Your question had to be edited because it asked more than
one question. Please remember that you can only ask one question each day. I have
focused your question on the theme of loneliness, and I thought it would be interesting
to explore this key theme through the eyes of one character in the novel: Candy. There
are no direct quotes that clearly state that Candy is lonely, rather you have to infer
his loneliness from what he says and does. For example when he overhears George telling
Lennie about the dream of owning a patch of land, he is eager to jump in and join them
in this dream, offering his own money to help them purchase some
land:
"Tell
you what -" He leanded forward eagerly. "S'pose I went in with you guys. Tha's three
hundred an' fifty bucks I'd put in. I ain't much good, but I could cook and tend the
chickens and hoe the garden some. How'd that
be?"
He is even willing to
leave his money to George and Lennie if he dies. We can see here his desperation for
companionship and fellowship because of his
loneliness.
Likewise we can infer his loneliness by his
reluctance to let his dog be shot. He tries again and again to put of Carlson from
shooting his dog, and he reveals the friendship he has had with
him:
"Well -
hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with
him."
His reluctance to let
his dog be killed and the way he keeps on trying to change the subject and put Carlson
off clearly indicates how important this dog is to Candy - he only friend. Of course,
the dog killing clearly foreshadows the final killing of Lennie and the loneliness into
which George will plunge.
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