Character Analysis Of The Dog In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

“Wha’s the matter with me?’ she cried. ‘Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways?” (Steinbeck 87) In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife is discriminated against because she is a woman living in the 1930s when few females could live economically independent of men. By choosing not to name her, Steinbeck reinforces her insignificance on the ranch and her dependence on Curley. While a misfortunate victim of isolation, Curley’s wife exerts unexpected power attempting to mask her pain.

Imagine if you had almost no money, only had 1 true friend, and one goal that you will do anything to achieve. That's the life of George and Lennie, two farm hands who are about to start working on a ranch in Salinas, California. It seemed like everything was going well for the two of them, or at least they thought it was. Steinbeck argues, throughout Of Mice and Men, that we as humans need to be able to comprehend the fact that the American dream is impossible, so when we fail at that, we won't fall as hard as we might if we had full faith in it, and he develops this stance using diction choices, imagery, and characterization.

Have you ever dreamed of becoming someone important or doing something exciting and memorable? Would you give up or refuse to let go of your dream until you achieve it? Has that obsessive under-minded your success? Many people have dreams that they want to accomplish, but there are obstacles individuals have to cross over in order to achieve their goals, such as facing reality. In the book of Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, the story is a tale of two drifters working from farm to farm, trying to make a living, and save some money to have their own place someday, which is their dream during the Great Depression. The characters face the hardships

In his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses many characters to show his assertion that man is basically evil. When Curley’s wife confronts Lennie, Crooks, and Candy in Crook’s place, she notes that the others “left all the weak ones here” (77). The “weak” ones that Curley’s wife refer to all attack each other in a vicious circular firing squad. Crooks taunts Lennie about the possibility of George not returning, and takes “pleasure in his torture” as he “[presses] forward for some kind of private victory” (71). Curley’s wife calls Candy and Lennie “a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep” (78) and threatens to get Crooks “strung up on a tree” (81). Meanwhile, all the other characters are the ones that make those Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife feel “weak” because they are disabled mentally, disabled physically, black, and female, respectively. In this way, Steinbeck shows that all men are basically evil as they do not lend a hand to each other and instead simply attack and prey upon each other.

While working at the ranch they met a man named Candy, an old man who had lost his hand while on the ranch. One of the other really important symbols in Of Mice and Men was Candy’s dog. “Well-hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup.

Biases and inequality towards women have been a problem in society since men foolishly decided to give women the stereotype of being housewives and only good for breeding children. Those who refuse to follow the stereotype are considered promiscuous, or unfaithful towards their significant other. This stereotype was highly expected of women during the early twentieth century, and was also exhibited in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men towards Curley’s wife. Of Mice and Men took place in the 1930s, and the plot follows two best friends trying to achieve their dreams, which lands them in a ranch that will do them nothing but harm. In this ranch, only the strongest may survive, and those who do not follow the usual stereotype were considered weak, and will most likely die. Steinbeck’s theme of death is always feared, but to some it is a way to leave the misery that is the world reveals the social injustices in society causes gender discrimination towards Curley’s wife. The hostility and bitterness towards Curley’s wife did not just lead to her death, but also saved her from the loneliness and isolation she had to go through on the ranch.

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, turmoil and difficulties are not a rare occurrence, but the question is what types of difficulties happen to each character and how does it affect them. Hardships are present throughout anyone’s life and come in different forms. Lennie’s portrayal in this novel is being a gigantic man that has a mental disability and is unable to care or depend on himself. To demonstrate, after Lennie says he will go live in a cave and George responds back what he will eat, Lennie replies, “ I’d find things, George. I don’t need no nice food with ketchup.

Candy is an old worker on the farm. He lost his hand in an accident and is broke working for the ranch. His only companion, his dog was shot by another worker (carlson). Steinbeck writes about candy and his interaction. “The old man squirmed uncomfortably. Well-Hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him.” (Steinbeck 24) this describes how attached Candy is to his dog, and how it is his closest friend. Later on in the novel Carlson, another worker puts down Curley’s dog because of its age. Candy was immediately stricken with grief and went to bed. Overhearing A conversation between the main characters (George & Lennie) he says, “I’d make a will an’ leave my share to you

Steinbeck describes Candy to be an old disabled man with an old dog as a companion. When Carlson, a worker on the ranch decides that the time has come for his dog to be put down Candy does not “move nor answer him” he simply “lay back on his bunk and crossed his arms” (Steinbeck 48). Candy’s dog is the closest thing he has to family and before Carlson shoots him, Candy loses the only thing he feels close to in the world; the sole source of his happiness and comfort. His already lonely life has just lost its one root of happiness by the death of his dog, because of this, Candy clings to George and Lennie’s dream immensely in a hope that it will help him find a new happiness in life. Candy and his dog are seen to have a close relationship where they do everything together and rely on each other.

Another way, Steinbeck shows How Gorge is a true friend to lennie is through how reliable he is to Lennie. An example of this is Lennie was left alone with Curley's wife in the barn and accidently killed her, by him doing this it made all the workers want to kill him. But instead of them killing Lennie George went off and “pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again, Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand and lay without Quivering,” (106) This quote shows how Gorge is a true reliable friend because A true friend will do whatever they think is good for you. Just like how George went off and killed lennie, so that way he didn’t have to go through even more hell. This shows readers that

Lennie paced around the room, pounding his fists on any wall he could find. With a sour face, he checked every nook and cranny between the page and the text for something taking on the form of a door. A way to escape.

In the book Of Mice and Men there are three people I feel sorry for, and their names are George, Lennie, and Crooks. First, I feel sorry for George because of the fact that he always has to be around Lennie to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t do any stupid things. For example when George had to ask Lennie to stop drinking water from the river multiple times. (Steinbeck, 3).

wouldn't let him tend no rabbits as he was warned by George not to do

Could you imagine having to decide to end the life of your best friend? In Of Mice and

George raised his gun, his hands shook violently two centimeters from Lennie’s head. “I can’t, Lennie, I can’t.” George dropped the gun.