Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Of Mice and Men Ryley, Dixon “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck is a novel written during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The novel demonstrates the true brotherly-friendship between George and Lennie, yet the story is peopled with figures of isolation and loneliness such as, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. Dealing with isolation, these characters struggle to find happiness despite living on a busy ranch. Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife all deal with similar problems, they have no people to relate with. “Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that” S’pose you had to sit out …show more content…

They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me.”(Pg, 60) The death of Candy’s dog definitively the biggest reason why Candy is lonely, losing your best friend can relate to losing a family member, a piece that makes up who you are. Candy’s dog wasn’t useful to the Boss nor the rest of the guys on the ranch making the decision to put him down, giving, Candy a big scare. Since Candy is older, he worries they will get rid of him, leaving him homeless, creating more loneliness. When Candy overhears George and Lennie chatting about their American Dream, he tries to befriend them, asking if he can pitch in money towards buying a farm and working on it. However, things go south after Lennie kills Curley’s wife, leaving his efforts to buy a farm conjoined with the two behind him. “I got hurt four years ago. (Pg, 60). Candy is unable to work in the fields due to an injury he incurred four years prior to the set date of the novel itself. when all of the guys are out working on the field, Candy is left behind cleaning up the messes left by the guys in the bunk house, no dog at his side all by himself. Candy will have to live the rest of his life with his disability, without his dog, living on the ranch. Causing him to struggle to find his happy place knowing the possibility of the Boss getting rid of him because of his age at the back of his