During the Great Depression, migrant farmers looked for work to stay alive. When they finally found employment to support themselves, the workers were mistreated, starved, paid meager wages, and, worst of all, deprived of necessary human companionship. John Steinbeck captures the desperation of farm life during the Great Depression era in his short story Of Mice and Men. Throughout the novella, most of the characters have a disability that paralyzes them and alienates them from the other workers on the farm. Their disabilities are a physical embodiment of their isolation. Steinbeck uses his disabled characters to illustrate the depth of their loneliness, as well as to illustrate different types of loneliness. Candy, an old ranch worker, is estranged from the others due to both his old age and the fact that he has lost a hand. in an accident on a ranch. All Candy wants is to be seen as beneficial to the ranch, but her disabilities, age, and injuries prevent her from doing so: “I'm not very good with one hand. I lost my hand right here, on this ranch” (Steinbeck 59). Candy's loneliness comes from her desire to have value. He knows that ranch hands are treated impersonally: like parts of a machine, they are necessary to keep the ranch running, but they are worthless and easy to replace if they break. Candy's dog, her only companion at the ranch, exemplifies this mindset, as he was killed when most people considered him a nuisance instead of cherishing his companionship like Candy. Harold Bloom writes: “Candy sees a value in her dog that Carlson (and those like him) do not see. » Even though the dog was old and cumbersome, Candy saw the value of companionship and having another living being by her side. In addition, Candy is afraid of becoming useless like her dog. His loneliness comes from the fear of becoming you... middle of paper ...... his wife's gender and marital status bind her, dehumanize her, and objectify her. Crooks' skin color and crippled back separate him from others and deprive him of the companionship he craves. The disabled characters illustrate the bleak and sterile lifestyle of a Great Depression-era ranch, where no one, from the privileged son of the ranch boss to the poorest stable hand, is truly happy. Works CitedBloom, Harold. “Of Mice and Men (novel).” Bloom Guides (2006): n. page. Bloom's literature. Internet. May 14, 2014. Bryer, Jackson R. and Mary C. Hartig. “Of Mice and Men (play).” File Facts Companion to American Drama (2010): n. page. Bloom's literature. Internet. May 14, 2014. Meyer, Michael J. "Of Mice and Men (novel)." File Facts Companion to the American Novel (2006): n. page. Bloom's literature. Internet. May 14, 2014. Steinbeck, John. Of mice and men. New York: Penguin, 1993. Print.