Cyber-Bullying In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
“Over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied repeatedly through their cell phones or the Internet” (Stop Cyber Bullying). As this statistic demonstrates, cyber-bullying is an increasingly prevalent problem in our society. While cyber-bullying is a fairly recent threat that teenagers encounter, bullies have preyed on weak victims since the beginning of time. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, there are many strong characters who prey upon weak characters, including Crooks preying upon Lennie, Curley’s Wife preying upon Crooks, and Curley preying upon Lennie. Unfortunately, bullies look for victims who are weak, either socially or mentally. Due to their social and mental disabilities, the victims are ignored by
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Crooks’ living situation reflects this unfortunate state of affairs: “‘You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you [Lennie] ain’t wanted in my room’” (68). The reader is shown here that Crooks’ has felt the impact of his exclusion to the point that he has started excluding himself. When he says, “you ain’t wanted in my room,” he is essentially refusing to give up his loneliness for fear that it may result in more marginalization. Despite the fact that he speaks of how much he enjoys his accommodations, it is clear from his words that because he is not “wanted” by the ranchers he feels the need to maintain his isolation. Curley’s Wife reinforces this when she verbally attacks him, saying, “‘you keep your place then, nigger. I could I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (81). By calling him a “nigger,” she is strengthening his isolation as well as her own. Through his talk with Crooks, Lennie proved that Crooks had the potential to leave his loneliness behind, but instead of building on that foundation Curley’s Wife destroys it by reminding him of how easily he could be killed with no consequences - almost as if he’s an animal. By doing that, she also removes any chance that Crooks, or Candy for that matter (he was also in the room), would connect with her. She has been so marginalized that she has begun reinforcing her own loneliness by causing it in others. Both characters show the unfortunate effects of the prejudice they
Crooks’ living situation reflects this unfortunate state of affairs: “‘You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you [Lennie] ain’t wanted in my room’” (68). The reader is shown here that Crooks’ has felt the impact of his exclusion to the point that he has started excluding himself. When he says, “you ain’t wanted in my room,” he is essentially refusing to give up his loneliness for fear that it may result in more marginalization. Despite the fact that he speaks of how much he enjoys his accommodations, it is clear from his words that because he is not “wanted” by the ranchers he feels the need to maintain his isolation. Curley’s Wife reinforces this when she verbally attacks him, saying, “‘you keep your place then, nigger. I could I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” (81). By calling him a “nigger,” she is strengthening his isolation as well as her own. Through his talk with Crooks, Lennie proved that Crooks had the potential to leave his loneliness behind, but instead of building on that foundation Curley’s Wife destroys it by reminding him of how easily he could be killed with no consequences - almost as if he’s an animal. By doing that, she also removes any chance that Crooks, or Candy for that matter (he was also in the room), would connect with her. She has been so marginalized that she has begun reinforcing her own loneliness by causing it in others. Both characters show the unfortunate effects of the prejudice they