Why is prejudice a important theme in the novella Of Mice and Men?
Prejudice is certainly a theme, but far more important is the theme of isolation. Every single character in the book apart from George and Lennie is lonely and cut off from human warmth for one reason or another – and the prejudice Crooks suffers is only one form of this. I do not agree that Lennie suffers from prejudice. It is remarkable how quickly and easily he is integrated into the farm community, on his own terms of course. When he fights Curly the men, without exception, take his side. Until the dream falls to pieces he is accepted by those involved as an automatic partner in the plan to buy a smallholding. He is openly admired for his strength. This is neither prejudice nor exclusion. Recognising Lennie’s mental handicap and adapting one’s reactions to take account of it does not constitute prejudice. Concentrate on the uncomfortable truth – that the characters (like all of us in the real world) live their lives in a world that no-one else sees or can share, and that real human
