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Destin Estrela
Humanities - 1/2
6 March 2014

The Acceptance of Others

George Santayana once said, The wisest mind has something left to learn. This quote
can be related to those who think they know enough about the world, but still have more to be
educated on in terms of prejudice towards others. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a
novella about two men, George and Lennie, who are migrant farm workers during the Great
Depression. The theme of discrimination is prevalent throughout the book. To show the theme of
discrimination, Steinbeck includes the characters of Lennie, Candy, and Curley's wife in his
novella. Through these three characters Steinbeck shows the prejudice ways people act towards
one another.
Steinbeck uses the character of Curleys wife to show the topic of discrimination against
women. An example of this discrimination is when George tells Lennie, Dont you even look at
that bitch. I dont care what she says and what she does. I see em poison before, but I never seen
no piece of jailbait worse than her, you leave her be (Steinbeck 32). In this quote George is
telling Lennie to not look at Curleys wife no matter what she does. They believe that she will
bring them trouble just because she is a married woman who does not accept her socially
acceptable role of staying in the house. However, there are other examples that prove Steinbeck
uses Curleys wife to show the theme of gender discrimination. For instance, George says,
Jesus, what a tramp! he said. So thats what Curley picks for a wife(Steinbeck 32). In this
quote, George points out that Curleys wife is trash, an opinion shared by the other by the other
men on the ranch.They feel this way because she talks to other men, besides her husband,



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Curley. Steinbeck shows the theme of gender discrimination by using unfair expectations held
for of Curleys wife by the men.
Steinbeck uses the character of Lennie to display the prevalence of mental discrimination.
One example is revealed when George says to Lennie, If he finds out what a crazy bastard you
are, we wont get no job. But if he sees ya work before he hears you talk, were set (Steinbeck
6). In this passage, George is pointing out to Lennie that because of his mental disabilities, they
have a large chance of losing their jobs if Lennie talks or makes his problems known. Despite the
fact that Lennie is very strong and is a good worker, George feels that Lennies lack of
intelligence could ruin their chances of being hired. This is blatant discrimination. Besides the
torment Lennie experiences at the hands of George, his best friend, Lennie is also forced to
endure the discrimination from his fellow workers in the ranch. For instance, the son of the ranch
owner, Curley, expresses disdain towards Lennie when he says, Come on ya big bastard. Get up
on your feet. No big son of a bitch is gonna laugh at me (Steinbeck 62). In this excerpt Curley
is trying to find any excuse he can to assault Lennie. Curley attempts to attack him simply
because he is laughing because of his disability. This is discrimination because Curley would not
have attacked him if he didnt believe Lennie was stupid. By using the character of Lennie,
shows the theme of mental discrimination becomes obvious to the readers.
The character of Candy, in Of Mice and Men, is used by John Steinbeck to show the
theme of elderly discrimination. This is shown when Slim says, I wisht somebodyd shoot me
if I got old ana cripple (Steinbeck 45). In this quote Slim is saying that he would rather be dead
than be a crippled, elderly person. This implies that he, as well as others on the ranch who share
a similar opinion, are heavily discriminatory against the elderly. This is not the only case that



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shows discrimination against the elderly, however. For instance, another example is when Candy
says, Just as soon as I cant swamp out no bunk houses theyll put me on the county (Steinbeck
60). This passage shows that as soon as Candys body is exhausted of any physical use, he will
be put into a retirement home run by the government. This means that the only reason they keep
him is because of his ability to do his job. Candy believes that they will fire him as soon as his
body succumbs to his age and physical disabilities. This is obvious discrimination because they
do not care about his personality or whats inside, only looking at his ability to work. John
Steinbeck uses the character of Candy to show the theme of discrimination against the elderly.
By using the characters of Candy, Lennie, and Curleys wife in Of Mice and Men,
Steinbeck shows the overarching theme of discrimination. Curleys wife is shown to be a subject
of gender discrimination. Lennies mental handicaps leaves him vulnerable to discrimination of
those with mental disabilities. Meanwhile, Candy is a strong example of discrimination against
the elderly. Anyone who has been a victim or perpetrator of discrimination in the past can learn
from Of Mice and Men and the values it teaches us relating to treating other people kindly and
with respect regardless of any differences or disabilities.











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Work Cited
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1993