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The Use Of Companionship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Decent Essays

In the novel of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses multiple characters to show how companionship is valuable in rough times. The author places the setting during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. The Dust Bowl was a time of intense hardship and caused many people to lose hope. In the book, George and Lennie are ranch hands. They have been through, and taken care of each other in the rough times throughout the dustbowl. Steinbeck uses multiple unique characters to prove that people should learn how much companionship is valuable in rough times. Steinbeck uses Lennie prove that companionship is valuable in rough times by showing how George helps Lennie. Lennie and all of the other special needs or disabled people in this time are discriminated, looked down upon, and used as lab rats. Since Lennie did have some sort of syndrome, but it wasn't as bad as some others, people didn't …show more content…

In the book. Candy, a sweet old man always takes care of his dog. His dog is very old, and when it was little, it was a great sheepherder. But as it has gotten older, it has lost its productiveness on the ranch because it has “‘Got no teeth, he's all stiff with rheumatism (Steinbeck 22).” Even though the dog isn't helpful at all, Candy keeps it with him. He keeps the dog even when it has lost its purpose because the dog keeps Candy company. The dog is a symbol to keep pushing through for candy because even with all the disabilities of the dog, it is still living, and when Candy sees that, it reminds him that he should always keep pushing through with his dog, soulmate, and companion. People should value companionship in rough times by how Steinbeck showed how Candy kept his dog just for his own comfort to help him through tough times. This is very helpful to learn today because with someone you can always lean on, you know they will be right there for you no matter

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