Is Lennie a monster? A reconsideration of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men in a 21st century inclusive classroom context

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Lawrence, C. (2020). Is Lennie a monster? A reconsideration of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men in a 21st century inclusive classroom context. Palgrave Communications, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-0393-8

Publication date: 31 Jan 2020 Added to AutiHub: 18 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
1
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 1 (100.0%)
  1. Clare Lawrence *

Abstract

Abstract Of Mice and Men remains a staple text in schools in both the United States and United Kingdom, where both neuro-typical and disabled pupils encounter it. The character of Lennie has learning difficulties and also—as identified by some researchers—exhibits many characteristics of autism. Although the novella is hailed as a modern classic, there are aspects in Steinbeck’s portrayal of Lennie as un-human, ‘othered’ from the other characters in the book and demonised as animal-like that merit challenge if they are to be encountered in the modern classroom. This study asks, ‘If Lennie is a monster, what does that mean for pupils’ understanding of autism and intellectual disability both inside and outside the classroom?’ It considers the portrayal of Lennie from within its origins in the Eugenics movement of the 1930s, the effect of reader sympathies with George in the final action of the book and the moral effect of the ‘Briseño’ factor, used in Texas to decide on a prisoner’s suitability to face the death penalty. The importance of teachers’ awareness of disability issues and language when teaching texts of this kind and of the positioning of texts within the disability awareness curriculum is discussed.

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Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 20 Sep 2026 01:01.

Cited references
64
With a DOI
27
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
30
3 / 64 (4.7%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
28 / 64 (43.8%)
References with detected author names
40 / 64 (62.5%)
Without detected author names
24
Without a structured title
28
Without a stable identifier
29
References with raw author names still to review
24
References with external metadata lookup issues
1
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
69
From DOI or external metadata
69
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
42
14 / 69 (20.3%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 55 / 69 (79.7%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
8 / 69 (11.6%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 8 / 14 (57.1%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 8 / 67 (11.9%).
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