In this short but thought-provoking novel, we follow the main characters George and Lennie on a captivating journey. The story takes place at a ranch during the Great Depression, where the two main characters travel from place to place to seek job opportunities. Author John Steinback created a Darwinian social world, that reflects the society back in the 1930s. The inclusion of minor characters has large role in supporting the story as it advances, with their significance being to highlight how the incapable is discarded during the Great Depression, to show the low position of women during that time, and to pinpoint a theme, loneliness, in comparison to main characters George and Lennie. Firstly, Steinback uses minor characters to show readers problems in the society during the Great Depression in the US. In chapter 2, Carlson thought that Candy’s dog ‘is so god damn old it can hardly walk’ and it ‘stinks like hell, too.’ He was wondering if Slim can ‘get Candy to it; he is weak. Excluding Candy, all the workers on the ranch think that Candy’s dog is too old to be …show more content…
Crooks is a black ranch worker who has a hunchback. He keeps his distance from others and he demands ‘¬¬that other people keep theirs’. When Lennie goes into his bunk, he told Lennie, “‘I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room’ because ‘I’m black.’ ‘they say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.’” Crooks knows the fact that he’s discriminated because of his race and physical disorder. However, nobody understands his situation and tries to lend a helping hand. After Lennie sat down in Crook’s bunk, Crooks asks what if George never comes back for Lennie, and Lennie instantly got mad, saying ‘who hurt George?’ forming a huge contrast of his companionship with George and the loneliness of Crooks, who has nobody who will stand up for him like Lennie does for