Effects Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

Samantha Petecca

Mrs. Cluess

English 1 4B

6 March 2023

The Effects of Loneliness The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is a tale about a friendship between two unlikely characters. However, though the story is about friendship John Steinbeck explores the effects of long term loneliness in a person. In the novel, loneliness is seen as a destructive force that makes the character of Of Mice and Men angry, cruel, and depressed. Curley’s wife brought upon herself a life of isolation and frustration when she married Curley, a man she didn’t love. She married Curley out of disappointment when her dream of going to Hollywood disappeared and now she regrets her decision. She is the only woman on the ranch and Curley wants to control

Old age gets to everyone one way or another. Unfortunately, Candy is dependent on his energy and abilities that are depleting because of his age. Candy’s own dog and companion is a symbol of how old age eventually affects everyone. Candy’s dog is known on the ranch for its old age and smell. In the bunkhouse, Carlson tells Candy that his dog is old, useless, and he is in pain so he should be put down. Candy, similar to Crooks and Curley’s wife, doesn’t have a friend that will stay with him the way Lennie and George have each other. In fact, his only friend, and a long time one at that, was his dog. Candy agrees after a while of thinking that he will let Carlson put his dog down. After minutes of silence pass, only interrupted by the futile attempts by the other men to start a conversation, all the men in the bunkhouse finally hear the shot that told them that the dog was now dead. Steinbeck shows the pain and loneliness Candy feels when he writes, “For a moment [Candy] continued to stare at the ceiling. Then he rolled slowly over and faced the wall and lay silent” (Steinbeck 49). Candy’s dog was Candy’s only friend and after the death of his dog, he loses his companion, and his hope. His dog had been with him for a long time, the dog had also been the only one that was there for Candy for a large portion of his life. However, soon after the dog's death Candy overheard George and Lennie talking about their dream and figured he could help and have a place to go. Because of Candy’s old age and his disability, his retirement is quickly approaching. While most would look at retirement as a good thing, many people during the time period in which this novel takes place were very poor and couldn’t afford much. Thus, retirement meant the loss of an income for Candy. However, after overhearing Lennie and George’s dream he found a new hope in his life. Unfortunately, his