Mental Illness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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“Once you're labeled as mentally ill, and that's in your medical notes, then anything you say can be discounted as an artefact of your mental illness.” - Hilary Mantel.
More often than not, violence, aggression, incapability, or misunderstanding is all contributed and judged based on one’s mental illness. In the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, Lennie is a disabled character who struggles due to the heartlessness displayed by the men around him. They all assume that he is a violent and dangerous human being because of his mental disability.
No matter the time period or place, people known as “mentally ill” are discriminated, judged, or prevented from the proper care and living their dreams.

Much of the population suffers with …show more content…
The only way to prevent this is by having concern for the mentally ill and providing them proper care so their conditions will not spiral.

Many people automatically associate mental illness with violence.
A study shows that approximately 37% of people avoid the mentally disabled due to their perception of them being violent.
In the book “Of Mice and Men”, Lennie struggles with a mental illness. Many of the men regard him as dangerous and aggressive. Although he always means well, he does get into trouble. However, that does not justify initial negative perception.
The media plays a big role in “identifying” the mentally ill. Television, movies, and the press make inferences of violence concerning the mentally disabled.
The world’s perception on the mentally ill is statistically inaccurate and therefore people should not rely on whatever they see.
Due to the enormous amount of mentally ill people left uncared for, suicide rates have risen.
Between ten and twenty million people attempt suicide annually!
For Lennie, suicide wasn’t a thought in his mind. He was content and somewhat oblivious. However, his untimely carelessness leads him to death in the
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