Of Mice And Men Sexism Essay - 1047 Words

John Steinbeck’s highly acclaimed Of Mice and Men is a classic American novella that paints a depressingly realistic portrait of America during the Great Depression in the 1930s. In this short read, Steinbeck tackles many issues that plagued the country during that time. His purpose in writing Of Mice and Men was to criticize some of those issues, such as sexism, the poor treatment of people with mental disabilities, and the facade of the American Dream. In 1920, women were finally granted suffrage. This monumental event seemed to open up new possibilities for women. But in 1929, the stock market crashed and the Great Depression arose. This meant that there were far less jobs available and employees preferred to give the jobs they did†¦show more content†¦Curley’s wife’s situation turns into a never-ending cycle of rejection, isolation, and the vilification of her character. One of the many reasons why this novella is so highly acclaimed is because of it s complex characters. Steinbeck is able to convey a character’s personality and nature through their behavior. Although he never spells it out, readers are able to comprehend that Lennie has some sort of mental disability. Steinbeck first introduces Lennie being reprimanded by George like a parent would reprimand a child. Other obvious hints of â€Å"unusual† behavior are Lennie’s choppy speech, his obsession with petting (mostly dead) mice, and his forgetfulness. It seems like no one understands Lennie and what might’ve happened for him to be this way, so George jokes about it. He says, â€Å"He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid. He’s awright. Just ain’t bright.† (22 Steinbeck) The readers are almost tricked to believe that it’s okay for George and everyone else to make fun of Lennie’s mental disability because if he’s too dumb to understand, how can it hurt him†¦ right? Of course not! Stei nbeck pulls the rug from under everyone by having George reveal that he almost killed Lennie by messing with his inability to understand when someone is taking advantage of him. In a heart-to-heart with Slim, George reveals, â€Å"I used to have a hell of a lot of fun with ‘im. Used to play jokesShow MoreRelatedEssay about The ranch in Of Mice and Men is a very hostile environment.1629 Words   |  7 PagesThe ranch in Of Mice and Men is a very hostile environment. The ranch in ‘Of Mice and Men’ is a very hostile environment. What do we learn about life during the Great Depression from John Steinbeck’s novel? In this essay I aim to describe how life was like on a ranch during the great depression in John Steinbeck’s novel ‘Of Mice and Men’. Steinbeck was born on February 27, 1902 in Salinas, California. This is where the book is set, in the Salinas valley. 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