Lennie's Intellectual Disabilities

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In the book Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck critiques the social issue of intellectual disabilities. As of modern day intellectual disabilities are seen with greater medical understanding and knowledge, giving those with disabilities more acceptance and recognition than in the past when they were seen as “Idiots” and “Symbols of humor”. In our book, one of the main characters, Lennie, is portrayed as a “special” individual. Although the readers can infer that he does have a disability through his limited and cognitive abilities, Lennie also acts as a child when he is grown. Lennie shows that he has troubles with understanding social cues, has difficulty remembering, and also relies on his best friend George to guide him through his life such as …show more content…
And besides, you broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a little while’” (#9 Steinbeck). In these lines, readers are introduced to the childish acts of Lennie. Much like a little kid Lennie does not understand why people can't do things sometimes such as picking up a dead mouse and also keeping the animal, Lennie also started to cry when getting told “no”. Here Steinbeck shows that Lennie is not a normal adult yet needs help and guidance in his life so that he doesn’t hurt himself and others, this shows all the signs appointed to an individual with an intellectual disability and how in the book they are not recognized and put down repeatedly. In the article “A History of Developmental Disabilities” by the Department of Administration is an article that informs about Mental Disabilities and how they not only affect society in the present and past but also the view of disabilities that have changed. Topics in the article include how people with disabilities were seen as symbols of humor and “idiots” to say disability is not the individual's fault but their brains. The opinion in the book that people with disabilities are just idiots is shown in Part one: the ancient era 1500
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