Equality has never truly existed in this world. From the Declaration of Independence to modern times, the U.S legal system has failed all attempts at making the world equal. Justice is blinded by the domination of gender differences, social classes and racial differences. As long as mankind exists, prejudice and discrimination will exist along with them. Likewise, the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, focuses on these social issues during the Great Depression. During this time, grief fell upon all people. Steinbeck uses each character to express the different attitudes and personalities in relation to how a person is treated in the society. Lennie, Curley's wife and Crooks have in common a sense of loneliness brought on by prejudice and discrimination.
Firstly, Lennie is isolated from other men on the ranch because of his mental disability, which does not allow him to participate in any social activities. Lennie is not wanted in the activities that other men do and is usually left behind. For example, the men does not include him when they play horseshoes; "From outside came the clang of horseshoes on the playing peg and the shouts of men, playing, encouraging, jeering" (p.84). Furthermore, his mental disability keeps him from socializing and doing things on his own. An example is when George, Lennie's only friend in the novel, is the only one doing the talking with the boss in the beginning of the story, in fear that Lennie will not get accepted to work on the ranch (p.21-23). Moreover, Lennie seems helpless and this tends to make people think that he is weak. For example, Curley comes in to look for his wife and only has a problem with Lennie; "Then Curley's rage exploded. "Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. I"ll show ya who's yella" (p.62). These examples show how badly discrimination can affect someone and leave him or her in isolation.