In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, aging is deemed equivalent to possessing complete weakness when alone, but when accompanied filled with wisdom. As George discusses his past faults with Slim, he informs him about the beginning of his and Lennie’s relationship. George expresses how he took advantage of Lennie’s mental impairment and utilized it in a scoffing manner. At the commencement of their friendship, George instructed Lennie to leap into a river knowing he possessed no aquatic survival skills, later stating, “He damn near drowned before we could get him. An’ he was so damn nice to me for pullin’ him out. Clean forgot I told him to jump in. Well, I ain’t done nothing like that no more.” Wisdom is perceived to be acquired …show more content…
The world treats elderly men, like Candy, similar to old dogs, useless. Once a person reaches a specific age and mentality, they lose respect and stature. As Candy described the hardship of losing his dog, he announced, “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me.” Steinbeck showed readers how one’s age is parallel to one’s abilities. Candy talked about how his dog was the strongest dog he had ever witnessed, and people undermined him and his dog because of their physical shape. While reminiscing his dogs astonishing aspects, he was negatively interrupted, which he responded to with, “You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen.” The text shows that with time all people and objects alter and deteriorate due to life advancing. However, others feel a need to express a person’s valuelessness throughout their aging. Steinbeck illustrates an immense amount of ageism through characters such as Carlson due to others inability to process elderlies