“He's not a cuckoo” “He's stupid as hell, but he's not crazy” (Steinback 39). Showing that people who know Lennie think from the start that he is a cuckoo by the way he talks, acts, thinks, etc. Which suddenly makes people think he's crazy and stupid based on who he is from the start, acting like a child. “They will take you to the crazy trap. They will tie you up with a collar, like a dog. » (Steinback 72) Showing that people don't really understand mental disability and don't know what to do about it except get rid of it immediately and quickly. This also shows that people don't really care about taking care of disabled people and immediately putting them in jail or killing them, without giving people a chance to live or have a life. Mental issues could have been important in the story and people wouldn't care or show any thought to people with issues and end up being discriminated against.