Essay Topic:

Analyze the reasons Candy and George cannot stand against the crowd and fight for what they love most.

Essay Questions:

What stops Candy from saving his dog from being killed instead of dying on its own?

Why George chooses to kill his best friend? Can it be justified?

Thesis Statement:

The individual (George) cannot be happy because of the weakness and the inability to stand the pressure of the individuals around.

Essay Introduction:

John Steinbeck’s “Of mice and men” is a novel full of dramatic and deeply psychological issues. It carries the vision of a dream of ”simply being happy” but never being able to be happy because of the weakness, the inability to stand the pressure of the individuals around. In other words it is about the incapability to oppose the individuals who kill the dreams of other people only because their dream is already dead.

Paragraph abstract:

"…The inability of one individual to stand against the crowd is weakness, especially when it goes about something you really love. Candy and George where “bended” and did not follow their hearts, they did not even try to fight the “crowd”. Remember Candy’s sheepdog? Yes, the old one, the slow one, the one who almost had no teeth, was almost blind and could hardly eat. Who was sorry for the poor animal? Candy was strongly attached to the animal, indeed it was his real friend, his only friend with whom he shared many years of his life. He took a good care of a dog and the dog was devoted to him and loved him. Yet, he lets Carlson kill his only friend, just because Carlson was irritated by the poor dog. The same way George casts off the “yoke” in his inability to go against what the crowd wants him to do..."

Essay Conclusion:

John Steinbeck’s “Of mice and men” is a cruel and brutal example of how the society intrudes its stereotypes. How is makes a decent man unable to stand against the “crowd” and makes him weak enough to kill his only best friend in this world.