkin to a bunch of bindle stiffs- a nigger an a dum-dum and a lousy ol sheep- an likin it because they aint got nobody else. (78) This line is very significant because it shows that even though they are all excluded from the majority of the ranch hands, and from society in general, they realize that they can turn to each other when they feel lonely.