NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
In Steinbecks Of Mice and Men the characters struggle with loneliness and loss of dreams. These themes are highlighted by the use of parallels that tie the novel together. The relationship between Candy and his dog parallels that which exists between George and Lennie. There are also parallels between the outcasts and Lennie which emphasize the pain of loneliness. The opening scene mirror the final scene. The relationship between Candy and his dog parallels that which exists between George and Lennie.
To the men who live in the bunkhouse, Candy's dog is nothing more than a drag footed sheep dog, gray of muzzle, with pale, blind old eyes, (p. 24) but Candy sees him as a companion. To George, Lennie is more than a big guy (p. 25) who cant speak for himself. On the ranch Lennie is suspected to be of no value because of his lack of intelligence, and Candy's dog is thought to be of no importance because he has no teeth, can hardly see and cant eat. The dog is no good to [Candy] (p. 44) and he is no good to himself (p. 44). After Lennie kills Curleys wife, hes no good to George or himself. Carlson's luger, which is used to shoot Candy's dog in the back of the head, is also used by George to shoot Lennie in the back of the head.
Slim had said earlier that he wished somebody shoot [him] if [he] got old an a cripple (p. 45) and he also acknowledges that George has to shoot Lennie, telling him that he had (p. 107). Both Candy's dog and Lennie are killed out of love. Candy feels that his dog no longer needs to suffer and George never wants Lennie to suffer for a crime he did not mean to commit. The parallels that exist between the outcasts and Lennie emphasize the harsh pain of loneliness. Crooks tries to shut out another outcast, telling Lennie that [he] aint water in the bunkhouse and [Lennie] aint wanted in [his] room (p. 68).
Curleys wife, an outcast herself, sees Crooks, Lennie, and Candy as a nigger an a dum-dum and a lousy ol sheep (p. 78), but she is not even wanted there with them. All the outcasts have been left at the ranch while the other go into town. This further shows their separation from all the ranch. The opening scene of the book mirrors its final scene. In the beginning the pastoral section symbolizes the opportunity and hope that lie before George and Lennie, while at the end of the story the calm setting is a reflection of a find of heaven. Lennie's blissful ignorance is present both times.
A heron and a periscope-like snake are there in the beginning and the end. George speaks of his living off the fat of the land in both instances to pacify Lennie. The rabbit motif is seen in the beginning and the end, but its meaning has turned. In the opening Lennie wants to tend rabbits, and in the end the giant rabbit crushes his dreams by telling him that he is not good enough. The opening scene is an exact reflection of the closing scene, yet this time the dream has been crushed.
Free research essays on topics related to: george and lennie, back of the head, curleys wife, opening scene, candy dog
Research essay sample on George And Lennie Back Of The Head
