Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Loneliness

'No Man is an Island' John Donne



What does this mean? This is a quote from a poem that was written five hundred years ago and is still relevant today.  Does humanity survive well alone? Being alone is not necessarily a negative thing but if being alone leads to loneliness it could be detrimental to someone and there are even studies that show that it is contagious!

Mother Teresa said, " The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer. It's the feeling of being uncared for, unwanted- of being deserted and alone." Do you agree?

Think about the characters that we have encountered in Of Mice and Men so far.  Choose a character that you believe has been affected by loneliness.  Explain why you think so and include textual evidence to support your ideas. Post your analysis in the comment section below.

33 comments:

  1. i believe that curley has been effect by loneliness because his wife Mrs. Curley is always running around looking for other guys and always flirting with them while curley can never find her

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  2. The Character that I have chosen is George because George would have to be one of the most lonely characters in the story, In my opinion. I can prove this choice because in the story, George tells Lennie that he wants his own girl and his own life but wouldn't do it because of Lennie. Clearly friends are more important.

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  3. Candy is affected by loneliness in many ways. Not only the fact that he works alone on the farm, but also because he is so attached to his dog. We do not know any background information about Candy, but we can assume that he does not have any family left expect his dog, which was shot in Ch. 3. Candy’s dog is the only thing that is close to a family for him; that also why he could not let go of his dog. But now Candy’s way of not being lonely is a new dream. He wants to own a farm with George and Lennie. - Julia

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  4. I choose Lennie because he know he is puzzle to George,but he don't know why.He is a simple guy.He just want to have a simple life. George do everythings for him what he think that's good for Lennie.For example, He want to keep mouse with him but George doesn't let him to do that,but he doesn't understand why. ChristineHsu

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  5. I feel that all the characters feel lonely, simply because of the times and the situation that all the characters are in. I feel that the most lonely is Lennie because no one wanted him around George even said that if Lennie wasn't around then he would be able to have a better life and thats why Lennie seeks friendship/companionship from all the small furry animals he finds

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  6. I think Candy is the one because he was always work by himself. In the story before Lennie and George came, he was live alone and he doesn’t have friend because many workers come not for long time then run away. He only has a dog but the was die killed by other people, and he is sad about the dog not killed by himself. However he has a hope.

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  7. Nathan- I think Candy is lonely because the people that work on the vegetable field are young kids looking for jobs and he is an old man. Carlson killed his dog that he cared about since it was little pup. slim has decided to give him one of his pups that has just been born to give candy something to care about.

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  8. I like candy I think he is really quite a loving man to his dog. Their like peas in the pod, candy would of wanted to shoot the dog out of love, an not letting a stranger shoot the poor dog. Candy quite likes george an Lennie. This is why he wants to pool in money for the ranch. An help them tend to the ranch. ( Amanda R )

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  9. i choose Candy because out of all the other people Candy has been affected by loneliness. Candy hasn't had a wife for all we know so all he has had is that old dog of his that was his life time friend. Then it got to old and the dog was shot so it wouldn't be in pain anymore so now he has no one in his life. thats why i choose Candy.

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  10. I believe that Curley is affected by loneliness quite a bit throughout this novel. Although he has a wife he is always clueless as to where she is. She also is very flirtatious to other men behind his back, and chasing after them. He takes his aggression out by fighting, and i believe this is due to loneliness.-----CONOR

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  11. I believe that Candy is one of the characters who is affected by loneliness because as we all know on chapter 3 that the dog who became part of his life was being "mercy killed" by his friend Carlson. We all knew their story on how Candy got his dog when it was still a pup and how he spent the rest of his life with his dog. Before chapter 3 ended, we heard George, Lennie and Candy talking about their future house and Candy mentioned about his guilt not killing the dog himself: he said "I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't ought to left no stranger shoot my dog." for me, loosing something or someone you really love is really a hard thing and it's hard to get it over with. -Kimbert

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  12. I think that Candy is affected most by loneliness because of the loss of his dog. Not only did he lose his dog but also he lost his best friend. Candy does not speak of any family members but talks about his dog and how great it was. “ He was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen” pg 44. He works by himself and before George or Lennie came his only friend was his dog which is now dead.-Rajan

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  13. I chose Candy because the only thing that he had that was close to him was his dog. He became very attached to his dog since he had found it when it was a puppy, he probably considered it family. He works alone on the farm and now that is dog was shot he is eager to join in on George and Lennies dream.

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  14. I choose Candy because he is old and working alone.
    He doesn't have wife or children. His dog was dead too.Now he is exactly hopeless and loneliness.Everyday he is not work for dream, he just work for food to keep his life.He can't choose anything.He can't leave this place to find his dream because he is too old.He can't against anyone because he doesn't want to lose his work.He have to see the same picture, do the same thing everyday.It is so boring.He can't change his boring life because he is powerless and too old,so I think he is very loneliness. -by Kevin Li

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  15. I believe that Lennie is lonely compared to any one else in the book.
    Because ever one is impatient with him they that he is a big dumb guy. The ranch hand don’t understand him at times. Only his family is George, his aunt Clara raised him but is now passed away. Lennie enjoys taking care of rabbits, puppies and mice, because they do not make fun of him or scare him. Phil

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  16. Ms. Heiden and Communications class at DSS,

    All of your posts look great!! We will be posting soon-maybe even today!

    Ms. Cavaliere

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  17. In my opinion, Lennie is the one person throughout the novel that is lonely. He doesn’t have anyone other than George to look after him. In chapter 4, Crooks, the stable buck, tells Lennie that George isn’t going to come back. He was going to just leave Lennie all by himself. Lennie loves George, like a brother. He is very lonely because no one understands him and he doesn’t have any friends besides George. Lennie looks for companionship with furry animals for example mice, puppies and rabbits. He is just a child trapped in the body of a man.
    Courtnea

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  18. The character that I’m going to write about is Lennie. He is a lonely big guy that isn’t very bright. He will do anything to for work but he is sometimes slow doing at some things. The only family that he has ever had was George; ever since Lennie’s aunt died George had been taking care of him and treated him well. But other times Lennie feels lonely inside and he wants a rabbit, puppy and a mouse for a pet because they won’t hurt his feelings.
    By Jaylyssa D.

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  19. I think Candy is lonely because he is an old guy that works on the ranch by himself. He was one of the outcasts in the book. Another reason why I think Candy is lonely because he had to let his dog go because it was old and in rough shape. Candy didn’t have the heart to put his dog out of misery, so Carlson put the dog out of its misery. He was pretty upset about it. Candy heard about George and Lennie’s plans about their farm that they want, Candy wanted to be a part of because he was too old to be working on the ranch. He also said that he had no family around.

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  20. I think all of the characters in mice in men are pretty lonely being in the situations they are in, but I feel for Candy the most. Candy is an old man, can’t do much anymore, and he even works on his own. As the book tells that he doesn’t have any family, all he had was his dog. In chapter 3, it states that he had the dog since he was a little pup and was also shot in the chapter. At the end of the chapter, he overheard Lenny and George talking about their dream and candy having money and nothing to really spend on wants to be part of their dream I think because he just wants to be part of something.
    Triscia

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  22. The character I have chosen is Candy because throughout the book he ends up being left out or pushed aside by other people. Also for the fact that he lost everyone in his family a long time ago, also he lost his only thing close to family when Carlson killed his dog that he had since it was a pup.
    Dustin Major

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  23. I believe that Crook the stable buck is the loneliest character in the novel Of Mice and Men because he is the only negro on the ranch and he does not get treated like the rest of the people that work on the farm. Crook has his own little room in the harness room all by himself unlike the other guys at the ranch where they share a bunkhouse together. Crook gets lonely because nobody ever wants to invite Crook to do anything with them or even involve him in anything because he is a black man. I think if I was in the situation that Crook is in I would feel like I was in a prison because that’s how Crook is treated just because he is a colored man.

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  24. Loneliness is found in every person and every living thing on earth. In the story, “Of Mice and Men”, every character is somehow lonely. One character in particular is more alone than anyone else; Crooks, the “black man”, spends all of his time in the stables where he lives and works. If anyone would understand what it is like to be lonely it is him. Given the time period he is in where racial factors affect how a colored man can make a living. Crooks is cast out by the white people and forced to live life alone. He acts like he doesn’t want people around but that is just his way of defending his pride.

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  25. I think Crooks is affected by loneliness because he is black. In the time period of this novel white people were superior to black people. Because of his color he didn’t have people jumping to be his friend. Crooks does not have any friends and doesn’t talk to people. He lives alone and because he does not do things with other people, in most of his spare time he reads books.

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  26. I think Candy is the loneliest character in the story. Before he had his dog to keep him company but the dog got too old and they shot his dog. Now the old swamper has one hand and no dog. Pretty soon the boss might just tell him to leave since all he does is clean and other small jobs around the farm.

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  27. Mother Teresa’s quote “The biggest disease today is not Leprosy or Cancer. It’s the feeling of being uncared for, unwanted-of being deserted and alone.” I think this relates to Crooke, the black guy, because since this book takes place back in the Great Depression, dark skinned people weren’t accepted like they are today. Like most of the characters in the novel, he admits he is extremely lonely. When Lennie visits him in his room, his reaction reveals this fact. At first, he turns Lennie away, hoping to prove a point that if he, as a black man, is not allowed in a white man’s house, then whites aren’t allowed in his, but his desire for company ultimately wins out and he invites Lennie to sit with him.

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  28. Crooks, the black stable guy, experiences a lot of loneliness, this reason would be because he is a black guy and back in the 1930’s nobody really accepts them nor talked to them. He also lives in the stable yard right beside a pile of manure. The only time someone talks to him is when there usually giving him orders, until Lennie came alone. He’s also lonely because there’s nobody to talk too and the only time he was invited in the white man’s house was on Christmas.
    Jude

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  29. In the book, Of Mice and Men, I think that Candy is lonely because he always seems to be alone. The only person Candy seems to have is not even a person but a dog. Candy always is with his dog until he is killed. He always was by himself before Lenny and George came along. I don’t think Candy got to know any of the other men because he didn’t think they would last or they would run.

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  30. In the book Of Mice And Men, I believe that Curleys wife has been affected the most by loneliness. She is the only girl at the ranch she lives on and none of the guys will talk to her because she really likes to flirt and her husband gets mad and fights everybody who talks to her. Her husband is one of the best fighters in the state so nobody wants to start anything. Curley’s wife doesn’t like Curley anymore because the only thing he talks about is how he is going to fight somebody. In the end her loneliness is the cause of her death.

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  31. Crooks has been effect by loneliness throughout the novel Of Mice and Men. He is a black man working as a stable buck on the farm during the great depression, and doesn’t get any attention. Crook sleeps away from everyone else in the harness room that leaned off the side of the barn. In Crooks spare time he reads books because people on the farm pay no attention to him.

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  32. This is Kyle V.'s post:
    I think Lennie is the loneliness in the novel. He may be content with himself but I feel sorry because his head injury all he needs is a small amount of attention to complete him. From what I read Lennie does have an eye for women but I think he chooses to stay away because he knows his condition he’s in. As far as I read, he only has George to be one who likes, respects and depends him but other just keep their distance.

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  33. There are some lonely people in Of Mice and Men. I think the most lonely one in the novel is Crooks he is the loneliest because he is black and he is discriminated by everybody on the ranch. He is forced to stay alone in his separate bunk and when Lennie and Candy go into his room he at first is telling them to leave but once he finds their not like the others he said come in and sit a while like he really just wanted some company

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