Affable and approachable Lennie

In  parts 5/6 and really all through the book we see lonely people speak to Lennie about their life and daily struggles. For example in part 4 we see Crooks tell Lennie the struggles of a colored man which is a very sensitive and debatable issue back then.'' Well I have a right to have a light'' said Crooks on page (68). This particular statement shows how many blacks did not have the same right as whites so that one light had more meaning that it should have. In parts 5 and 6 we see Curley' s Wife chat with Lennie about how she had dreams and aspirations to be an actress but somehow lost her way by meeting the wrong men and marrying the wrong man. I believe Steinbeck included these characters to show the struggles of women and black men at the time. When Crooks finished talking to Lennie he said ''You don't understand nothin''. Crooks basically said that lennie doesn't understand and that he does not care about anything else besides the rabbits. I believe that Steinback used lennie as a symbol of society at the time in this case because he doesn't understand anything except what he wants or in this case the rabbits. The killing of Curley wife in my opinion is symbolizing how women did not matter at the time and were not needed for much. I believe also that the killing of Lennie was representing how society was frowned upon and bad or pretty much ''dead'' back then. Women did not get names and black men were not wanted. Ultimately Crooks and Curleys wife were extremely lonely and sad as were most colored men and women with and without pigment.