Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Chapter 3

In chapter 3 there are so many scenes of loneliness it saddens me. " Him and me was both born in Auburn. I knowed his Aunt Clara. She took him when he was a baby and raised him up. When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin'. Got kinda used to each other after a little while." said George.( Steinbeck, 40, 1937) When Lennie was a baby his aunt took him in which most likely means his parents died. Lennie was not raised with the male figure in his life so the only other guy he new was George. When his Aunt died Lennie had absolutely nobody anymore, except George. Lennie and George were both lonely so they stuck together everywhere they went. George knew Lennie wasn't bright, so George would take advantage of Lennie.

"I used to have a hell of a lot of fun with 'im. used to play jokes on 'im 'cause he was too dumb to take care of 'imself. But he was too dumb even to know he had a joke played on him. I had fun. Made me seem God Damn smart alongside of him. Why he'd do any damn thing I tol' him. If i tol' him to walk over a cliff, over he'd go. That wasn't so damn much fun after a while. he never got mad about it, neither. I've beat the hell outa him, and he coulda bust every bone in my body jus' with his han's, but he never lifted a finger against me. tell you what made me stop that. One day a bunch of guys was standin' around up on the Sacramento River. I was feelin' pretty smart. I turns to Lennie and says, 'jump in.' an' he jumps. Couldn't swim a stroke. he damn near drowned before we could get him. An' he was so damn nice to me for pullin' him out. Clean forgot i told him to jump in. Well, i ain't done nothing like that no more." said George.(Steinbeck, 40, 1937)

George did some very mean things to Lennie, just because Lennie wasn't bright. Even after George beat him up, almost made him drown, after all the pranks, and jokes Lennie still always thanked and wanted to be with George. Lennie didn't care about what George did to him. All Lennie cared about was being with someone. Lennie needed George, and Lennie had no one else so even though George did all those things to him, he was always still nice to George. George realized what he did to Lennie was awful and horrible. George ended up doing the right thing by treating Lennie fairly, and by allowing Lennie to travel and work with him. All Lennie wanted was someone to be like a brother to him and always provide him with some company.

Lennie and many other characters such as Candy used animals to give them company. Lennie is always going around petting and holding animals. He was petting a dead mouse, just to give him comfort and to let him feel warmth. Lennie also pets the baby puppy. He pets the puppy because it is small and he feels less lonely when he pets something living. Lennie is also always talking about getting rabbits. Lennie loves furry animals because it gives him something to love, and talk to."Well-hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him. You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog i ever seen." said Candy.( Steinbeck, 44, 1937) Candy's only real friend is his dog. Candy has been living on the ranch so long. He has no family, no friends; all he has is his dog. He loves his dog with all his heart. The characters have animals because it is much easier for them to interact and to be less lonely with the animals.

Lennie and George have a dream about buying their own house and living together. They want to be able to feel like they are in control and are the boss of them selves. They will buy what they want, eat what they want, and do whatever they want. " George, how long's it gonna be till we get that little place an' live on the fatta the lan'." said Lennie. ( Steinbeck, 56, 1937) All George and Lennie want is to be able to live on their own and own something for themselves. They want to feel like a regular person and live in a house. They want to see how it feels not to be lonely. This dream of theirs is a dream almost every ranch worker has. People everywhere all want to feel normal, and feel unlonely. Candy hears George and Lennie talking about this place. Candy wants to join them. Candy has nothing; he has no family, no friends, no house. He lost the only thing he had which was his dog. Just this alliance the three have, gives Candy less of a feeling of loneliness.

In this chapter, Candy and Lennie both use pets to make them feel less lonely. The animals they pet give them a feeling of love, and warmth. These feelings they get from the animals make them feel less lonely. A single pet can make someones life that much better, and that much more enjoyable and fulfilling. The smallest things in life are sometimes the greatest things for a person.




No comments:

Post a Comment