ipl-logo

Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

623 Words3 Pages

Have you ever felt lonely at any point in your life? Loneliness can have a negative outcome. Feeling lonely is an emotion that can build up inside you for a long time,and can become much worse. Being lonely can make you lose good opportunities that could make your future better. Not all people who are lonely end up like this but most people start to give up on themselves. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, loneliness can make people go crazy and give up on their dreams.
Candy’s character delivers a sense of loneliness to the reader from the loss of his very old dog. Carlson, one of the guys on the ranch enters Candy’s bunk on page 44 saying , “God almighty, that dog stinks.” Carlson notices that the dog is very old and is no good to himself staying alive. Carlson insists on shooting the dog, but Candy claims that he’s had the dog since he was a puppy and he is his best friend. His dog is the only thing that gave him company and made him feel happy. Hesitantly, Candy gave Carlson the ok …show more content…

He spends most of his time working alone or reading to himself. His house is a small shed in the harness room that leans off the side of the barn. He also doesn’t get any respect because he’s black. He’s not allowed to play cards or horseshoe with the guys because of his skin color. Some of that changed when Lennie went into Crooks’ shed and told him about the dream farm that he and George were going to live on. After talking about Crooks joining them to live on their dream farm on page 66 Crooks hears, “ Crooks, he’s just a Negro stable buck.” Then realizes that living on their dream farm, he wouldn’t be treated any different than he’s being treated on the ranch because of the color of his skin. Crooks decides to tell Lennie that he isn’t going with them to their dream farm because he knows that he would get treated the same way because he’s

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Outcasts In Of Mice And Men

    577 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Stinks like hell, too. Ever’ time he comes into the bunk house I can smell him for two, three days.” (Steinbeck 36). The men in the bunk house do not like the scent of Candy’s dog. It is mentioned that the smell of him keeps them awake at night and unable to sleep.

    Read More

  • How Does Crooks Suffer The Most In Of Mice And Men

    764 Words  | 4 Pages

    Although at first when Lennie barges into Crooks’ room he seems annoyed, he secretly enjoys the company. Crooks says to Lennie after scolding him about coming into his room, “‘Long as you won’t get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down’” (69). With this dialogue from Crooks, readers can infer that he doesn’t get any company, and he invites Lennie to stay. Additionally, both Crooks and Lennie were not invited to go into town with the rest of the workers. He is racially divided and excluded from the rest of the ranchmen’s entertainment, which results in his confinement.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Stereotypes In Of Mice And Men

    864 Words  | 4 Pages

    When Carlson shot Candy’s dog, Candy began to see himself in his dog. He began to see how alone he is, and started to believe that he was useless. Candy had a very hard time dealing with being lonesome after the passing of his dog. This created an idea in his head that in the near future he would be all on his own, with no job, and nowhere to go. Candy had been working on the ranch for a very long time, and during that time he had lost his hand.

    Read More

  • Euthanized In Of Mice And Men

    477 Words  | 2 Pages

    Of Mice and Men, a book written by John Steinback that focuses on 1930s California laboring, is placed on a work ranch in California. Candy, a ranch hand, had a dog that he had brought with him to the work ranch and had grown a strong bond with, this is unique because most people travel alone however, another ranch hand, Carlson, did not want the dog around. Carlson thought that the dog had an odor and a poor quality of life and should be euthanized. Candy is suffering with this decision because he knows that the dog is suffering but he also loves the dog and has grown a very strong bond with it. Candy should euthanize the dog because the dog is suffering and the dog is no longer useful to candy and the dog would have a painless death.

    Read More

  • Examples Of The Weakest Characters In Of Mice And Men

    964 Words  | 4 Pages

    Crooks is the only black man on the ranch and receives racial discrimination from the other workers. Since he is "different" from the others, Crooks is lonely and isolated; he doesn't have a group or anyone to talk to. Crooks take care of the horses on the ranch. He lives and sleeps in the barn on his own. He struggles to stick up for himself.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

    1316 Words  | 6 Pages

    As Steinbeck progresses through the book he creates a motif of loneliness is revealed throughout the book from various characters. Overall, the book shows how loneliness is threaded from beginning to the end, especially in the most crucial paragraph. In the beginning of the book on page 45 Candy has a dog that he 's “had from a pup” and he 's “so used to him,” but since the dog is so old, Carlson points out the fact the dog is incapable of doing anything. Ever since Carlson killed Candy’s dog he has been lonely because he 's one of the oldest members isolating him from the rest due to

    Read More

  • Loneliness And Isolation In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    880 Words  | 4 Pages

    ”(72) he can’t believe that something like that would happen to George that will leave him alone. After George had scolded him had replies ”If you don 't want me I can go off an’ find a cave. I can go away any time”(13). He requests that it would better off for George and everyone else if he is alone, even though he wants someone to talk to and be with. None of the other people really like Lennie on the farm and especially when the climax of the story happened he was dreadfully hated.

    Read More

  • Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    666 Words  | 3 Pages

    If he believes that he is inadequate, he just assumes that people will not want him around because of it. This is, in some ways, similar to Crooks' loneliness, due to the fact that they are both cast out due to aspects they are not in control of. However, it is in some ways different, because Crooks knows that he is lonely because he is black and treated differently because of it. In this instance, Lennie believes that he is simply not enough, and takes for granted that he will not be

    Read More

  • Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    239 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the story Lennie had went into Crooks room and he got mad at first but finally realized that it was nice to have someone around. When Crook was talking to Lennie about how lonely it was around the ranch he had stated, “A guy goes nuts if

    Read More

  • Examples Of Euthanasia In Of Mice And Men

    679 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Candy’s dog died, it demonstrated that taking a life could be merciful. When Carlson wants to kill Candy’s dog because of his stink, he is still showing mercy by relieving the

    Read More

  • Essay On Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    266 Words  | 2 Pages

    George keeps Lennie around because it keeps him from being like other ranchers, most ranch workers go ranch by ranch having no one to talk to or have fun with and they just turn mean. According to Slim on pg

    Read More

  • Silence In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    537 Words  | 3 Pages

    Candy loves his dog so much that it disheartens him to see his dog suffering so much from his old age. Candy begins to realize that his dog will be taken out of his misery if he is killed. Candy cares for his dog so much that he allows Carlson to shoot him for his own good. Candy is also a

    Read More

  • Loneliness And Isolation In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    1125 Words  | 5 Pages

    Loneliness and isolation is an ongoing theme throughout the novel Of Mice and Men, experienced by several characters to different degrees. Some characters are more isolated and lonely than others, yet every character in the story goes through this theme during one point in the story. There are various reasons why each character is lonely or isolated. In general, all the ranch workers feel some sort of loneliness because they move alone from ranch to ranch and do not have real connections with others, Curley’s wife experiences this theme because she is the only woman on the ranch and nobody wants to interact with her because Curley is very protective and hostile of her. Thirdly, Candy struggles through being lonely and isolated after Carlson shot his dog and because Candy does not work with the others since he is a swamper.

    Read More

  • Friendship And Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    1145 Words  | 5 Pages

    However he first tells Lennie about their dream, about tending rabbits, living off the land from the crops, and shoots him. Friendship and Loneliness is shown here where George is Lennie’s best friend, and everyone else stays away leaving Lennie alone. Other times in the novel the reader witnesses many other characters face this same factor of isolation. Some examples are,

    Read More

  • Lonliness Can Emphasise The Importance Of A Short Story

    1219 Words  | 5 Pages

    The theme “Loneliness can emphasises the importance of a relationship” is seen when Candy becomes lonely and emotionally unstable after the death of his beloved pet. Unlike, The Power Of One, Candy’s dog is killed intentionally for old age. Leading to the death of the dog, Candy mentions, “ I had him so long … had him since he was a pup … he was the best damn sheep dog”. This give evidence that Candy is fond of his dog as has practically raised him. It also shows that Candy has formed a close bond with him, so the loss of him would obviously hit him hard.

    Read More

More about Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Open Document