To Kill a Mocking Bird Character Analysis
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Of Mice and Men Essay
John Steinbecks novel, Of Mice and Men, is about life on a ranch in the nine1930s. Two men — Lennie and George — are the newcomers on a ranch. Lennie is a giant man, much like a bear, who has obvious mental limitations. George is a friend, or the only friend, of Lennies. George and Lennie travel together and George is Lennies caretaker. They have a dream of buying a ranch together and living alone, where Lennie cant get into trouble. When these two arrive at the ranch, they are greeted by all the ranch hands. They are Candy, an elderly man who is kept around on the ranch solely out of sympathy because he lost his hand on the ranch, Slim, a man that everyone on the ranch looks up to as somewhat of a leader, Carlson, just a typical ranchman, and a few others. All of these men are nice to George and Lennie, with the exception of Curley. Curley is the bosss son and gets no respect from the other ranchers. He is a newlywed and married to a wife who doesnt love him. Curleys dad, the boss has a Negro working in the stable. The Negros name is Crooks because he got kicked in the back by a horse and its now crooked. While on the ranch, George is constantly trying to keep Lennie out of trouble, which is virtually impossible due to Lennies condition. As you can tell, ranch life is not a good one for anyone. Most ranch people, or more specifically, George, Curleys wife, Candy, and Crooks, lead lonely desperate lives that they cant escape and are constantly trapped in hopeless situations. Just because they cant escape their lives, doesnt mean they dont try. Still, in the end, each of their attempts fail.
Curleys wife is trapped and lonely in a life she doesnt want and cant get escape. When she made a feeble attempt to change, she just ended up ruining everything for herself. The downward spiral of her life began when she meets a man from Hollywood and Curley at a party. The man from Hollywood says that Curleys wife is a natural actress and she can make it in Hollywood. He says he would write to her, but she never receives the letter. She claims her mom threw it away before Curleys wife could read it, but that is very unlikely. So, after no response from the man from Hollywood, she marries Curley, who she doesnt love. Now she is dwelling on dreams of the life she could have had. But shes stuck and she cant get out of her marriage. As a result, she spends her life avoiding Curley. Its like a game of cat and mouse; shes always pretending to be looking for him when she really doesnt want to find him. Not only has her marriage gone bad, but none of the ranch men will talk to her. They try to ignore her because they dont want Curley to catch them looking at her. They know that, if caught, Curleys will unleashed his temper on them. Since nobody talks to Curleys wife, she tries to get people to notice her. She struts around and appears flirtatious, though she doesnt say anything suggestive. An example of this occurs in Crooks room. Lennie, Candy, and Crooks are all sitting in Crookss room, a room nobody ever usually visits. They are simply talking when Curleys wife walks. They all stop talking and demand her to leave. Candy yells at her and tells her she shouldnt be there. Crooks, who is considered lower class, even forbids her to be in his room. They obviously think she is trying to make trouble by walking in wearing a tight little dress. There are also many rumors going around the ranch about her, and how she gives everybody “the eye”. As a result of her perceived behavior, she creates her own bad reputation. Curley knows what others think. So, he tries to keep her locked up in the bosss house. She gets very lonely from this. She wants a friend so bad. The only chance she has to talk to someone is when Curley and most of the other ranchmen are off playing a horseshoe tournament. She notices someone in the barn and she goes to talk to them. Lennie talks to her because he didnt know any better. She is so relieved to be talking with someone that she forgets common sense. They talk about how Lennie likes to pet soft things, and Curleys wife allows him to pet her silky hair. When she tells him to stop, he holds on more tightly. She is scared and starts to yell. Her cries scare Lennie who he covers her mouth. Then, she starts screaming louder and Lennie makes his grip firmer on her face. In the process, he breaks her neck and she dies instantly. Ironically, just as Curleys wife finally starts to make her life a little better, she fails. Her loneliness makes her so desperate for companionship that she fails to use her good judgment. Shes dead and does not get another opportunity to change her circumstances and fulfill her dreams.
Crooks, a Negro stuck on a ranch with a bunch of prejudice white men, is not accepted as an equal, so therefore is very lonely and trapped. He isolates himself, which only worsens the situation. Crooks is the stable buck at this ranch and, because he has a crooked spine, he cant walk well. Every time the boss gets mad, he takes it out on poor Crooks. Crooks accepts his treatment since he is a Negro. He doesnt talk to many people either because they dont talk to him. Hes nice but nobody even considers talking with him. It might be because his deformed back makes him unpleasant looking. His deformity and his race isolate him from the rest of the ranch men. As a result, he is very bitter. For example, Crooks iss needlessly unwelcoming to Lennie when he came to the staple to visit his pup, and ends up walking into Crookss room. After he allows Lennie in, he is reluctant to let Candy in as well. In his heart, he really wanted visitors and somebody to talk to. All Crooks does in his free time is read books. While he enjoys reading, he gets very tired of it. He has nothing else to do. He doesnt have anyone to talk to about his life, his books, horses, hay, and angry bosses. As a result of his isolation, Crooks is viewed as a lesser person…not equal or as smart as the other workers. He is constantly being bossed around by ignorant people. Even Curleys wife treats him badly, and he cant say or do anything to defend himself. He tries to join in on George and Lennies plan for a ranch of his own, but then feels its unattainable and backs out. He fails to get a better life because he feels uncomfortable. Crooks lacks confidence to change his situation and continues to live as a bitter, lonely black man who cant stand up to people because He feels inferior due to his race.
Candy is a man with no family, not many friends, no permanent job, and no dreams that can actually