Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

Mother Teresa once said, “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” A recurring presence in Of Mice and Men, loneliness is an inevitable suffering all characters in the novella experience, some more than others. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck successfully portrays the most terrible poverty Mother Teresa describes in the era of the Great Depression among farm workers. George Milton, the protagonist, is a short, intelligent man who takes care of his polar opposite and companion for life, Lennie Small, a burly, stocky man that has a mind of a child. They travel together to search for jobs for some money , until they save enough money to buy their dream ranch. Despite the mental disability that Lennie …show more content…
Candy is an old man that lost his hand in an accident. Similarly to Crooks, his handicap hinders his ability to work with others in the fields, so he works inside the farm, cleaning up the farm by himself. Candy’s job is menial and he gets lonely being a janitor.. Candy becomes even lonelier when his pet dog is killed by Carlson, “‘I’ll put the old devil out of his misery right now and get it over with. Ain’t nothing left for him. Can’t eat, can’t see, can’t even walk without hurtin’’” (47). The dog is old; “he stinks and is stiff with rheumatism” (44). Although Candy’s dog is old and cannot do much, the dog is Candy’s companion, or even family. Candy has had this dog, “ever since he was a pup” (24) and he keeps the old dog for the sake of having a companion. Without this dog, Candy is all alone and lonely. Carlson does not realize that Candy’s dog is a part of Candy’s life, but instead he looks at the dog of its physical value instead of the sentimental value the dog has to Candy. Without companionship, Candy might end up like Crooks, bitter and pessimistic. Now without his dog, Candy is afraid of being by himself. After Candy’s dog was shot, he overhears George and Lennie talk about the dream ranch and interjects, “‘I’d make a will an’ leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, ‘cause I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing. You guys got any money? Maybe we could do her right now?’” (59). Candy is now lonely without his dog and he needs somewhere to go. Candy has no relatives, which means he has no one to go to if he gets fired. Candy is also an old man, and fears of being fired, and if he does, he “wisht somebody’d shoot” (60) him because he would rather die than be by himself all alone. Candy is desperate for companionship and sees this ranch as a perfect opportunity to be with someone: he even decides to put all of his three