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Isolation In Of Mice And Men Essay

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Is Isolation Ever for the Better? John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men contains a multitude of themes through which Steinbeck shows his disgust with society. This story was written during The Great Depression and the American society was struggling to survive. People thought that by isolating themselves, they could protect people they love. Steinbeck portrays this hardship through several characters throughout the book. Three characters in particular stand out as isolated. Crooks, the only black man; Curley’s wife, who is the only woman on the farm and never named; and Candy, an old man who cannot work efficiently. These three people are symbols of the American lifestyle during this time period. Out of all the characters, Crooks is the most isolated in this novella. He is segregated because of the color of his skin. He lives all by himself in the barn, which is away from the bunkhouse. Crooks pretends …show more content…

Candy is an old man who is confined by his age and cannot do any real work. He cannot leave the farm because he does not have enough money to survive on his own. Steinbeck described Candy by writing, “Old Candy, the swamper, came in and went to his bunk, and behind him struggled his old dog,” (Page 43). The only thing that kept Candy company was his dog. His dog was too old to be any use, just like Candy himself, so he was shot by Carlson. This broke Candy’s heart, along with any of his spirit he had left. Candy was the only old person on the farm, besides his dog. Now that is dog was gone, Candy was totally isolated. Nonetheless, Candy was given some hope by George and Lennie, who told Candy he could be part of their farm. Candy was interacting and getting along with these two men, and had a flame reignited in his life and willpower. When Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife, Candy instantly knew there would be no farm. Candy lost all will to live after this moment because he had nothing, and no one, to go

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