1. Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men Essay
Compare the episodes in which Candy's dog and Lennie die. How has Steinbeck made these events
effective for the reader?
John Ernst Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California on February 27, 1902. He worked as a farm
labourer on ranches from 1919 to 1926. This experience has influenced the setting of the novella Of
Mice and Men. Steinbeck met someone like Lennie Small which obviously provided Lennie's
character. I am going to compare the events in which Candy's dog and Lennie die in the novella. I
will also talk about how John Steinbeck made the events effective for the reader. There are several
themes in the novella Of Mice and Men. These are loyalty, friendship, loneliness and isolation,
dreams of something...show more content...
For example George had to tell Lennie not to drink too much water or else he would get sick like he
did the night before. Lennie was also described like an animal when Steinbeck described Lennie's
hand as a 'paw' which a dog also has. Also just like George seeks a sense of comfort from Lennie so
does Candy from his dog. Candy and his dog's relationship is seen by the audience as very realistic.
It is a relationship between a human and a dog companion. As Candy said "Well–hell! I had him so
long. Had him since he was a pup," on page 71, like Candy most people have had their dogs since
they were pups and has grown a very close and strong bond with it like Candy has done with his dog.
Also if he had it from a pup it's like a child to him and as an old swamper with no family the dog is
his only source of companionship and friend. In the novella Of Mice and Men both Lennie and
Candy's dog dies. The dog was killed by Carlson with a bullet in the back of his head with Carlson's
Luger pistol. Carlson convinced Candy to kill him because the dog was useless to itself and he
wouldn't hurt it while killing it as he said on page 72, "The way I'd shoot him, he wouldn't feel
nothing." Lennie was killed by George by the Salinas River. George killed Lennie because Curly was
going to kill Lennie for killing his wife and I guess thought he should do it. Both Candy's dog and
Lennie was killed by a shot
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2. Of Mice And Men: Summary
Of Mice and Men is set in the era of The Great Depression, and the ranch, where the events of the
novel occur, is in California, a place many Okies turn to after their farms fail in The Dust Bowl.
The farms in California are faring well. There are many farms, but not enough to support all of
the jobs that the many unemployed workers need. Thus, men travel from ranch to ranch in search
of jobs, and commonly they do so alone. Their travels are lonely, so some people turn to others
for companionship. In Of Mice and Men, people are driven to attempt to find friendship in order
to escape loneliness. An older ranch hand, Candy tries to become friends with George and Lennie
by helping them toward getting the land they want. In his first main appearance, Carlson, another
ranch hand, is trying to convince Candy to put his dog down. Candy is hesitant since this dog has
been his for its entire life, and that dog is his only real friend; eventually, Candy allows Carlson
and a few others to take Lulu out and put her down. While they are doing that, George ends up
talking to Candy about their plan to buy their own ranch. Candy, having realized that the ranch was
going to let him go soon anyway, and losing his best friend, decides to give them his life savings if
they let him live on their ranch....show more content...
All of the characters are lonely due to more than one reason; whether the cause being their own
choices or stereotypes, they struggle to escape them. That is the "black or white" way to look at it.
In reality though, some lonely characters push away out of fear. An example of this is Crooks, an
African–American on an otherwise mainly white ranch. Fiona Apple describes this phenomena:
"When you're surrounded by all these people, it can be lonelier than when you're by yourself. You
can be in a huge crowd, but if you don't feel like you can trust anyone or talk to anybody, you feel
like you're really
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3. Candy Character Analysis
Of Mice and Men, a novella by John Steinbeck, depicts the theme of loneliness through every page
in because it is shown in both central, and in particularly, secondary characters. Being one of the
oldest and unpopular workers, Candy is always haunted by his solitude. Crooks, also a minor
character, experiences with isolation on physical and mental levels. Loneliness is continuously
shown in the role of Curley's wife. The two main characters of this book are, George and Lennie;
direct opposites, but they still have a strong relationship between each other throughout the story,
unlike the other characters on the farm. Together, they run away from their job in Weed to find
another job on a farm in the Salinas Valley. Here they find almost...show more content...
Through his unfortunate fate, Candy's ambitions are replaced by fear rooting at the source of
isolation. Although Candy has been working on the ranch for many years and has been going
through times of loneliness, so has Crooks. Another example of loneliness can be found in the
secondary character of Crooks. When Lennie enters Crooks's room, Crooks is angry that Lennie
has intruded his personal space. Crooks lives by the fact that if he is not allowed to be in the
bunkhouse, none of the men are allowed to be in his room. This rule is applied because Crooks is
African–American and segregation is common around this time. Lennie has obviously broken that
rule, and at first, Crooks is annoyed and angry but he still allows Lennie to stay so that they can
talk. Crooks discusses his challenges of being segregated because of his color and says that "a guy
goes nuts if he ain't got nobody"(Steinbeck 72). Crooks is the only African– American in the whole
book. This means he has to face the struggles of segregation alone. When he is separated because
of his physical differences with the other workers, his every move is in isolation. Crooks has been
an original member of the ranch and through his many years of physical separation, he has also
gained some useful knowledge. After Lennie and Crooks conversate, Candy soon enters
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