How Is Candy Treated In The 1930s

Imagine having to live during the time of the 1930s and having to feel isolated based on things you can't change about yourself. In this story, isolation is seen many times in characters during the 1930s because of their mental disabilities, physical disabilities, or even their gender which they can't control. People with disabilities were treated poorly, as women were treated like they had to be glued to the house. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the isolation of Lennie, Curley's wife and Candy illustrates that living in the 1930s was incredibly isolating for some groups of people. In the story, one of the main characters Lennie has a mental disability, this mental disability gave him the mindset of a child. The author states, Now, look

Another character that was isolated due to his physical disability was Candy. The author states, "I don't see any reason for it," said Carlson. He went to his bunk, pulled his bag from underneath it, and took out a Luger pistol. "Le's get it over with," he said. "We can't sleep with him stinkin' around here." He put the pistol in his hip pocket. Candy looked a long time at Slim to try to find some reversal. And Slim gave him none. At last Candy said softly and hopelessly, "Awright--take 'im." He did not look down at the dog at all. He lay back on his bunk, crossed his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling (Steinbeck 48). The men have been trying to convince Candy for a little while now to let them kill his dog because his dog was old and smelled, Candy refused at first because he had the dog so long, as you see where the author states At last Candy said softly and hopelessly, "Awright--take 'im." He did not look down at the dog at all. It states that he At last said to take the dog and he didn't even look down at the dog not because he didn't care but because he cared too much to see his dog get hurt. But I wonder if it wasn't for the physical disability that Candy has, would they have let Candy keep his dog? The author states Candy said, "I ain't much good with one hand. I lost my hand right here on this ranch. That's why they give me a job swampin'. An' they give me two hundred an' fifty

This demonstrates why Candy was isolated during this challenging time because of the physical disability with his hand. In the story, Curley's wife also shows how isolation is portrayed throughout the story. The author states, "Well, I ain't told this to anybody before." Maybe I ought to. I don't like Curley. He ain't a nice fella." And because she had confided in him, she moved closer to Lennie and sat beside him. "Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An' I coulda sat in them big hotels, an' had pitchers taken of me. When they had them previews I coulda went to them, an' spoke on the radio, an' it wouldn'ta cost me a cent because I was in the pitcher. An' all nice clothes they wear. Because this guy says I was a natural." She looked up at Lennie, and she made a small grand gesture with her arm and hand to show that she could act. The fingers trailed after her leading wrist, and her little finger stuck out grandly from the rest (Steinbeck 89). This shows the reader how Curley's wife really feels about Curley, when she says "Coulda been in the movies, an' had nice clothes-all them nice clothes like they wear. An' I coulda sat in them big hotels, an' had pitchers taken of me. When they had them previews I