The American Dream In Of Mice And Men, By John Steinbeck

The Novella Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a great demonstration of how life was in America during the 1930’s. This novella is based around the time of the great depression, many people were lonely, and people did not trust each other. Workers would travel to find any work possible just to keep food on the table. However, the American dream was still alive for most workers in that time except for African Americans, women, people of old age and people with disabilities. They were susceptible to isolation which lead to loneliness. African Americans in the 1930’s were subjected to horrific laws due to their skin colour. Women did not have most of their rights and were very lonely due to arranged marriages. People of old age could not …show more content…
Crooks has his own bunkhouse out in the barn with all the animals, “Crooks, the Negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn” (Stienbeck 66). This quote portrays how Crooks is lonely because he does not sleep with anyone, or has anyone for company. Since he sleeps with all the animals, he is considered an animal even though he is a human being. He does not like when white people come into his room because he is not aloud in their room, “Crooks said sharply ‘you got no right to come into my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me’”(68). This quote displays how Crooks has been isolated, so long he does not even know how to socialize or if he wants to socialize with anyone. When all the white men are working in the fields bucking barley, Crooks is forced to stay back and take care of the animals by himself. After all the work is done, Crooks is not even aloud to play horse shoes, go into the white person bunkhouse or even go into town with the men. Not only is Crooks discriminated against because of race, he is also discriminated for his disability of his crooked back. Crooks epitomizes loneliness due to the racial discrimination, cruelty and isolation given to him by white …show more content…
The ranch had given him a job and 250 dollars to get him to shut up about the incident. Candy is still discriminated against, he does not go into town with the ranch workers and he is not respected due to his disability. If candy was well respected by the men, his dog would not have been killed. “ Well- hell, I had him so long! I had him since a pup! I herded sheep with him, you wouldn’t think it to look at him now but he was the best darn sheep dog i’ve ever seen” (Steinbeck 45) After this incident,Candy becomes lonely due to the loss of his dog. “He said miserably ‘you seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t 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. I wont have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs…’”(60). This displays how Candy is not respected and since he has no hand, he is afraid of getting fired. Candy is also on the outskirts because he does not go into the field to buck barley with the men, this makes him lonely and isolated, “‘the boss was expecting you last night’ the old man said. ‘He was sore as hell when you wasn’t her to go out in the morning.’(18). This displays how Candy is the only worker back in the bunkhouse cleaning up while the boys are bucking barely. In conclusion, Candy also epitomizes the role of the