Clearly calls for women and disabled people to be treated and assisted better, as well as to be understood in their differences. He demonstrates through Curley's bitterness that the selfishness of the elite is disadvantageous to the elite themselves. It also sends a clear message that pain inflicted on a person or group of people can cause them to want to inflict pain themselves, a clear warning to the perpetrators of this pain on minorities and the poor in this era. This is evident when Crook's jealousy tells Lennie, "I'm not wanted in the dorm and you're not wanted in my room" (Steinbeck, 68). Lennie's confused response emphasizes that hatred and bitterness are not pure, as Lennie in many ways has the mind of a pure child. In the aftermath of the Great Depression, African Americans, women, and disabled people have all gained more rights, and in most cases, the general public has learned to accept these people as the equals they truly are.