Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Society then and society now has not changed dramatically in a sense of the strong preying on the weak. The men that worked on farms, not only struggled for their survival, but for their freedom. Many people put one another above and below each other based on factors such as strength, race, intelligence, and physical or mental stability. John Steinbeck uses each character to express the different attitudes and personalities in relation to how a person is treated in society. In John Steinbeck's novel, Of Mice and Men, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife have a common sense of loneliness brought on by prejudice and discrimination.

Candy is known as the swamper of the ranch. Candy has been working on the ranch for many years now. He has seen plenty of people come and go. While working on the ranch Candy caught his hand in a machine and had to amputate it. Because of his disability he is unable to work alongside the other men and is reduced to the role of swamper. Candy owns a dog that he had since it was a puppy. It can be said that they have grown up with each other. They both have identical traits, in a sense of them both being old and a little bit slow the dog is his only friend. "Well--hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him" (Steinbeck 35). Everything seems to be going fine, but when Carlson and another ranch worker insist that the dog should be shot, almost everything seems to go downhill for Candy. After much convincing Carlson takes the dog outside and shoots it in the head. This is devastating to Candy. Not only was the dog his only friend but he didn't kill his dog himself. After the death of the dog, Candy feels as if he has nothing to live for. "You wouldn't think it to look at him now, nut he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen" (Steinbeck 34)

Crooks is a victim of loneliness because he is isolated due to the color of his skin. "'Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you all of you stink to me" (Steinbeck 49). During this time it was hard to be accepted for who you are. The fact that Crooks is an old, disabled, black man living in a barn alone he is forced to adapt in his environment. Most of the men constantly put him down and use him as a piece of furniture, even going to the point of calling him the "n" word. Crooks become so accustomed to this isolation that he is suspicious of anyone that suddenly tries to befriend him. "S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that? S'pose you had to sit out here an' read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs