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Loneliness of mice and men characters
Crooks and curley's wife of mice and men
Crooks and curley's wife of mice and men
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Of Mice and Men is a novella written by author John Steinbeck in 1937. In the story, Lennie Small and George Milton are migrant workers during the Great Depression, trying to find work. Lennie is a mentally unstable yet a delicate, large man; while George is a small and quick man that takes care of Lennie. They have recently escaped from a different ranch in Weed, where Lennie was accused of rape. Now they are depending on work at a ranch in Salinas Valley, California — a few miles south of Soledad. As Lennie and George approach the ranch, the first person they encounter is Candy. Candy is an old man who tells them that the Boss was looking forward to them the night before; so that they could work that morning. Curley’s wife, Curley is the …show more content…
Candy, Lennie, and George all have the dream to own land; they discuss gathering money together to save. Lennie meets Crooks and they talk a while as they wait for George to return from town with the other workers. The pair goes through all the trials and tribulations of owning land only to be stopped by personal conflict. John Steinbeck illustrates the theme of dreams and the affection on the decisions the characters of Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife make in Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck utilizes the character of Candy to show he is aspiring the dream of owning land. Candy is an old swamper — a person that cleans — who lost his right hand in a ranch accident. The Boss keeps him around as long as he keeps the bunkhouses and everything else tidy. Candy fears of being fired; he wants to own land so no one could ever get rid of him. While listening in on Lennie and George’s plan, Candy decides this could be his opportunity to pursue his desire to own land. Candy says, “‘I got hurt four years …show more content…
The three characters all make commitments that could help guide them to their objectives. Candy was determined to own land, so he would no longer fear being fired or put out. Working and living on a biased ranch, Crooks was certain he would make associates out of Lennie and Candy. Even though Curley’s wife was killed close to the end of the book; she was persistent enough to get what she asked for. “Life is a difficult assignment. We are fragile creatures, expected to function at high rates of speed, and asked to accomplish great and small things each day. These daily activities take enormous amounts of energy. Most things are out of our control. We are surrounded by danger, frustration, grief, and insanity, as well as love, hope, ecstasy, and wonder. Being fully human is an exercise in humility, suffering, grace, and great humor. Things and people all around us die, get broken, or are lost. There is no safety or guarantees. The way to accomplish the assignment of truly living is to engage freely, richly, and deeply in the living of your dreams. We are made to dream and to live those dreams.” –
In the book, Candy’s right hand is amputated. Symbolically, hands mean the ability to do work. Especially in Candy’s case, who is most likely right-handed. Logically, if Candy is able to work, he will be able to save enough money to retire. However, his lack of a hand is a worry because if he cannot do work, he will not make enough money to be able to live the American Dream. Candy explained to George what his injury meant for working on the farm, saying, “‘I ain’t much good with on’y one hand’”(Steinbeck 58). This lets George, someone who does not fully understand Candy’s job, know that previously his tasks were different. Without a job, there is no way Candy can live the American Dream.
Steinbeck expresses the theme of loneliness in the character of Candy. Candy is lonely because his is missing half an arm. Candy?s disability separates him from society, an example of Curley being set aside is when everybody else goes to town he is left in the barn with Crooks, Lennie, and Curley?s wife. Candy?s only friendship was with his old, smelly dog. Candy?s dog was a symbol of himself (old, and useless). When Carlson kills Candy?s dog he kills Candy on the inside as well.
The characters understood this and tried to appear stronger and more powerful than each other to get by. Curly fights larger men, to appear strong. Crook threatens Lennie with the thought that George will leave him, and this is meant to scare him because Lennie has a special relationship with George that is irreplaceable. Carlson shoots Candy’s dog to show masculinity in a way and strips Candy of the one thing he really loves. And Curley's wife threatens to hang crooks to prove that even though she is a woman, she still has a voice on the farm.
The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.
This is the piece of speech, when Candy is trying to persuade George to let him in on the ranch their going to get. The language Steinbeck uses here, makes Candy seem overly eager to get in with George and Lennie. Mainly because, he’s dog dies so now he doesn’t have anybody, and he feels he might get canned. So as soon as he hears the opportunity to break away from being lonely, he jumps at it. I feel extremely sorry for Candy because he has nobody to turn to. He really does try to find friendship in people, but sometimes tries to hard.
In 1939, John Steinbeck created the novel Of Mice and Men, which tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small. Lennie is an enormous man with a metal disability that keeps him from realizing the weakness of the people and things around him. George is Lennie’s best friend who has to take care of Lennie because of a promise he made to Lennie’s dead Aunt Clara. Destruction is prevalent in this novel, as well as the death that follows in its wake.
The central element of this novella is its symbolism. This novella has plenty of symbolical forms, such as people, creed, and some of the animals. Candy has several terms of symbolism, for example his disability is a symbol of the migrant workers who are just literally forgotten about, they are forgotten when they are no use to the owners. Candy’s dog is a symbol of a life only for advantage to others Lennie also for shadows this, he is belittled of his mind but enormously commented for his strength. Also he is compelled to lie about the fight he had with Curley, this is a symbol of typical male society in the, “Depression era”.
“Candy rolled over to the edge of the bunk. He reached over and patted the ancient dog, and he apologized, ‘I been around him so much I never notice how he stinks’” (44). This quote comes from the novella titled Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck. In countless books, there are characters that may seem fake to a select number of readers. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck does a remarkable job creating characters and formulating their realistic appearances, personalities, and behaviors. Candy, a character from the book, is a realistic character because he experiences many emotions that people in the real world feel and he wishes for numerous things that a great number of people wish for.
Candy is introduced to readers in the final chapters. He lives on the last ranch George and Lennie are stationed at. The old ranchman is accompanied by his old and crippled dog. When the stench of his dog overwhelms other ranchmen the dog is put out of it’s misery. Candy is isolated without his dog, but when he hears George and Lennie’s plan of owning their own piece of land he becomes eager. He is so eager that he willingly offered his life savings just to be apart of the dream. The American Dream wraps people up in hope for a better future and that is exactly what Candy is exemplifying in, Of Mice and Men (“Notes”). Without the presence of the thought of an “American Dream life” perhaps Candy would have shut down and given up on life, but the motivation and life that the dream gives Candy is a perfect example of the importance of having an American Dream in one’s
Of Mice and Men is a novella written by American author John Steinbeck. The story occurs sometime in the 1930’s around a ranch in Soledad, California. Lennie Small, a powerful laborer with the mind of a child, and George Milton, a small quick-witted man, find much needed employment on a ranch. After Lennie unintentionally kills the ranch owner’s daughter-in-law, George is forced to murder Lennie for his actions before he can be captured by a lynch mob. George’s actions are justified for three specific reasons: a concern for Lennie’s well-being, the betterment of society, and a feeling of responsibility for Lennie’s actions.
Right off the bat, there are many characters in the story, but one of the characters that stand out the most is Crooks. The first reason why his dream is not able to come true of him being more friendly, and have more friends is his father did not let him play with the white kids when he was younger. Candy reveals to George and Lennie, “ Got a crooked back where a horse kicked him. The boss gives he** when he is mad” (Steinback 20). An explanation that would follow up on that quote is
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses events surrounding Candy’s dog to foreshadow that George and Lennie have a close bond that ends tragically. One example of the scene with Candy’s dog that foreshadows the relationship George and Lennie have, is when Carlson explains what Candy does for the dog. Carlson states the many imperfections of the dog and tells Slim that, “‘Candy feeds him milk. He can’t chew nothing else’” (36). This is meaningful to the plot because it shows the close connection Candy has with his dog and also the close connection George has with Lennie. George is constantly watching over Lennie. The close relationship that Candy has with his dog that is deteriorated is foreshadowed to the end of the book. George made a promise to take care
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a book about two friends, Lennie and George, and their first few days at the ranch they are working at. George and Lennie travel around working at many places all over California, but had to run from their last job due to a misunderstanding between Lennie and a stranger. They meet many people at the ranch their working at including fellow laborers, Candy, Crooks, Slim, and Curley. Curley’s wife is also a main character in this book. Most of these people feel as though they don’t belong on this ranch and experience depression or alienation while working. Every person has a place where they feel they’d belong whether it is on their own ranch, this ranch or in movies. John Steinbeck’s, Of Mice and Men,
Candy, who lost his arm, was incessantly adjudicated for his age and disability on the ranch. Candy only had one life-long friend – his dog. After Candy’s dog died, Candy became so lonely that he took part in George and Lennie’s dream to escape from his troubles and feel secure. Likewise, Crooks, the stable buck, had a disability because he was kicked in the back by a horse, yet suffered from much worse than that. He was a black person; the boss used Crooks as a human punching bag, demonstrating how inhumane people were to negro populace during the 1930s. Crooks understood his situation, telling Lennie, “I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse… ‘Cause I’m black” (Steinbeck 68). He tried to combat the loneliness by focusing on his work and reading, but as he told Lennie, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody” (Steinbeck 72). The stable buck gets treated negatively throughout the novella – like when Curley’s wife said she would have him lynched, so both Crooks and Candy wanted to join George and Lennie in their dream. George’s dream would be a secure place. Since disability was not something normal, the characters wanted a place that would be free from
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about the adventures of two men, Lennie and George. Lennie has some form of a mental disorder, and George cares for him. George is also a very mean and small man. They go from farm to farm looking for work. They meet new people and one of them becomes a friend. His name is Candy. Lennie's mental issues get him into trouble, causing him to kill another person, and to lose his life. But before all of that, Lennie and George had a dream. This dream strengthened the men and helped them push through. They had something to look forward too. Steinbeck develops the theme that dreams affect people's behavior in the 1930's through different characters.