Scar by Amy Tan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Scar by Amy Tan - Essay Example The author emphasizes this when she states â€Å"In those days a ghost was anything we were forbidden to talk about† (Tan 291).This is clearly illustrated in the case of An-mei’s mother, who is disowned by her family for running off to be a concubine and refusing dowry from An-mei’s father. An-mei grows up hearing her grandmother constantly talking ill of her mother and she perceives her to be a â€Å"thoughtless woman who laughed and shook her head, who dipped her chopsticks many times to eat another piece of sweet fruit, happy to be free of Popo, her unhappy husband on the wall, and her two disobedient children (Tan 292 ).† Tan’s short narrative â€Å"Scar† builds on the themes of unconditional love and respect, by using symbolism and figurative language, among other literary elements. As a child, An-mei’s mother comes to visit and a commotion arises. A giant pot of boiling broth spills and burns the little girl’s chin and neck. The boiling soup is symbolic of the family’s raging anger towards An-mei’s mother for becoming a concubine and dishonoring them. The burn results in a physical scar, hence the title of the short story. However, the term scar is also symbolic since it signifies the emotional harm suffered by the little girl, as well as, the bad memories of her mother instilled in her by the grandmother. The prevalent theme in the short story is that of unconditional love. For instance, in the course of the story An-mei’s grandmother becomes seriously sick and her young girl’s mother comes back. In spite of everything that she had been told by her grandmother and the constant absence of her mother, she grows to love her. This is evident when she says â€Å"I came to love this mother as well, not because she came to m e and begged me to forgive her† (Tan 294). An-mei recognizes the fact that her mother is not to blame entirely for her absence. She also realizes that her mother never stopped loving her even after being expelled from the community. Tan illustrates this illustration when An-mei says when â€Å"Here is how I came to love my mother, how I saw her in my own true nature, what was beneath my skin, inside my bones† (Tan 294). The narrative also elaborates on the theme of respect. This is attributable to the fact that people should respect their elders regardless of the situations they are in. This is shown by An-mei‘s depiction of respect towards her mother when she sacrifices herself to Popo even after disownment. An-mei‘s mom also shows respect to Popo by looking after her even through the last living moments of her life. Respect was an issue that affected many people in China and despite the fact that An-mei did not really know her mother; she respected her and valued her actions towards her grandmother. The author’s narrative skills once more unfold yet another theme of traditions and identity. This is clearly depicted in honoring of Popo by following the ancient and acceptable way. This is done in an effort to save Popo from dying and An-mei's mother shows the respect of traditions and identity by making a sacrifice. Despite the fact that there is no good form of communication between Popo and An-mei's mother, she does not abandon her. In contrary, she cuts off part of her flesh in attempt to enrich Popo’s soup so as to heal her (Tan 295). This theme is further elaborated when An-mei realize the real meaning of the sacrifice that is conducted by the mother. In order to fully determine one's identity and heritage, one should symbolically peel off their

Sweatshop Labor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sweatshop Labor - Essay Example The company ethical guidelines affect the whole operations of the business. When the guidelines are clear to all subordinates, the employees are unlikely to make unethical decisions. However, in case the company leaves the ethical issues to be decided by the supervisors, they are likely to engage in unethical issues which might end up tarnishing the reputation of the company in the market (Esbenshade, 2004). Therefore, ethical perspective such as the minimum salaries and age of the employees ensures that decision made inside the company’s premises observe these guidelines. A company influences its ethical environment by setting the standards to be met by the employees. When the standards are beyond what the employees can achieve, the subordinates are likely to engage in unethical behavior in order to achieve them (Esbenshade, 2004). This explains why some employees in Bangladesh working for one of the Wal-Mart subsidiary opted to come with their children in the workplace in order for them to help their parents to reach the set

Mutual Fund Project Essay Example for Free

Mutual Fund Project Essay The fund employs a passive management investment approach. It is a low cost way to gain diversified exposure to the equity market in the United States. The fund invests in 500 of the largest companies in the United States. The companies span many different industries and the fund accounts for about 75% of the United States stock market’s value. VFINX measures the investment return of large-capitalization stocks. The most obvious risk is the volatility that comes with its full exposure to the stock market. The mutual fund portfolio’s composition is made up of 99. 45% stocks and . 55% cash. The expense ratio for this mutual fund is . 17%. This is the annual fee that shareholders are charged. It expresses the percentage of assets deducted each fiscal year for fund expenses, including 12b-1 fees, management fees, administrative fees, operating costs, and all other asset-based costs incurred by the fund. For the Year-to-Date (ytd) rankings in its category, VFINX ranked in at 24 according to Yahoo! Finance. Over the last 10 years, the fund has performed in direct correlation to the Samp;P 500 being that it is an index fund and there is a beta of 1, meaning that whatever the Samp;P 500 does, the fund will do as well. VFINX is a good choice if an investor is seeking a mutual fund that offers the stability of large, established companies and the wide exposure of a fund that holds both value and growth stocks. Fidelity Magellan Fund (FMAGX) has ridden the ups and downs over the years of the market’s roller coaster. The fund has gone through many changes over the years and one of the most important key factors to the fund’s performance has been related to the way it was managed. The fund currently has assets totaling 14. billion and its portfolio consists of growth and value stocks across the capitalization spectrum from around the world and the United States. The fund keeps about 20 percent of the holdings in foreign stocks. It is one of the world’s most known actively managed funds and has finally found some stability due to its newest manager, Harry Lange. In 2008, during the financial crisis, the management chose to stay aggressive instead of investing defensively and incurred a bad loss, which lead to the changes in management. FMAGX is classified as a large growth fund and is ranked 24 in its category according to Yahoo! Finance. The 3-year beta is 1. 7, which means that it bears more risk than investing directly in the Samp;P 500, however this also means that it could provide heftier returns. The mutual fund portfolio’s composition

The sociological theory of social constructionism

The sociological theory of social constructionism Social Constructionism essentially represents a sociological theory of knowledge that studies the development of various sociological phenomena in social contexts. A social construct, the anchor of this theory, refers to a concept that is the artefact of a specific group. Social constructs, to elaborate, dispense with take away from commonly accepted inherent qualities of items, concepts, or issues, and instead focus on their dependence upon, and the contingent and conditional rationale of, our social sense. They describe such issues and things are more easily described as the result of numerous human choices, rather than of natural laws or divine intention. The origins of present day social constructionist theories go back to the writings of Immanuel Kant. Kant argued for the existence of a world that was independent of human minds, thus implying that humans should not assert that they created the world. This world, he said, is without structure and is not divided into things and facts. Structure is imposed on the world by perceiving it and thinking of it in specific ways, as also and by the adoption of particular sets of beliefs, (rather than instead of others) about it. Vivine Burr (2003, p 2) argues that social constructionism enables individuals to adopt critical attitudes towards their conventional and traditional methods of perceiving and understanding the world and their own selves. It provides humans us with fresh ways on perceiving ideas and things that are considered to be commonplace and are unquestioningly accepted. Numerous things like for example money, newspapers or citizenship are socially constructed and. All of these t hings would not obviously have existed in the absence of society. Each of them furthermore could have well been constructed differently. Social constructionism encourages people to question the widely held perception that conventional and accepted knowledge has sprung has come about from objective and impartial examination of the world. It is as such opposed to the positivist epistemology of traditional science and spurs thinking individuals to constantly question their assumptions about the appearance of their environment and its various components. This short study deals with the implications of social constructionism for social workers and how its use can help them social workers to understand human behaviour. Specific emphasis has been given to the use of social constructionism in understanding commonly held perceptions and attitudes towards mental disorders. The Use of Social Constructionism by Social Workers to Understand Human Behaviour Social workers have two fundamental objectives, namely the strengthening of the ability of individuals and groups to cope with and overcome the many difficulties and challenges they confront in life, and the bringing about of improvements in various social and environmental circumstances areas, in order to improve the satisfaction of human needs; especially of people from underprivileged and oppressed social segments. Social workers plan and attempt their various interventions through their understanding of environmental circumstances, the various reasons for such these conditions, and the client system. Such understanding and knowledge and the consequent adoption of theoretic approaches significantly influence the point, the tool, and the nature of social work intervention. It becomes evident that adoption of theoretic preferences, based upon an understanding of the reality of the client environment, is crucial, both to social work theory and its practice. Theories of classical empiricism assert that the truth about the world is established and is independent of the individual. Social constructionism conversely puts forth argues that such truth is certainly not independent of individuals but is actually depends upon their thoughts, perceptions and beliefs. Social workers, by using social constructionism, will be able to understand the various dimensions of reality within such individual thoughts, perceptions and beliefs. Constructionists state that reality cannot be known separately from our elucidation of it. Social constructionism works on the principle that reality is constructed socially and places emphasis on language as a critical route for interpretation of experience. Whilst objectivists state that individuals make discoveries and find out about the reality of the world through the construction and testing of hypotheses via the actions of neutral observers, constructionists debunk such assumptions arguing that the interests and values of observers can never be separated from their observations and are thus bound to influence the final construction of common perceptions about world realities. Gergen (1985, p 270), states that generation of ideas of reality is initiated by social, rather than individual, processes and that the touted objective reality of the positivist approach is actually the result of various social construction processes that are influenced by historical, political, cultural and economic conditions. With such knowledge being essentially constructed, it can change over time and diverge across cultural groups that embrace different perceptions and beliefs about human nature and development. Considering that the norms, beliefs, valu es, traditions, attitudes and practices of different cultural groups vary from each other, the social construction of their knowledge is also likely to differ significantly. An understanding of this fundamental principle can help social workers in their realisation of the different perceptions, attitudes and behaviours of different individuals towards similar social phenomena or stimuli. Social constructionism helps social workers in adopting critical stances towards established assumptions on regarding the social world that reinforce the interests of powerful and dominant social groups and assists them in realising that the world has come about because of historical processes of communication and negotiation between groups and individuals. Gergen (1985, p 266), states that people see the world through the eyes of their particular communities and cultures and respond accordingly. Established assumptions, understandings and behaviours of people are sustained by social, political, economic and moral institutions. Payne (1997), states that reality, according to social constructionism, can be stated to be the guidance of behaviour by individual perceptions of knowledge and reality. Individuals arrive at shared perceptions of reality through the sharing of their knowledge via different social processes that first organise such knowledge and thereafter establish it by making it objective. Social and individual activity thus becomes habitual with individuals sharing their assumptions about their perceptions of reality. People behave in line with social conventions that are based on such shared knowledge. These conventions are furthermore institutionalised because of the agreement of many people on such understandings on different aspects of society. Such realisations and accords become legitimised by processes that integrate these ideas about reality into ordered and believable systems. Social workers need to realise that social understanding is finally the combined result of various human understandings through the operation of circular processes, wherein individuals contribute to the construction of social meaning within social structures of societies through processes of institutionalisation and legitimisation. Societies consequently create conventions through the participation of individuals in their structures, which, in turn influences the behaviours of people. Spirals of constantly moving influences build and rebuild the conventions that people adopt and by which they live. Berger and Luckmann, (1966), state that individuals experience the world to be an objective reality, comprising of persons and events that exist separately of individuals perceptions. Language provides the means through which individuals make sense of their environment, classify persons and events, and interpret new experiences. The shared reality of everyday life by different individuals distinguishes it from individual realities, (like dreams). Language helps individuals in sharing their experiences and making it available to others. Such sharing of reality leads to institutionalisation and thereafter to habitual ways of working. Habitualism makes the behaviour of different individuals predictable, facilitates joint activity and perpetuates social control mechanisms. Knowledge is as such institutionalised within sub-groups, or at social levels, and significantly influences the behaviour of people. Social constructionism allows social workers to question dominant structures of knowledge and understand the impact of culture and history. Social workers by and large understand the requirements of humans through the interplay of different ideological, ethical, political and economic factors. An understanding of social constructionism can help them in understanding the responses behind the actions of both dominant and vulnerable groups of society and decide upon the adoption of the best suited routes for bringing about social change. Social Constructionism and Mental Illness Much of modern day societys perceptions about mental ailments are influenced by the medical and psychological models, which state that medical illnesses are real; they concern disturbances in thoughts, experiences, and emotions and can be serious enough to cause functional impairment in individuals. Such ailments make it difficult for individuals to sustain interpersonal relationships and conduct their jobs. They can also sometimes result in self destructive actions, including suicides. The more serious of such illnesses, like extreme depression and schizophrenia, can often be chronic and lead to serious disability. The social constructionist approach states that such much of modern day perceptions about mental ailments are caused by the specifically constructed vocabularies of medical and psychological models, replete with their elaborate terminologies for mental disorders and focused their focus on deficits. Social constructionism can help social workers in understanding the socially constructive and destructive illusions that have been created put up by existing medical and psychological models and deficit based language. Walker (2006), states that vocabularies of medical and psychological models, including the concept of mental illness itself, are essentially social constructions. They are made up of vocabularies that describe deficits and diseases and perceive human beings as things that can be examined, diagnosed and treated, much in the manner of machines. Such perceptions (a) lead to obsessions with compliance, (b) distinguish between normal and pathological states, and (c) position prac titioners as experts, even as clients are represented built up determined as passive and obedient recipients of treatment. Recommended treatments focus on elimination of symptoms, support established paternalistic roles, and are not focused on actual client needs. Examined from the perspective of linguistics, reified categories like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia appear to be defined by clusters termed as symptoms; schizophrenia for example is concerned with the occurrence of audio hallucinations. Such terms, it is evident exists only because of the creation of consensus among the dominant groups of doctors and psychologists and persist because of convention. Mental illnesses are often described akin to physical ailments like diabetes, where individuals are required to manage their lives with specific medications. Such comparisons are used to explain the working of medications and to make the diagnosis and recommended treatment for mental ailments acceptable to clients. Such analogies however breakdown completely considering if it is realised that discussions about thoughts and feelings of individuals concern their identities and not their bodies. Social workers need to understand that the vocabularies of medical and psychological models essentially position clinicians as the most suitable interpreters of client experiences. Even apparently harmless terms like clinical or treatment plans establish contexts where clients are perceived to be abnormal or having pathologies, even as clinicians are established as authorities with abilities to perform interventions for assisting clients in overcoming their pathologies. With the power of definition lying with clinicians, the labelling of people as mentally ill pushes them to the borders of society and takes away from them their intrinsic rights and privileges. Social constructionism helps social workers in understanding that whilst political and human pressure has helped in eliminating the incarceration of the mentally ill in mental hospitals, the distinction created by vocabulary on mental illness leads to the movement of centres of power to clinicians and undermines efforts for self determination and community integration. Such medical and psychological vocabularies constitute obstacles to more inclusive mental health programmes and undermine social understanding of people with mental disorders.

Effects of Absent Fathers on Adolescents Essay -- Social Issues, Divor

The role of the father, a male figure in a child’s life is a very crucial role that has been diminishing over the years. An absent father can be defined in two ways; the father is physically not present, or the father is physically present, but emotionally present. To an adolescent, a father is an idolized figure, someone they look up to (Feud, 1921), thus when such a figure is an absent one, it can and will negatively affect a child’s development. Many of the problems we face in society today, such as crime and delinquency, poor academic achievement, divorce, drug use, early pregnancy and sexual activity can be attributed to fathers being absent during adolescent development (Popenoe, 1996; Whitehead, 1993). The percentage of adolescents growing up fatherless has risen from 17% to 36% in just three decades between 1960 and 1990 (Popenoe, 1996). Dr. Popenoe estimates this number will increase to approximately 50% by the turn of the century (Popenoe, 1996). The US Census Bureau reported out of population of 24 million children, 1 out 3 live in a home without a father (US Census Bureau, 2009). The role of a father is more than just another parent at home (Popenoe, 1996). Having a father, the male biological parent in a child’s life is important because it brings a different type of parenting that cannot be replicated by anyone else (Stanton, 2010). Fathers who are present and active in a child’s life provide great benefits to a developing child (Popenoe, 1996). Having a father brings a different kind of love. The love of the father is more expectant and instrumental, different from the love of a mother (Stanton, as cited in Pruett, 1987). The effect of an absent father can be quite devastating to the developing ad... ...istics, 1999). McBride, Brent A., Sara K., Sullivan, and Ho-Ho (2005) reported about the achievement levels in a adolescent who grows up with a father, â€Å"A study of 1330 children from the PSID showed that fathers who are involved on a personal level with their child schooling increases the likelihood of their child's achievement. When fathers assume a positive role in their child's education, students feel a positive impact.† (p. 201-216). Children who do not grow up in a two parent homes, are more likely to fail and repeat a grade in school. It is also important to note that children who grow up in single parent families are less likely to have parents involved with the school, 62% of children with two parent homes have parents that are involved in school, while children from single parent homes have half of them involved in school (Nord, Winquist, West, 2001).

Types I and II Diabetes Essay -- Diseases, Disorders

There are some diseases people can overcome with the right treatment; however, there are some diseases that are a life long battle even with a treatment. An excellent example is diabetes. There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is diagnosed during childhood or adolescence. Type 2 diabetes is diagnosed in adulthood. Type 1 diabetes is important but it only affects a small amount of the population mainly adolescence while Type 2 diabetes affects a large portion of the population making it more of a priority. The first step into understanding any disease is to find out how it is caused, its onset of symptoms, and finally the cure or treatment for it, but diabetes is one of many diseases without a cure. Diabetes is a life long struggle that can only be contained through life style changes and regular monitoring. Diabetes is a disease wherein the body is not able to control the amount of sugar like glucose in the blood. The blood delivers glucose to provide the body with energy to perform daily activities. The liver changes the food a person consumes into glucose. Subsequently, the glucose is released into the bloodstream. â€Å"In a healthy person, the blood glucose level is regulated by several hormones primarily insulin. Insulin is produced by the pancreas, a small organ between the stomach and liver. The pancreas also makes other important enzymes released directly into the gut that helps us digest food. Insulin allows glucose to move out of the blood into cells throughout the body where it is used for fuel.† The scenarios of people with diabetes is that there are some that do not produce enough insulin which is type 1 diabetes or the other type is with people that cannot use insulin properly which is type 2 diabetes (Pollin).... ...://www.emedicinehealth.com/diabetes/article_em.htm>. Gorman, Christine. "Health: Why So Many Of Us Are Getting Diabetes - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Time Magazine. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. . Garcia, Malcolm. "For Diabetes Patients, Oases in the Food Desert." Chicago Tribune. 01 Feb. 2012. Web. 20 Feb. 2012. . Pollin, Toni I.; Shuldiner, Alan R.. "Diabetes." Genetics. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 20 Feb. 2012 . Staff, Mayo Clinic. "Diabetes: Causes - MayoClinic.com." Mayo Clinic. Web. 19 Feb. 2012. .

Analysis of Loneliness in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men Essay

John Steinbeck – the creator of the famous: Of Mice and Men, was born in 1902 in California; near Solidad. His family were quite wealthy, but he was interested in farm labouring, and this is how he materialised most of his stories. He wrote a number of novels about people that were farmers and yearned for better lifestyles including The Grapes of Wrath, which is a touching story about a family’s struggle to escape the dust bowl of the West to reach California. Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1962, six years before his death in 1968. The title of the novel: Of Mice and Men, originates from a poem made by a Scottish poet named; Robert Burn. It comes from the line that says: â€Å"The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men, gang aft agley.† From using a translated version of the poem, I induced that this means: The best-laid plans of mice and men often go askew. People can have enormous dreams, that they continue to plan how to get towards, but things have a way of falling apart and sometimes turning tragic. In my essay, I am going to talk about the main characters in Of Mice and Men, and I will discuss how each of the characters befriends loneliness. Of Mice and Men is one of the spectacular novella’s which was written by John Steinbeck. It is about two men that go travelling together that come across many unworldly experiences. The first of the two men: Lennie Small – a large man – in contrast to his name, has broad shoulders and a large body frame. His companion, George Milton, is quite opposite, he is small and slim. Lennie also has a disability; this is the main reason why the two men go travelling ‘together’. George is the brainpower of the two men and is a man that is just trying to live a normal life and earn a living. The novella starts when Lennie and George are escaping a place called Weed due to Lennie’s liking for touching things that are ‘soft’. Lennie likes the look of a woman’s dress, so feels the necessity to experiment. The woman believes that he is attacking her so she runs away and alerts the lynch mob of the area. Lennie and George are forced into hiding till the lynch mob finally retreats. Then, they decide to start a new life, and so the phenomenal story begins. Two migrant workers: Lennie Small and George Milton, come to a ranch in Soledad to â€Å"work up a stake†. They hope one day to fulfil their shared dream of settling down on their own land. Lennie’s part of the dream is never forgotten throughout the short novel – which is to have soft rabbits that he can tend. The quick-witted George thinks of a great plan if there is a repeat of what happened at Weed. He tells Lennie that he will not get to â€Å"tend the rabbits† if he gets into any trouble. The threat helps prolong the time that they get to work on the ranch. When they finally reach the ranch, their dream appears to become possible. Candy, the aged, one-handed ranch-hand, employs the idea that he can pitch in with George and Lennie so that they can buy their dream land by the end of the month. The dream is dismantled when George kills the attractive, wife of Curley, the ranch owner’s son, while trying to stroke her hair. A lynch mob led by Curley gathers. George decides to be practical and decides to spare Lennie from a painful death at the hands of the evil, antagonizing Curley, and his crew. George shoots Lennie in the back of this head before the mob can locate where they are. The shot comes while Lennie is distracted by one last retelling of the dream. At the beginning of the text, a sense of loneliness is emitted by John Steinbeck. He describes one of the men – George – to be walking in front of the other. After having been dropped off at the wrong destination, George and Lennie decide to walk the last few miles to the ranch. Steinbeck’s description of the way they walk inevitably shows the status of both men. Even without knowing that Lennie has a disability, we are notified that one of the men is superior to the other. George seems to have a higher profile to that of Lennie because George is walking in front of Lennie; steering Lennie’s movement. Lennie is walking behind George even though the place they are currently trudging is â€Å"open†. He appears to need a leader in order to arrive at a place successfully. This is a very extraordinary quality – although the path is wide enough for the two men to walk, one chooses to be guided by the other. The irony of this situation is that Lennie and George are together – yet are profoundly lonely. Lennie shows he needs creature comforts to aid his loneliness. When Lennie and George are walking towards the ranch, they stop to discuss what Lennie has taken from his side pocket. George is intrigued by this mysterious object and says, â€Å"What’d you take outta that pocket?† Lennie replies saying he has nothing in his pocket. He is afraid of losing his only solution to overcoming loneliness. Lennie does not have the ability to engage in discussions with people, so finds another way to entertain him self and finds an animal for a replacement. With animal company, he feels that he is happy and content. Lennie does not want to lose his only diversion for loneliness on account of George’s worries. Lennie’s loneliness is apparent when he starts to copy the actions of his fellow comrade, George. John Steinbeck writes: â€Å"Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes, the way George’s hat was.† The two men stop by a river bank to quench their thirst. Lennie, the bigger of the two men, can not think for him self, because of his disability, so takes to copying his friend to show him how to do things. This is an indicator that Lennie does not really have a personality, he is always doing what everyone around him is doing. Therefore, a sense of loneliness is shown through the way Lennie acts. George shows his disappointment in the lifestyle he is currently living. After George tells Lennie instructions on what to do when they get to the ranch, George ponders how his life would be without Lennie. He â€Å"crossed his hands under his head†. This gesture confirms that George is looking up at the sky thinking about something; in this case – life without the â€Å"trouble†. George talks about the possible lifestyle he could have leaded if he never had to worry about Lennie, saying: â€Å"I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail.† This suggests that Lennie believes without his companion, he would have lived a ‘normal,’ happy, life, without having anything, or anyone to worry about. If Lennie did not follow George around everywhere like he were George’s â€Å"tail,† George assumes that he might have been able to make something out of his life. George then goes on to say, â€Å"I could live so easy and maybe have a girl.† George repeats the word easy, showing he feels strongly that his standard of living is ultimately never near to easy. He even imagines that he would be in a relationship if he had not chosen to look after Lennie. On the whole, George considers Lennie to be a constraint in his life, and that without this ‘constraint’ he would have lead a better life. John Steinbeck uses animals as well as humans to show loneliness throughout the story. Intelligently, he chooses to use snakes as a form of isolation. Snakes are very good at displaying loneliness because most water snakes are not usually found in groups. So he chose to use a snake for background loneliness, as oppose to the characters. John Steinbeck writes that the water snake, â€Å"slipped along on the pool† and its head was: â€Å"held up like a little periscope.† From this quotation, I can see that Steinbeck was trying to show that the snake might have been looking for company, and so, it perched its head up hopefully, with the intention of finding anything else that was stirring in the lake. It is confirmed that the old swamper has nothing to do in his spear time. When Lennie and George arrive at the ranch, they start talking to a man that has come to greet them. The two newcomers to the ranch are disgusted by the object lying around the bunk house that indicates the ranch has many faults. After noticing a can that is utilized for killing insects, George begins to worry about the health and safety at their new work place. George says indignantly, â€Å"What the hell kind of bed you giving us anyways we don’t want no pants rabbits.† The challenging remark makes the old swamper retaliate immediately because he is given the chance to socialize with new ranch workers, and he feels it is a great opportunity to make new friends. The old swamper states, â€Å"Last guy that had this bed was a black smith – hell of a nice fella and as clean a guy as you want to meet†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The old swamper is lonely and because of this factor, he has found an occasion when people are actually interested in what he has to say. Therefore, to keep them listening to him, he takes upon telling them stories about different people to keep them in range of conversation. The Old swamper starts talking about all of the men on the ranch. This shows he has been lonely for quite a while and so has not had the chance to gossip about all the men and their lifestyles. Now he has people to talk to that are not associated with the ranch, he uses them to discuss all of the workers on the ranch because he feels he wants to get it off his mind so that he can relax. (He is fit to burst with useless information that he never got to tell anyone). When Lennie and George go to meet the boss and hand him their work slips, Lennie clearly feels left out because he has made a pact that he is not going to engage in any conversation with the boss since he will only spoil things for the two hard workers. George emphasizes that his friend is: â€Å"as strong as a bull.† Lennie feels it is appropriate for him to produce a smile and proudly repeats; â€Å"strong as a bull.† After saying this, he is warned by George. Steinbeck writes: â€Å"George scowled at him, and Lennie dropped his head at having forgotten.† Due to Lennie’s disability he is made to be left out in some situations. This is a very good example; George tells Lennie that he must not talk whilst they are in the mist of talking about their job status, and because Lennie was being commanded by George he feels he has to obey him. In obeying his close friend, (George) he has to be isolated from any conversations that include the Boss of the ranch. The old man with a dog is accused of listening to George and Lennie’s excited discussion. Panicking, George asks if he has heard anything. The old man replies saying: â€Å"A guy on a ranch don’t never listen nor he don’t ast no questions.† The elderly man examines a crucial point about the ranch workers. From this line, we are given the hint that all the men on the ranch are not aware of socializing. They work on the ranch single handed; working hard to get money to spend it foolishly or use it to buy treasures they have always wanted in their lonely lives to cure them of lonesomeness. After talking about Curley’s family tree, the swamper starts to talk about the relationship between Curley and his wife. The swamper is inexperienced in relationships and feels it is right to talk about this topic, especially because Curley’s is the Boss’s son. He wants to gossip about the Boss’s son to pass time, but also, to explain to his new friends -George and Lennie- that the Boss and his family are not perfect. Curley is the main example of why the family is not very close and idealistic. In other words, the old swamper wants to get the point across that the ranch workers are not the only people on the ranch that have to put up with loneliness, and so the Boss’s family are also human, even though they are richer than the â€Å"ranch hands.† George implanted the idea in Lennie’s head that if he ever does anything inhumane, he is not going to be able to â€Å"tend the rabbits† when they finally get their dream land and house. Every time Lennie does something slightly wrong, he becomes sad, because he has child-like thoughts, he is disheartened sourly by the fact that he will not get access to these soft and ‘happy’ animals. This shows his loneliness is deep within him. Even though he does not always show his depression – due to loneliness, like the other men, the way he reacts to George’s encore of: â€Å"if you get into any kind of trouble, you remember what I told you to do,† shows how desperate Lennie is to â€Å"tend the rabbits† – to keep him sane! Slim, the ‘prince’ of the ranch, describes George and Lennie as, â€Å"kinda funny.† This demonstrates that the men on the ranch do not really know how it is like to have a travelling companion. Slim declares that, â€Å"Hardly none of the guys travel together.† The isolation is clear because if none of the men are seen traveling with company, this means that none of the men have ever had a real friendship. However, George and Lennie are different – because they travel together, they stand out and defy the normal â€Å"ranch hands† behavior. George is forced to play solitaire to overcome boredom. The way in which this expresses loneliness is that George is playing a card game that is made for one person only. This shows his isolation from other’s company. The loneliness of Carlson makes him become selfish, as he resorts to killing Candy’s old dog. He does not like the idea of anyone having a companion, so makes the excuse that the dog is causing too much catastrophe by just existing. He says he does not know â€Å"nothing that stinks bad as an old dog.† The way he comprehends this sentence suggests that Carlson does not really mind about the smell coming from the dog because he is categorizing all dogs. This indicates that he feels dogs in general smell; technically, he is not really pin-pointing the idea that Candy’s dog is causing him grief. Therefore, Carlson is only killing the dog because he does not want anyone to have a companion, or he is mercy-killing the dog due to the suffering that the dog might be enduring. In this frame of mind, he might only want to kill the dog to save Candy from the grief when the dog dies naturally. As a result of the killing of the dog, Carlson achieves totalizing the loneliness surrounding the ranch workers. George illustrates how the ranch workers live their ‘normal’ day-to-day lives. He states, â€Å"I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain’t no good. They don’ have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin’ to fight all the time.† From this quotation, we are painted a clear image of how the ranch workers live. The loneliness in the ranch goes around the workers, making them all aggressive and angry. The seclusion of the way the â€Å"ranch hands† live turns all the men bitter and this is how fights break out. All the men walk around the ranch gloomy and bored, so they start fights to pass time, and beat boredom. George confronts Lennie about separating the puppy from his mother saying: â€Å"take this pup back to the nest. He’s gotta sleep with his mother.† Lennie always needs comfort and closure and gets this from animals. He was brought up by his aunt Clara, but she soon died. Because Lennie’s mother abandoned him as a young child, Lennie does not understand why the puppy needs to be with its mother. He does not understand the motherly bond that a child and mother have, or that a puppy and its mother have. We are first fully introduced to Candy when he is questioned about the preference of his â€Å"ancient dog†. Carlson tells him that it is about time that the dog is killed, for his own good, and for the sake of the ranch workers. Carlson is starting to get annoyed by the smell of the old dog, so insists that the dog must be killed on the day. Carlson confronts Candy saying, â€Å"why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?† Without having to think of a come back, Candy immediately retorts saying, â€Å"Well-hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup.† Candy has had his dog since the dog was a puppy, and also mentions that the dog is almost like family; this shows his loyalty and dedication to the mammal. The dog has become his only friend since he has had it for a long time. Candy’s only continuous friend is his dog. When Carlson shows were the shot of the gun will be directed, Candy replies again, without thinking saying, â€Å"No, I couldn’ do that. I had ‘im too long.† Because Candy has had his dog for a lengthy time, he feels that it is hard for his only friend go. He has become emotionally involved with the dog – the dog is a part of him. This is why he is so reluctant to letting the dog go. A while after Candy’s dog is taken away from him to get slaughtered. Candy, even though he does not know George and Lennie, wants to collaborate to get the hose. He would rather buy land with people that he does not know, than go back to living his life suffering from the illness known to many of the ranch hands as – loneliness. After Candy has finished mourning the death of his old dog, he starts to listen to George and Lennie’s discussion about the land they want to buy. He realizes he is not of any additional help to the ranch, and thinks it is time for him to find another location to live a life that is relaxing and that does not consist of too much laborious work. Hopefully, Candy suggests, â€Å"S’pose I went in with you guys.† He believes he has a chance to get away from the ranch, and grabs it at all corners. Candy decides there is nothing left for him at the ranch and it is his time to leave; knowing he will have a better life living elsewhere. The irony of the situation is that in the end of the story, George ends up killing his partner that was supposed to be getting the shared dream house and land. Candy might have therefore, filled the spot of Lennie, even though the bond would not be as good as the bond of Lennie and George. Whitt is introduced when he is talking about a magazine that he purchases; he explains, â€Å"I think your mag is the best dime’s worth I ever spent.† Whitt talks about a person called Bill that worked on the ranch previously. Whitt is lonely and is deduced to gossiping about other people to relieve his boredom. Because of the rarity of friendship on the ranch, Whitt wants to keep the magazine to hold on to his old friend – Bill. He feels he has companionship because his friend’s letter was published in a letter and he was the only person that talked to Bill about the letter before it did not even exist in the eyes of the public. Curley’s wife likes to draw attention to her self in order to get company to socialize. She comes into the bunk house â€Å"fully made up† and wearing red nail polish, asking about her husband. She looks like this because she wants to grab the interest of the men, thus getting their full awareness and successfully managing to converse. Her husband Curley does not talk to her because they are both always looking for each other. So Curley’s wife needs to find other people to talk to. Throughout the story, Curley’s wife is never given a real name; she is always referred to as Curley’s wife. She has become a possession of Curley. They suffer from the same loneliness because they both married into a loveless marriage. We are notified that Curley’s wife wanted to be an actress in Hollywood, but when she never receives the phone call to admit her, she marries Curley. This shows that she did not really want to marry Curley, but she felt it was right to marry Curley because she needed someone to care for her because she could not have the job that she wanted. Crooks is a â€Å"busybody† because he feels it is his job to inform Slim on the whereabouts of Lennie. He states, â€Å"That big new guy’s messin’ around your pups out in the barn.† Then he goes on to explain what Lennie was doing with them: â€Å"He’s takin’ em outta the nest and handlin’ them.† The ranch workers gossip because this is the only way that they can communicate. To relieve their unhappiness and loneliness they are forced to pay for company. The boss’s son, Curley, appears to be the loneliest person on the ranch. After coming from one of his detours, Curley is subjected to finding his ‘other half.’ When Curley is looking for his wife, he has to turn to the workers for advice. He says, â€Å"You seen a girl around here?† demanding an answer from the men. When he says this, he ensures he gets a quick response with no unnecessary information. Instead of greeting the men warmly, and then introducing his query, he gets straight to the point, requesting a valid answer. Curley does not have much experience talking to people since he is always either in town or looking for his ‘wife.’ Another factor that could be the answer to why Curley is always aggressive towards any human company is that he has turned bitter because he is lonely. Although he has a wife, she is never around for him to talk to her – so his socializing skills are limited. To add to this, Curley might have had a lon ely childhood because he grew up on the ranch and did not have the opportunity to play and talk with someone his age – all of the ranch workers are adults. As a result of this, Curley turned out to be an outspoken, patronizing adult. Crooks finally gets his chance to emit all the emotions he is feeling. When he receives this opportunity, we begin to realize the extent of his loneliness. Lennie is bored because all the other workers have gone to town, and he has no one to talk to so he decides to visit his puppy in the barn. Instead, he meets the stable buck – Crooks. They start to talk and Crooks says, â€Å"There wasn’t another colored family for miles around.† From this quotation, we get to look into how Crooks feels; vulnerable and singled out. This also shows how he feels at the ranch; because he is the only black person on the ranch he feels different, almost an outcast. He then goes on to talk about his status on the ranch, saying: â€Å"This is just a nigger talkin’, an’ a busted-back nigger. So it don’t mean nothing, see?† Crooks believes that because he has a disability, this is another reason why the men on the ranch are not likely to want to talk to him. He feels like he does not exist because a lot of people take no notice of what he says. He does not have anyone to talk to. For being alone, Crooks could leave his things about and being a stable buck and a cripple, his actions are not arguable. Crooks is separated from everyone so he believes none of the men take notice of him. He mentions that he is the only black person for miles, because of this, he feels vulnerable and singled out. When Crooks is talking to Lennie, he tries to make Lennie see his life from his perspective. Lennie has gone into the barn to see his puppy because all of the other men have gone into town. Instead of seeing the puppy, he meets the stable buck – Crooks. He has finally managed to get to talk to a person and have a full conversation; so uses this opportunity to let someone else feel the hurt and loneliness that he has had to endure for most of his life. Crooks states, â€Å"Well, s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?† Crooks feels isolated and because of this, he wants one person to try and even image the loneliness that he has to suffer each day. Lennie retreats to the place George told him to go if ever he got in trouble – â€Å"the brush.† He starts to hallucinate; seeing his aunt Clara. Lennie turns immediately at the sound of any company. Due to his loneliness, he wants a companion, so he seeks comfort and manages to conjure up a hallucinated version of his Aunt Clara. John Steinbeck cleverly makes the illusion speak with Lennie’s voice. I believe the image was Lennie’s conscious, making excuses for why Lennie is going to be killed by George in the future; but because of Lennie’s mental incapability’s, he does not receive this warning in time. Lennie needs constant reassurance from George that their lives will be better when they buy their own place to live. So tells George to recite their dream, showing he always wants to look at the bright side because his life is miserable. Lennie is near a pool waiting for George to arrive, so that the two men can flee to another ‘ranch’. Then, George arrives disheartened and Lennie says immediately, â€Å"Tell me like you done before.† Then George replies reluctantly, â€Å"Tell you what?† Lennie then says, â€Å"Bout the other guys an’ about us.† Then George starts to describe â€Å"how it’s gonna be.† George does not want Lennie to feel lonely when he dies so tells him to look across the forest, to make sure Lennie is not aware of the situation – and that his only companion dies peacefully. George shoots, and after, he feels very sad for killing Lennie, although does not feel regretful. His future now looks bleak, in term s of companionship. I believe the loneliest person on the ranch is the Boss. He is the character that gives orders to all of the workers around and just gets money coming in for doing practically no work. In accordance to this, he probably does not have much entertainment at home because he does not need to work for his money, because he is fortunate enough to have bought the ranch. The only time that we hear about the boss is when he is accepting George and Lennie’s work slips. This promotes the idea that the Boss is not very included in the society of the ranch, and is therefore, more prone to getting lonely than the other men on the ranch. The workers can talk to other workers whilst they are keeping themselves busy working to make money. The boss is a typical leader that receives money for just having the title: ‘Boss’. Furthermore, there is no mention of the boss having a wife in the book, so the only relative family that he has is Curley. This makes matters worse for the boss b ecause Curley is always in town or looking for his wife. So explains why the Boss deserves the title: â€Å"loneliest being.†