Download AP Junior English Kandyce Norton Treatment of the Mentally

AP Junior English
Treatment of the Mentally Impaired during the Great Depression
Kandyce Norton
12/15/09
John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men”, released in 1937, is a classic story about two friends
named Lennie Small and George Milton, who are ‘migrant workers’ in California during the Great
Depression. Though they would be considered very close friends, Lennie and George are quite different
from one another—both physically and mentally. You see, though he is large and strong, Lennie is
mentally handicapped, and is protected and looked after by George, who is a much smaller man than
him. In this unlikely friendship, Lennie could be thought of as lucky, because most mentally impaired
during the Great Depression were outcasts. Alas, the end of the story is inevitable. Lennie is
misunderstood, and not given the special attention the mentally handicapped require to function in a
society that doesn’t understand. Tragically, George kills Lennie, in an effort to end his life more
peacefully than those who are after him will, because of a misunderstanding between him and another
man.
John Steinbeck’s heart-wrenching tale of these two friends raises new questions about just how
cruelly the mentally handicapped were treated in the past; and specifically, how they lived during the
Great Depression.
Years before the Great Depression, in 1889, the “Committee on Colonies for Segregation of
Defectives” launched a campaign in an effort to convince Americans that the disabled were dangerous.
The campaign was eventually a success, and by 1920, many states passed laws that segregated
handicapped people from what was considered ‘normal society’.
In this time period, disabled people were treated as if they were dangerous to society. Some
states passed laws that banned them from the public school systems. The medical profession generally
recommended incarceration and/or strict supervision for the mentally handicapped throughout the
entirety of their lives. Others couldn’t afford the costly institutions and asylums, and were instead
simply cast out into society to fend for themselves. Such persecution was believed to be a result of a
AP Junior English
Treatment of the Mentally Impaired during the Great Depression
Kandyce Norton
12/15/09
misinterpretation of Charles Darwin’s theories of evolution, natural selection, and survival of the fittest.
Eugenics, or the study of methods of improving genetic qualities by selective breeding, were a huge
factor in the mistreatment of the disabled. This led to the common belief that the mentally impaired
were inferior to those who were not handicapped. Because of this belief, the public began to fear their
reproduction would result in the production of ‘inferior humans’, ultimately leading to the extinction of
mankind. In 1927, the Supreme Court in Buck v. Bell upheld the ruling that institutions could sterilize
people considered ‘mentally defective’ without consent. Many states passed laws that required all
disabled people to be sterilized by force, eliminating the possibility of reproduction. By 1930, more
than fifteen thousand Americans had been involuntarily sterilized.
Disabled people in America were treated with ridicule, abuse, and torture during these years.
Most people believed they were able to act as normal people acted, and usually got angry if they did
not. Their nature was misinterpreted as feeble, slow, idiotic, weak, and inferior. They were often treated
poorly by even the American government. People did nothing to help the mentally handicapped
because they did not want to provide benefit to those who they believed to be weak members of
society. Now, many professionals and historians believe this way of thinking may have been one of the
things that contributed to the rise of Hitler soon after the Great Depression, and WWII.
During the Great Depression, the United States faced economic breakdown, especially after the
stock market crashed in October, 1929. From 1929 to 1932, an estimated eleven thousand banks failed
in the U.S. During the darkest part of the Great Depression, in 1933, one out of every four American
workers were unemployed. Americans lost money, but more importantly, they lost hope. President
Roosevelt tried to keep up the moral, saying “the only thing to fear is fear itself”.
If normal, healthy citizens went through this much struggle during the Great Depression, one
can only imagine the hardship disabled people faced. The shortage of money during the Depression
AP Junior English
Treatment of the Mentally Impaired during the Great Depression
Kandyce Norton
12/15/09
caused a shortage of staff in institutions for the mentally handicapped and disabled; therefore,
institutions had fewer staff that were qualified and trained to do the tasks that were required of them.
Throughout history, there has been no worse time for the disabled than the early 1900’s. They
were outcast, ridiculed, and abused for conditions they had no control over. Rather than attempt to help
the handicapped, society and the general public institutionalized them—in an effort to forget about the
issue. The Great Depression brought on more of this abuse because, when the people became
frightened of what was to become of them, and the welfare of their own families, they blamed
minorities for the issues at hand.
In “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck depicts this flawlessly. He exposes the haunting result of
a human being ridiculed his whole life—Lennie. Though Lennie seems harmless, happy, and oblivious
for the most part, there is a certain sadness in the way he goes about his daily activities. George is kind
to Lennie, but sometimes impatient because of his limitations. One wonders if Lennie ever realizes or
questions the fact that he, very much like a young child, follows and obeys the orders of other adults
rather than making his own decisions.
AP Junior English
Treatment of the Mentally Impaired during the Great Depression
Kandyce Norton
12/15/09
Citations
Jennings , Peter, and Todd Brewster. "Stormy Weather 1929-1936." The Century. 1st ed. New York:
Doubleday, o1998. Print.
Solomon, Charlotte D. "Of Mice and Men." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2009. Grolier Online. 6
Sep. 2009 <http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0212740-0>.
Pierce, Francis S. "Depression of the 1930s." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2009. Grolier Online.
15 Dec. 2009 <http://gme.grolier.com/article?assetid=0083460-0>.
Barrett, John . "History of Discrimination Against Disabled Persons-Part Four." History of
Discrimination. Web. 16 Dec 2009.
<http://www.jackiebarrett.ca/DisabledDiscrimination4.htm>.
Philipkoski, Kristen. "Blaming the 'Defective' People." Wired. 26/03/2001. Web. 17 Dec 2009. <http://
www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2001/03/42567>.
"Treatment for the Mentally Ill During the Great Depression." Pocahontas County Schools. Web. 17
Dec 2009. <http://boe.poca.k12.wv.us/pchs/Novels/miceandmen/treatment.htm>.