Often times the elders don’t get as much respect as they should have. After all, they are our predecessors who has paved the path for us to follow and add on. But the truth is that they are often abandoned and forgotten due to their old age, and they feel isolated as they can’t catch up with us. An example of an old person who experience this is Candy, a minor character from the novel “Of Mice and Men”. The story involves two main characters, George and Lennie, who tenaciously strive to remain stable in the Great Depression era, thus seek work in a ranch. They dreamt of having a little farm and eventually let Candy be a part of their dream. There is this one scene particularly that truly encompasses this kind of feeling about elderhood. The incident is when Candy’s dog died, demonstrated his depressing reaction and insecurity of becoming old and non-functional …show more content…
In this incident, we can see those old people such as our grandparents in Candy. In the story, Candy is very insecure about life, specifically, his own, as he feel like it’s waning. Additionally, his injuries and the loss of his dog mentally bleeds him more. In the story, he said, “You seen what they done to the dog tonight? They say he was no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that.”, comparing himself to the dog, seeing himself as a ruined futile creature. Possibly, our elders are thinking that their life is waning, that they ain’t worth a thing since their physical and conditions isn’t as rigorous as before, that they’ll be abandoned by the ones born after them, who still has the flexibility and strength of a perfectly healthy young person, that they can’t catch up with the young ones, etc., which deluded them into thinking that they can’t contribute any useful to the world and that they’re done
Candy’s dog is very precious to him, not only because he had been with him ever since he was a pup but also because he could see himself in the dogs place after a very short period of time. He was getting old and would be of no use soon. Just like the dog, everyone would be eager to get rid of him. He had lost his hand at the ranch. He is disabled, both, physically and mentally.
“You seen what they did to my dog tonight? They say he wasn’t good to himself, nor anyone else. When they can me here I wish somebody’d shoot me - Candy”. This quote shows how Candy was so lonely that he would rather want someone to kill himself instead of his dog because without his dog, he is now even more lonely. He is more lonelier than when he was before because before he was just old and he had his dog with him....
People of different ages often have problems with one another because of the depravity of society and culture. Because of age differences, people are usually seen as incapable or have no ability to carry out things that others are able to do, like surviving or taking care of themselves. In one book, Two Old Women, by Velma Wallis, the two main characters, Sa’ and Ch’idzigyaak, were left because they were old and just wore down the tribe or so the tribe believed. “The council and I have arrived at a decision… We are going to have to leave our old ones behind” (Wallis5). They thought that doing so would help them rebound and get back to living a normal lifestyle. However, the complete opposite of what they expected happened. Instead of thriving, many of the tribe’s members ended up dying on their journey. The society that they were a part of made a decision of leaving the elderly behind, in hopes of recovery, but deterioration is what resulted. In the end, the society and its influences on the desperate people i...
One of the factors that create an imbalance of power within a society is a person's socioeconomic status. Often people with low socioeconomic status are undervalued in society. This imbalance can cause issues with the feelings of security and confidence. Also opportunities and choices can be limited for some people, but expanded to others. People often identify with roles of different socioeconomic status groups, based on their own socioeconomic status, and this can limit creativity and the potential of groups or individuals. If the world believes that people can go from “rags to riches” in America, then there should be an opportunity for all socioeconomic groups.
As the novel continues on we are introduced to another pair whose relationship is just as strong as George and Lennie’s, the two being Candy and his old pup. Candy and his pup have been together for years on end and have formed a indescribable love for one another. However, as the years have rolled past, age has caught up with the Candy’s best friend causing many to suggest euthanasia. Regretfully, Candy agreed, afterwards uttering, “I ought to of shot that dog myself George. I shouldn’t ought to let no stranger shoot my dog” (Steinbeck 61) Often with age, humans and animals alike become impaired and quite sentinel. In the case of Candy’s pup, his age had progressed to the point where life was too difficult and pain was more relevant than pleasure. It would only be fair for Candy to place his feet where paws lay and imagine if he could go out peacefully rather than through heavy slow breathing every day. Although Candy recognized this and allowed this procedure to be completed who showed he had the best intentions for his pup, he did not take manors into his own hands. Rather than stand shoot his pup out of love, he remained inside and allowed the dog to be killed without emotion, almost as though there was no meaning. Sadly, the past cannot redo itself so Candy is forever regretful of the loss of his canine friend, yet by
When asked about John Steinbeck’s career, people often refer to Steinbeck as a playwright, journalist, and a well-known novelist. The book Of Mice and Men is a popular novel by John Steinbeck and a required read for most high school students. Most of Steinbeck 's novels have a central theme focusing on the relationship between man and his environment. The American dream for George and Lennie, two of the main characters in Of Mice and Men, is to have a place of their own, to be respected, and to work hard for everything they earn and deserve. In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the land and a hope of a better life becomes the talisman of an American dream for Lennie and George that is left unfulfilled.
The title of the novel Of Mice and Men has a unique meaning behind it. The saying “Are you a man or are you a mouse?” has a connection to novel itself but more importantly the characters. Each main character in this novel can be classified as either a “man” or a “mouse”. The “men” seen in the novel are George Milton, and Curley. The “mice” can be classified as Lennie Small and Curley’s wife. The “mice” are represented by the weak or the socially unacceptable characters; the “men” are represented by the strong, independent characters.
Steinbeck portrays survival of the fittest in his Novela ,Of Mice and Men, due to the scarcity of resources on the farm only the best equipped for survival will survive, if they can't adapt they are weeded out and have bare minimum for survival or end up dead.
Since all the men are alone as well they feel no sympathy for him when his dog is shot as he pleads with them to let the subject drop, ‘I’m so used to him’’ and ‘he was the best damn sheepdog I ever seen.’ This leads to Candy reluctantly wanting to join George and Lennie’s dream of owning their own ranch, by actually financially helping them out, he offers his money George and Lennie to buy the property because ‘I ainÂ’t got no relatives nor nothing.’ Candy believes this because he knows that, hi future is more loneliness then death, ‘They’ll can me purty soon… I won’t have no place to go
The book “Of Mice and Men” was published in 1937 by John Steinbeck. It is one of Steinbeck 's influential novels. The book talks about lonely lives of two migrant workers, George Milton and Lennie Small. Of Mice and Men shows the impact of the “Great Depression” had on many American 's ability to succeed financially. John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men in order to express his social conscience about America in the 1930 's. Of Mice and Men is a novel about dreams, friendship, loneliness, and hope. Through the memorable characters of George and Lennie, Steinbeck painted a portrait about friendship that we all can learn from.
John Steinbeck was inspired by the line "The best schemes o' mice an' men [often go awry]" by Robert Burns in one of his poems. This line refers to ambitions that went off track during the process. There are multiple examples in the novel that refers to the line in the poem, that inspired John Steinbeck. Those examples are Curley's boxing career coming to an end, Curley's wife not becoming a actress, and Lennie's plans of tending the rabbits, but messed everything up.
To him, the dog is more than a smelly animal, he is there to guide and share life with Candy. Carlson mentions that he wants to kill the dog and Candy is skeptical to answer. Candy tries to postpone it, but finally gives in to Carlson's appeal. Candy has been attached to this dog for his whole life, and now that it is dead, he is deserted without a companion. This shows us the savagery of humanity.
Conflict, by definition, is a back and forth struggle between two opposing forces. In the literary work, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, it is clear, the protagonist, George Milton, undergoes many conflicts that lead to the novel’s overall purpose. Steinbeck weaves together George’s conflicts with others, himself, and with society to illustrate what the true meaning of friendship is.
John Steinbeck, the author of the novel Of Mice and Men uses many stylistic devices and description in chapter one to give the reader a deeper understanding of what may occur throughout the novel. Firstly, the name of the city the two protagonists, Lennie and George, are heading to is called “Soledad,” which means loneliness in Spanish; this is symbolism and foreshadowing because it can mean that as they get closer to the city, their relationship as friends may deteriorate and they may end up alone towards the end. Furthermore, this could also mean that there can be major problems in further chapters because of Lennie’s unpredictable behaviour due to his mental disabilities. In relation to Robert Burns’s poem, “To a Mouse,” the author may be
"It has been suggested that respect is taking a person seriously by paying careful attention to that person and having sympathetic consideration of the person’s needs and wants." (Sung, et al., 2010, Downie & Telfer, 1970, Dillon, 1992). Hockey and James (1993) suggest that elderly people in need of care are metaphorically regarded as being in their second childhood and younger people with disabilities lose their social status as adults if they become dependent in any way. The ugly truth about ageism is something that can be found when viewing solely the respect factor- if it is manditory to understand how to appreciate the elderly, then maybe there could be a less ageist world to