Of Mice and Man is a novel by John Steinbeck that is set in the United States in the 1930s.  Centered around the two protagonists, Lennie and George, this novel criticizes the cruel natural law in society, as well as discrimination. Digging deeper, the novel tries to discover the truth of humanity and unveil the ugliness under the garment of hypocrisy. 

First, the novel reveals the natural law of a chaotic society: the strong always beat the weak, and the weak have no choice but to die. Many characters throughout the novel show weakness. Lennie, for example, has a mental illness and cannot behave properly and independently. Though Lennie is huge and “strong as a bull” (8), his intelligence remains at the level of a child. He cannot understand George’s jokes and thoughtlessly follows instructions from George. When George jokes about getting Lennie to jump into the Sacramento River, he obeys the command like a puppy, although he cannot swim at all. After being rescued from the river and nearly dying, he thanks George for saving him, rather than blaming him for putting his life in danger. Another example of Lennie’s weakness is his lack of self-control. Throughout the novel, Lennie always likes to touch something with a soft texture. He initially has a kind intention to touch soft things, but he cannot control his strength and always causes serious trouble. As a result, according to natural law, this kind of weak person must be replaced. At the end of the novel, he is killed by George, his best friend, and dies abruptly. 

Another character who shows weakness is Old Candy’s dog. At the beginning of the novel, Carlson, a contracted worker on the ranch, is disgusted at the stinking smell of the old dog and wants to kill it as soon as possible. From the perspective of Carlson and the other workers, this dog cannot make contributions to the ranch. It can do nothing but waste public resources and become a burden since there is no developing potential, economic value, or practical use for this old dog. Finally, it is decided that the only thing they should do is kill it immediately. However, things are far more complicated than this. After observing the traits of the old dog, one will discover that there are many similarities between the dog and the weak people in society. Pregnant women, old people, and disabled people are all perceived to be weak by society. In some countries, governments and other institutions spend enormous amounts of money to subsidize and support their basic living each year. In Carlson’s opinion, society should abandon them and leave them alone. Is this behavior the right choice? Definitely not. There is a baseline in modern civil society: the weak need to be cared for. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”, the United Nations regulated that. The weak people are also independent entities with self-esteem and legitimate rights. No one should prevent them from protecting their rights. In order to assist the weak and those in need under the indifferent law of this world, one needs to talk about discrimination and prejudice further. 

Discrimination and inequality toward Black people and women were widely accepted in the 1930s. For  Black people, the condition was worse. After the American Civil War, slavery was abolished. However, the discrimination and prejudice towards Black people did not cease. Amid this historical context, Crooks, the stable hand at the ranch, is separated from other white contracted workers. In this environment, instead of always longing to join the white people’s activities, he develops a self-defense method to separate himself from the others. However, his method is nearly broken because of the abrupt visit of Lennie. Facing a man with mental illness, he thinks that their statuses are equal. As a result, despite the initial unwillingness to talk with Lennie, Crooks finally confides in him and tells him his stories. Throughout the conversation, he keeps asking Lennie how he would feel if George did not come back. This behavior is a reflection and proof of his innate loneliness and apprehension, “I didn't mean to scare you. He'll come back. I was talking' about myself (27). ” His loneliness and the overwhelming sense of isolation is the tragedy of that age.

Curley’s wife is a character who also suffered from discrimination. First, this character doesn’t really have a name. She is constrained by her relationship with a man and cannot become herself. She is considered to be property, or a belonging, of a man, instead of having her own life. When she dies, everybody rushes outside to find the murderer, Lennie, instead of feeling sorry about her death. To them, the death of Curley’s wife only means that the authority and power of Curley are challenged, and they must fight against the challenger. Through her conversation with Lennie, one can surmise that her life experience is abundant, and she has had a life of her own in the past. What actually kills Curly’s wife is loneliness. Every day, the men at the ranch gathered and worked together, leaving Curley’s wife in her own house. She wanted freedom, the right to go around and join other people’s activities. She struggled hard to attract other people’s attention and make them aware of the existence of herself. However, because she is a woman, she is isolated, ignored, and abandoned. 

Under the pressure of the Great Depression, society, the people, and life were rocked heavily. Although people were still working collectively and earning a living themselves as they had before, the distances between hearts became increasingly larger. Even though the Great Depression has become history, its influences extended and generated impacts on current society. Discrimination intertwined with indifference toward the weak, making a world without warmness and humanities. At this critical moment, changes are urgently needed.