Character Analysis Essay On Of Mice And Men

Alfred Lord Tennyson once said that “it is better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all”. This quote frames a central theme in Of Mice and Men. It states that a lot of characters in the book struggle with loss but they still rise above and stay optimistic. They feel they can one day live out their dreams and desires. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Candy teaches the reader the valuable life lessons of always pursuing your dreams, learning to accept death, and staying optimistic in the face of adversity. First, Candy teaches us to always follow our dreams no matter how old you are. In the book, Candy overhears George and Lennie talking about their dream of moving to a small area farm and live a self substantial

This can be seen throughout the book, Everyone at the ranch is lonely and longing for someone in their life. Most of them don't even know where their family is, but when George and Lennie come to the ranch and show everyone their bond it makes everyone expose their personal feelings to them because they want what they have. Candy shows this when he hears the gun go off and kill his dog “every head turned toward him, For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling, then he slowly rolled over and faced the ceiling” (steinbeck 49). This quote shows that candy realizes that he now has no one in the world. That’s why he was so hesitant about his dog, because that was the only thing he loved. This quote also shows that dealing with loss is hard, and that everyone should cherish their times with their loved ones because we never know when they’ll be gone forever. In conclusion, the book Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck has many morals to leave the reader with. Such as, always pursuing your dreams no matter how old you are, learning to accept death even though it is hard, and knowing that family comes above everything else. But perhaps the most pertinent moral of the book is letting go of something you love. Such as Candy’s dog or Lennie, George knew that Lennie had an accident prone nature and decided he didn’t want him hurting anyone else so he put him out of his misery, just as candy’s dog