Candy is an old man with only one arm. He had an old dog but he let Carlson kill it. Candy was very attached to his old dog, as he had been with the dog since it was a pup, he was his only friend. He feels guilty that he let a stranger kill it. Candy is afraid that he will be sacked when he is no longer any use. He knows that he will have nowhere to go when he gets fired, so when he hears George and Lennie talking about getting their own place, asks them to take him with them, and offers them enough money so that at the end of the month they will be able to afford to buy the place. After his dog’s death, Candy seems desperate to leave the ranch. To make George and Lennie sure that he wants the place he tells them “I will make a will and leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, because I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing”.
Crooks is a black man with a crooked back. He is the only black man on the ranch and is not allowed in the bunkroom because of his colour. Crooks knows that black people are thought of as such, as when Curleys wife tells him that if he tells the boss to ban her from the barn she would get him hung, he simply replies yes mamma. Crooks spends his time alone reading and is a fairly knowledgeable person, as he owns a copy of the California civil code for 1905. He also plays horseshoes until dark, but is not allowed into the bunkhouse to play cards, as the others claim he stinks. He is nasty to Lennie at first, as he thought Lennie shouldn’t be in his room, as he is banned from the bunkhouse. When he finds out Lennie is harmless however, he lets him stay for some company. He hasn’t really spoken to anyone for a long time, and is eager for Lennie’s company. He shows this when he claims books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody to be near him and æ a guy goes nits if he ain’t got anybody. He wants to join in with George, Lennie and Candy to get the place as he is discriminated against at the ranch.
I don’t think loneliness is a problem to George and Lennie, as, like Lennie loves saying to George, I’ve got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you George says about ranchers that travel alone, guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family, they don’t belong no place’s One of the things that binds George and Lennie together is that they share a common dream, to buy their own land, and live off of the fatta the land The fact that they travel together makes them believe that one day they will really get enough money together to do this, and they nearly had the chance. The reason loneliness was such a problem in 1930s America is that no one ever settled anywhere long enough to make any ties or get to know anyone.
Oxted School/alex/56965.doc /