Of Mice & Men - Essay - Lonely Characters Discussion

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[Of Mice and Men Essay]

 In the opening chapter of ‘Of Mice and Men’ John Steinbeck immediately introduces the theme of loneliness and the reality of men living very temporary lives with no real direction. Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life that not even the strongest can avoid. Throughout the story, readers discover many sources of loneliness and isolation.

Candy is an old ranch worker who lost his hand a few years back while working. He is a lonely man who owns an old, smelly, disabled dog that can hardly walk. This really was his only companion. In the end his dog was shot. Candy’s life was heading in the isolation direction even further. The quote on page 59 “S’pose I went in with you guys. That’s three hundred and fifty bucks I’d put in…. How’d that be?” This was his effort to try and join in with George and Lennie’s dream ranch.

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Crooks is a black Negro Stable Buck who wears glasses and has a busted back. He is an extremely lonely man and probably the loneliest in the novel due to his complexion. He is treated by the others in a rude manner and is left sitting in his little room helpless with an uncomfortable bed which makes his back worse. The quote on page 67-68 “You got no right to come into my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me”. This is how he reacted to the treatment he was getting, but in ...

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