Mrs. Jenkins
English 1A
26 April 2017
Why Steinbeck would talk about mental illness
Imagine having to kill your best friend because they are unable to function in society. In John Steinbeck’s book, “Of Mice and Men,” a man has to take the life of his friend, Lennie Smalls, for being unable to operate in an unwelcoming society. The reason he couldn’t fit in with the rest of society is because Lennie had a mental disorder, therefore making him different from everyone else. People wonder why Steinbeck chose to write about mental illness, since this topic was very controversial in the 1930’s, but he still chose to write about it for two reasons. The two reasons why Steinbeck chose to write about mental illness is because he knew …show more content…
In the book, it was shown that George and Lennie both had a dream of owning a house during the great depression. “Someday- we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and-’ ‘An' live off the fatta the lan’” (Steinbeck 7). This quote shows everything that George and Lennie dream of, and it is also an example of the American Dream. Steinbeck had written about George and Lennie’s dream multiple times throughout the book to show his readers the importance of pursuing their dreams. He uses Lennie’s disability to show that pursuing the American dream is still essential even if achieving it seems nearly impossible. In the book, it was also shown that George and Lennie had difficulties achieving their dreams because they were poor and had no money. “‘No, I don't like it,’ he said. ‘For two bits I'd shove out of here. If we can get jus' a few dollars in the poke we'll shove off and go up the American River and pan gold.’” (Steinbeck 16). This quote shows that even though Lennie lives in bad conditions, has little money, and has a mental disorder, Lennie still pursues his dream. Another example of Lennie’s mental disorder being used to show the importance of pursuing the American dream is when Lennie and George work a deal with Candy to be able to buy a