Of Mice And Men Character Analysis Essay

Of Mice and Men Character Analysis Essay
Of Mice and Men, by Steinbeck. “I feel like an outsider, and I always will feel like one. I’ve always felt that I wasn’t a member of any particular group.” (Anne Rice). This quote imparts to Lennie and Candy because they’re both different and handicapped. Lennie and Candy are nice people who are powerless, dreamers, and social outcasts. Lennie is a social outcast in the ranch of his mental disability but dreams of tending the rabbits. “Course he ain’t mean. But he gets in trouble alla time because he’s so God damn dumb.” (Steinbeck 41). This quote demonstrates that Lennie is an outcast because of his mental disability. Another quote that shows he’s an outsider, “I’m gonna shoot the guts outta that big bastard myself.” (Steinbeck 98). Lennie was considered as an outcast after he accidentally murdered Curley’s wife and nobody defended and went after him with guns. “‘I jus’ tol’ you, jus las’ night. ‘Go on- tell again George.’” (Steinbeck 6). This quote indicates that Lennie is a dreamer because he loves to hear George
retelling their goal once they get the stake. One more quote to explain that Lennie’s a dreamer, “‘Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now.’” (Steinbeck 206). Even though Lennie was in trouble for committing murder, he still believes that George and him will get their dream ranch and tend the rabbits. Since Lennie can’t look after himself, he has George to care and look after him when his aunt Clara died. Lennie doesn’t fit in well Vang 2

with the others because of being mentally handicapped and being picked on by Curley. He thought that, once him and George meet their goal, he can take care of rabbits and nobody will never act mean towards him. Candy is a social outcast in the ranch but yearns of working in a ranch together with George and Lennie. “‘I ain’t much good with only one hand.’” (Steinbeck 59). This quote shows that Candy is an outsider because of his physical disability and earning less money than the rest of the ranchers. Another example that explains he’s an outsider, “‘They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunkhouses they’ll put me on the county.’” (Steinbeck 60). After Candy’s dog was shot, he feared that he’ll be canned if he’s becoming too old and useless. “‘I’d make a will an’ leave my share to you guys in case I kicked off, ‘cause I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing.’” (Steinbeck 59). This quote shows that Candy is a dreamer because he wants to be part of George and Lennie’s dream so he won’t have to worry about where to stay after he’s no longer useful in the ranch. One more example to describe he’s a dreamer, “‘ You an’ me can get that little place, can’t we George?’” (Steinbeck 94). After Lennie escaped to the South, Candy still hoped that George and him can achieve their goal without Lennie. Candy fears of being thrown out after Carlson shot his dog for him because he was “old” and “useless”. he regrets having another person kill his dog and feels a sense of loneliness. After he heard of George and Lennie’s dream, he wants to be part of it so he can have a place to stay and won’t feel lonely anymore. Vang 3

Overall, Lennie and Candy have nice personalities who are impotent, dreamers, and outsiders.
As mentioned earlier, “I feel like an outsider, and I always will feel like one. I’ve always felt that I wasn’t a member of any particular group.” (Anne Rice). This quote relates to Lennie and Candy because they’re both different and handicapped. Even though Lennie and Candy share so many similarities, they also have their differences. Lennie is mentally handicapped and works on the grain team along with his companion George, while Candy is physically disabled and works as a swamper. The two personalities explains the theme of loneliness. Lennie would sometimes let George talk for him because he has trouble forming sentences and listens to George because he can’t survive on his own. Candy has his old shepherd dog and feels lonely after his dog died and regrets having someone shoot the dog for him instead of him doing
it.