The Bunkhouse In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Imagine a world where friends can only be found in legends and trust is a trait that is critically endangered. In the heartbreaking book Of Mice and Men, two friends, Lenny and George, must survive to succeed in their version of the American dream. Throughout the book, many symbols and themes appear to question many beliefs like the idea of mercy. One of the symbols of the book is the bunkhouse. In this story, the bunkhouse represents many terrible traits and desires of man and, in some cases, the end of dreams. One of the traits the bunkhouse represents in this story is distrust. In the bunkhouse, Lenny and George just arrive before they were questioned by the boss. During the interrogation, the boss asked George, “I said what stake you got …show more content…

The reason why the boss said that was because he never seen a guy do so much for another guy. The boss just told us that all the guys he hired never trusted each other even though they all live in the same place, the bunkhouse. Another example of mistrust is when Slim and George were talking in the evening. As they talk, Slim said, “ You know how the hands are, they just come in and get their bunk and work a month, and then they quit and go out alone. Never seem to give a damn about nobody. It jus' seems kinda funny a cuckoo like him and a smart little guy like you travelin' together”(Steinbeck). In this example, the bunkhouse is a beacon attracting people who do not have the ability to trust each other. Every worker Slim saw who lived in the bunkhouse were always glancing back. Nobody cares enough to trust one another because you never know if they will turn against you. Another example of this mistrust is with Curley. In the same evening, Slim gets pissed at Curley and said, “ I'm gettin' God damn sick of it. If you can't look after your own God …show more content…

In the story, Curley is most of the time running around, looking for his wife who always goes to the bunkhouse, showing the eye. She was in the stable with Lenny, Candy, and Crooks when she said, “ Think I don't like to talk to somebody ever' once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time”(Steinback). Even though she is married, Curley’s wife gets very lonely because Curley doesn’t care about her. To have some fun, she goes to the bunkhouse, but everyone think she’s trouble. The hands want her gone because they are afraid one of them would rat the other hand out for talking to her. Another example of loneliness is Candy. When Carlson said to shoot Candy’s old dog, Candy immediately argued and said, “"Well- hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him”(Steinbeck). In a time where people can’t even trust Slim, people would get very lonely. Candy had the dog since it was a pulp. Even though it is a dog, Candy has a companion, a friend. So when Candy doesn’t want Carlson to kill Candy’s dog, it isn’t because he thinks the dog is still useful, but because once the dog dies, Candy will only have himself. In this example, the bunkhouse is the place where Candy decides to abandon his only friend and allow a stranger to be the last thing Candy’s dog sees when he dies. The bunkhouse may not be influencing these decisions, but people who been to bunkhouse can’t help but

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