Of Mice and Men Theme Analysis

Humans are selfish, inconsiderate, and narrow-minded when it comes to insecurities. Many people are scared of getting hurt; therefore, they say bias things about someone else to defend themselves. Furthermore, these actions can make one suffer with loneliness and the feeling of being trapped; as a matter of fact, some characters from a short novel- Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck- are just like that. Candy, Crooks, and Curleyr's wife were all discriminated by their peers who lived on the ranch with them. Discrimination can lead to depression and isolation because of the actions made by others that may affect the rest of their lives.

There were other characters who were pre-judged against, but Candy, Crooks, and Curleyr's wife were the ones who were discriminated the most. First of all, Candy wanted to join in on the American dream with George and Lennie but he cant do much so Candy said, I aint much good with ony one hand. I lost my hand right here in this ranch. Thatr's why they gave me a job swampin. (59). The boss looked down on Candy when he lost his hand. It was an accident but he didnt even give Candy a larger amount of compensation fee. To add on, Candy is an old man, but he was looked down because of his lack of use on the ranch. Individuals who are younger than another person are suppose to respect elders even though the boss didnt do that and gives Candy odd jobs. Later in the story, Lennie happened to wander into Crooks room. Hequestions why Crooks doesnt go to the bunkhouse more often. He answered, I aint wanted in the bunkhouse ?Cause Im black. They play cards in there, but I cant play because Im black. They say I stink. (68). This is racism because Crooks can not go to the bunkhouse frequently because he is a black man. They are discriminating him due to his color and race.

Also, Crooks lives in a shed outside the barn which is total isolation with nobody to talk to. That is very lonely for Crooks. Similarly, Curleyr's wife also experiences the same thing. One day, she went into the barn and saw Lennie. She talked to him but Lennie said he is not allow to talk to her because George said so. Then Curleyr's wife asked him, Why cant I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely You can talk to people, but I cant talk to nobody but Curley (86 and 87). Curleyr's wife married Curley to get away from her strict mother. Curleyr's wife is the only woman living on the ranch and there are no other female for miles away. Curley doesnt let her chat with men except himself. This is discriminating to Curleyr's wife because she is a woman and she is not worthy of talking to other men. This woman doesnt have any friends; no wonder she is so lonely and flirts with guys on the ranch for attention. All of these characters were biased against in a different way but itr's still discrimination. Candy, Crooks, and Curleyr's wife are feeling so much pain and loss. Do they even feel like they have a reason to live?

Segregation and despair can be an outcome of discrimination expected by flaw humans whose intention is to bring down other human beings. The three characters are discriminated based on their age, race, and gender. Candy is treated differently because of his old age and disadvantage of his hand. Crooks is in isolation living away from everyone because of segregation. Curleyr's wife is just a piece of property to Curley. She doesnt even have a name. Curleyr's wife cant talk to men on the ranch because her husband said so. This proves she is not worthy of being contact with other people because she is a women. The men on this ranch treats their coworkers differently because of their appearance which is saying society doesnt accept someone unless they look impeccable. In the book called The 9 Cardinal Building Blocks: For Continued Success in Leadership, Assegid Habtewold wrote, No one is perfect. We all have weaknesses and limitations. Some can't be fixed (www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/discrimination).

Cite this page