Stated by the U.S Census Bureau, “eleven million, or twenty eight percent of people aged sixty five and older, lived alone in 2010.” Social solitude found in seniors are more prone to being vulnerable to elder abuse, such as being able to speak up for themselves and neglect from others. Another problem regarding loneliness is long term illness. In the novel, “Of Mice and Men” written by John Steinback, the character, Candy, is used to represent the theme of loneliness throughout the story. Candy can be identified as the “old swamper”. During his time on the farm, he got his hand wounded in an accident which interfered with his ability to perform acts which made him incapable of doing a lot of things he used to be able to do before this occurrence. The central theme illustrated in the novel “Of Mice and Men” is isolation within the elderly. This is strongly represented when focusing on the individual, Candy, who …show more content…
Last noted, the population of Soledad, California had 594 people in the era of 1930. This reveals that there were hardly any people who were to be commonly found around in the area due to the Great Depression. The statistics of the number of the residents in Soledad ultimately proves the opinion that Candy could have been isolated due to the fact that there were not many people of his age range on the field. But he had been lucky to be alive at the time due to the agriculture in the area in which he was a long term resident in. On page 69 of “Of Mice and Men”, the quote “his tone was a little more friendly. ‘All the boys gone into town, huh?’ ‘All but old Candy,’” tells the readers that there was ageism involved throughout the story. From this example, it is clear that society is very diverse in numbers. For this reason, Candy’s advanced age and disability ceases him from being able to enjoy many activities the rest of the young men participate