In Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" the characters struggle with loneliness and loss of dreams. These themes are highlighted by the use of parallels that tie the novel together. The relationship between Candy and his dog parallels that which exists between George and Lennie. There are also parallels between the outcasts and Lennie which emphasize the pain of lonliness. The opening scene mirros the final scene. The relationship between Candy and his dog parallels that …showed first 75 words of 534 total…

…showed last 75 words of 534 total…living off the fat of the land in both instances to pacify Lennie. The rabbit motif is seen in the beginning and the end, but its meaning has turned. In the opening Lennie wants to tend rabbits, and in the end the giant rabbit crushes his dreams by telling him that he is not good enough. The opening scene is an exact reflection of the closing scene, yet this time the dream has been crushed.