Examples Of Prejudice In Of Mice And Men

Helen Tran
Mrs. Ellis
Language Arts Honors
23 October 2017
Prejudice for the overlooked and dead.
In the Great Depression, only the most useful and the strongest thrive. In the best-selling novel, Of Mice and Men, two migrant workers on a ranch meet an old man named Candy, who owned an ancient dog. Carlson, a fellow worker on the ranch, suggested to kill off Candy's old dog. The rest of the men in the bunk house either had a mutual agreement or left the situation alone. In this case, the workers felt like Candy's dog was in pain, not knowing the situation well. Candy's dog was the only family Candy had left, the dog reminded Candy of himself, and the act of killing the dog had mentally scarred Candy for as long as he will live. Candy's

Further into the novel, Candy confided to George about regretting not taking action when he needed to, "'I ought to of shot that dog myself,' he tells George: 'I shouldn't ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog "(Steinbeck 30). This evidence is important because it shows how mortified Candy was at the scene of the incident. Such events will lead to health disorders such as depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder, that were commonly ignored and looked down upon by the public. Secondly, Candy was trying to find ways to delay the shooting, "'You ain’t got no gun.'. 'The hell I ain’t. Got a Luger. It won’t hurt him none at all.'. Candy said, 'Maybe tomorra. Le’s wait till tomorra'" (Steinbeck 24). This quote shows how Candy was not mentally prepared for his last friendship to be taken away so quickly. Candy suggested to the other bunk mates to let him have another day but no verbal remorse was given. No one understood his pain which further adding to the fire inside of Candy. Candy was pressured to kill off his own dog and waited while laying his bed for the gun shots in the

Some people think that the dog was better off dead, “'Why’n’t you get Candy to shoot his old dog and give him one of the pups to raise up? I can smell that dog a mile away. Got no teeth, damn near blind, can’t eat'" (Steinbeck 18). Readers often refer to this quote to assume that the dog was suffering and should be killed off for its own good. Many people perceived the situation differently because it is a dog not a child, not a woman, not a man. If this was an old man, they would not have killed him but rather have sympathy for them. Then, Carlson continued to express his anger on Candy's dog, "'That dog of Candy’s is so God damn old he can’t hardly walk. Stinks like hell, too. Ever’ time he comes into the bunk house I can smell him for two, three days'"(Steinbeck 18). This is important to note because back in the 1930's when this story took place, caring for personal hygiene was not something that men cared for. Carlson could be putting all the blame on the dog when there were eight sweaty men sleeping in the same room after a long day of