preview

Loneliness Revealed In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Decent Essays

Loneliness Revealed in Of Mice and Men Being alone can eat away at a man. It can make a man think unreasonable things are reasonable, it can make a man blame other people for things that are unblamable, and it makes a man do anything to not be lonely. In the book Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, two men named George and Lennie travel the country running away from problems and looking for work. They come across an old, disabled man, named Candy. Candy’s characterization is revealed throughout the story through the treatment of his dog and his dream with George and Lennie, which shows that when someone is lonely they are more susceptible to believing the unbelievable. Candy’s treatment of his dog helps us realize his character. Candy is first introduced when he walks into the bunkhouse with his dog following him, “And at his heels there walked a dragfooted sheep dog… with pale, blind old eyes...struggled lamely to the side of the room and lay down…” (24). Candy’s old dog follows Candy around. Candy keeps him around because he wants a companion more than anything. His dog can be tied to Lennie, because they both stand for the disabled. Steinbeck is letting the reader know that the dog really shouldn’t be alive still, and it would be better for the dog to not be alive. Steinbeck describes the dog as “dragfooted”, and having “blind old eyes”, implying that Steinbeck feels as if the dog is useless and proving to us that the dog is too old to function and be alive.

Get Access