The Retributivist and Utilitarian Theories for Justification of Essay

The Retributivist and Utilitarian Theories for Justification of Criminal Punishment - Essay Example The matter of penal sanctions, therefore, became an issue among legal theorists; apparently, there comes a point when the penalty is too harsh as to itself be disruptive of the social peace, or that the penalty is too inconsequential that offenders do not think twice about transgressing the law. In order to create effective penal laws, the philosophy and purpose behind the punishment should be examined and their merits and shortcomings understood. Of all frameworks that have been proposed, two stand out in particular in penal theory, namely the retributivist and the utilitarian theories. Retributivism and Utilitarianism There are four fundamental justifications behind criminal punishment: retribution, deterrence (including incapacitation), rehabilitation, and protection of society (Hagan, 2010:103). Deterrence means that punishment serves to warn possible future offenders and inhibit them from committing crimes. Rehabilitation aims to reform or resocialize the criminal into law-abidi ng and compliant members of society. Protection and upholding of social solidarity is simply what it expresses – the protection of society and reaffirmation of social solidarity and values. These three justifications fall under utilitarian theory, because they deal with the effect of the criminal deed on society and to maximize the good such punishment can provide for the greater number, the community (Yacoubian, 1998). Retribution, on the other hand,â€Å"is a moral motive for punishment, not simply a utilitarian one† (Hagan, 2010:103). In this purpose of punishment, the fundamental aim is to restore justice to those who had suffered as well as to society as a whole. In retributivism, neither the future conduct of the offender nor the future impact on society are significant in determining punishment (Yacoubian, 1998) Hagan describes it quite appropriately as society’s equivalent for the individual’s revenge. In the pre-modern age, a person wronged by a crime is entitled to seek vengeance to right the wrong done to him. Modern legal theory assumes this role for the individual, and takes the crime to be an offense not only against the individual but against society itself. Victims of the crime may not pursue their own revenge, but allow the state to pursue, on its behalf and theirs, the penal act that restores the balance of justice. An example of retributive justice is the hunt for and punishment of Nazi war criminals. Such punishment may not significantly serve such purposes as deterrence, protection of society, least of all rehabilitation. However, there remains the public outrage throughout the years that such criminals had gotten away with their war crimes (Hagan, 2010). There is a need to inflict some suffering on the criminal commensurate to the crime done, for the simple reason that justice must be restored. This is the crux behind retributive justice (Haist, 2009). Virtually ignored during the first three quarters of the tw entieth century, retributivism again assumed dominance as the underlying theory of the criminal justice system (Ackerman, 2011:220). What had prevailed for the greater part of the 20th century was Utilitarianism as the overriding theory in criminal punishment. According to Mills (1938), â€Å"Utilitarianism is the ethical doctrine that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility.† Utility here is understood to mean the good (also called â€Å"happiness†

Value for health care managers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Value for health care managers - Essay Example In this gradual endeavor, healthcare managers may help a medical personnel carry out vital tasks efficiently in treating a patient by examining the set of necessities that matter to the working personnel who seeks to fulfil them to acquire a motivational tool for enhancing performance. It may be a tedious work to come to know and evaluate the concerns of each individual working in a medical firm. There are need-based theories of motivation, however, which a healthcare manager may look into and for which to invest some time to assist him in determining which would be most fitting and valuable at targeting to motivate a particular group or individual in the company. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, the ERG theory of Clayton Alderfer, the Two-Factor theory of Frederick Herzberg, and D. McClelland’s Acquired Needs theory are the four need-based theories of motivation which to some extent attempt to demonstrate grounds for human needs and wants (Carpenter, Bauer, & Erdogan, 2009 ). Majority of these and related theories according to the specific needs of a man bring across the significance of having certain needs come to be satisfied prior to shifting focus on other priorities that are less relevant in the sense that they bear no direct impact upon motivation. By his Hierarchy of Needs, Abraham Maslow proposed ranking of human needs with the use of pyramid representation where the basic of all is the state of ‘physiology’. Maslow points out that only by satisfying such primary requirement through sufficient food, air, and water can the person proceed to deal with supplicating the need for safety which is on the next level since needs come in the order of importance and human desires attached with the needs, particularly those yet to be satisfied, affect human behavior (Cuizon, 2009). Using the pyramid model, Maslow further levels up safety to social need after which esteem is accounted for in order that self-actualization on the top-most level can be sustained by a character initially developed by self-worth. The hierarchy presents a systematic manner of assessing where a laborer stands within circumstances which allow him to display appropriate potentials where, in doing so, the process may inevitably reflect what he lacks or yearns for. Moreover, application of Maslow’s theory could bring out in each subject the type of response through which a behavior is delivered or that which suggests how the person feels about the situation in relation to himself and the people around him. Consequently, his strengths and weaknesses are also revealed in the course of communicating to others his set of attributes and principles which depict them. For instance, an employee who is trying to feed her esteem may be appreciative of a boss who receives an equal or higher degree of acclaim may rather find it unsuitable or awkward if she occurs to be at the stage of trying to be socially content, knowing that individual rewards would probably keep her further apart from the rest of the circle which she desires to be part of (Carpenter, et al., 2009). Considering the ability of a competent healthcare manager to execute

The American School System Essay Example for Free

The American School System Essay Education is what keeps a society thriving; its what enables a society to thrive and create productive individuals who can keep the educational process on-going. The whole purpose of education is to enlighten us with truths, and create knowledgeable people. We must ask ourselves, what is the point of creating knowledgeable people? We answer this with a question in return; where would we be without knowledgeable people? In The Republic, Plato extensively analyzes these questions, and helps us come to the conclusion that without education, people would be as clueless as inanimate objects. We can come to the consensus that knowledgeable people are the ones who prosper in life, and overcome lifes harsh obstacles. How do they do it? They are able to do it because they have the ability to think and evaluate. We also asked ourselves where does one receive this knowledge? In todays world, one would receive it through â€Å"education. † And where does one receive the education? At school. Plato had a vision that the attaining of knowledge should be one full of thought, opposing ideas, and intricate study. With that said, I believe that Plato would not think too fondly of the current American public school system! â€Å"Unless a man is able to separate out the idea of the good from all other things and distinguish it in the argument, and, going through every test.. you will deny that such a man knows the good itself, or any other good? † Plato is saying that unless a person is able to distinguish right from wrong, he or she will not know good itself. This ties in with the role of education because education should help us achieve that according to Platos view. Education should assist us in distinguishing right from wrong, good from evil. American public schools arent doing this, and I know this because I go to one. In American schools, its all about memorizing facts, and more facts. Nowhere in between are we taught how to tell from good and evil; how to tell if were being taken advantage of. Its almost as though teachers are scared to teach us this; as though they are confined to teaching us what has been approved by others. Plato states that students and learners should be exposed to many opposing ideas. This is what creates intellectual thinkers. Because American public schools dont offer an environment where students can analyze opposing ideas to their own, Plato would not be satisfied with our educational system. Throughout his allegory, Plato talks about how dialectic is supposed to be introduced to learners in order to challenge them with opposing views and ideas. â€Å" the power of dialectic alone could reveal it to a man experienced in the things we have just went through † Plato is saying that education through the form of dialectic is the most prosperous and intellectual way to learn and teach. American public schools dont offer a lot of dialectic seminars, so Id have to say that Plato would show great disapprobation to the way American public schools are run. Hed think that American public schools are run in a very prosaic manner. Kids inputs are not really valued, resulting in students who are not very ardent towards school. This may be the explanation for why kids are dropping out of school at all-time highs. Plato would also find disappointment in American public schools due to the lack of conspiracy theories, or interfering ideas. Plato was extremely vernal about the teachings of opposing ideas, and conspiracy theories fall directly under that category. Plato would be shocked to see that students believe everything that is taught to them at schools. He would wonder if any of the students had the capacity to think for themselves, and be able to analyze data and determine according to their own accord whether it is truth of false. I know conspiracies are not being taught at American public schools for a fact because whenever I head up to a teacher to talk to them about the possibility of 9/11 being an inside job, they closed their mouths and dare not to say anything. Plato would be astonished that societys very own educators are scared to include conspiracies or other forms of opposing ideas in their teachings. Although there are quite a few reasons for why Plato might think poorly of the American public school system, theres also reason why he might praise it. â€Å"Well then, the study of calculation and geometry and all the preparatory education required for dialectic must be put before them as children.. † Plato is stating that mathematics, and other forms of calculation, are fundamental to education. In todays age, we do place a big emphasis on math. I believe that Plato would be impressed by this. I believe its safe to say that Plato would be quite disappointed with out current public school system. Hed be wondering why the system doesnt place a large enough emphasis on dialectic and the teaching of opposing ideas, or in other words conspiracy theories. I couldnt blame Plato. I agree with most of his points made. I strongly feel that schools should offer new ways of teaching, and new material to teach.

Practical Ways Of Promoting Resilience Young People Essay

Practical Ways Of Promoting Resilience Young People Essay Resilience as described by many writers is a complex term and therefore needs to be understood in the context. Resilience is normally sought in the child, family and community (Phillips, G. 2008). As professionals, attending training courses helps us to seek something that may assist us in our understanding of those areas. This keeps us in seeking mood and all the time, we tend to keep attention outside ourselves. When we as practitioners recognise resilience in ourselves, we can them be able to facilitate resiliency, thereby linking theory to practice (Phillips, G. (2008). DEFINING RESILIENCE There are many definitions of resilience by different authors. In this context therefore, resilience is defined by Share and Lowlor (2009: 269) as ability to thrive, mature and increase competences in the face of adverse circumstances. Overall, when loved ones absence or presence remains a mystery, meaning and purpose are essential to finding the health and life. After 9/11, some survivors believed that their loved ones being in the Twin Towers at the time of the attack was predestined or Gods will. Many who believed this continue to trust in God to see them through their travels while they move forward with their lives (Boss, P 2006:97). Some characteristics associated with resilient children include cognitive proficiency (especially intellectual curiosity and problem solving), autonomy, good social skills and internal locus of control (Share and Lowlor (2009: 269). Resilience is the capacity to transcend adversity may be seen as the essential quality with care planning and provision should seek to stimulate as a key outcome of the care offered (Gilligan, R. 1997: 14) It is suppressing how resilient people are despite having experienced high risk situation, such as war, disaster, loss, and adversity during childhood and adolescence (Waaktaar, T. Chrisrtie, H, J. Borge, A. Torgersen, S. 2004: 164). Adult who promote resilience make family and institutional supports available to children. They empower children to become independent, responsible, and empathic at altruistic and to approach people and situation with hope, faith and trust (John, M. 1997: 24). However, adults can help children identify resilience behaviours more easily in themselves and others, such as using vocabulary to reinforce these feeling and beliefs that promote resilience and to guide their own childrens behaviour. Therefore, the greater their opinion for acting in the ways that help children met situation such as crisis in their lives with greater strength and hope John, M 1997: 26). Therefore, the most critical key to resiliency is the ability to hold two opposing ideas at the same time. Whatever part is taken, the search for the meaning is much more difficult when the loss is unclear (Boss, P. 2006: 97). THREE THEORIES OF RESILIENCE (1) The Childs Sense of a Secure Base : The growth of a child is influenced by secure attachments which supply him/her with a reliable secure base (Bowlby 1988). Furthermore, it encourages and renders safe exploration of the childs inner world. A young persons sense of secure base therefore is cultivated by a sense of belonging within supportive social networks, attachment relationships to reliable and responsible people and by routine and structures in their lives (Gilligan, R. 1997: 15-16). However, I HAVE factors is one of the external supports and resources that promote resilience in children according to John, M. (1997: 26-27). I HAVE factors includes: trusting relationships, (parents, other family members, teachers, and friends who love and have the interest and welfare of the child), structures and rules at home, (parents who provides rules and routine expects the child to follow them, for example, the task the child is expected to perform, when the rule is broken, the child is helped to understand what he/she did wrong). Others includes: access to health, education, welfare and security services which is available to the child. (2) The Childs Self Esteem: this is based on persons sense of their own worthiness and competences. Rutter (1990) came up with two types of experience which is important in influencing self esteem in young children and they are, secure and harmonious love relationship, and success in accomplishing tasks by others as central to their interests. Also success in an endeavour which the person values may do much to combat a sense of failure in other spheres of ones life (Rutter, 1990 cited Gilligan, R. 1997:17). Therefore, factors such as I AM are the childs internal and personal strengths. These are feelings, attitudes, and beliefs within the child, for example, a resilient child would say: I am proud of myself: this means the child knows that he/she is an important individual and is proud of who he/she is and what he/she is capable of doing and can achieve. I am autonomous and responsible: the child can do a lot with his/her initiative and be responsible and accountable for his/her acti ons or mistakes. I am filled with hope, faith, and trust: the child knows and believes that he/she has hope and there are people and institution which he/she can trust and have faith in. Finally, the child will realise that he/she is loveable and his/her temperament is appealing, he/she is loving, empathic and altruistic (John, M. 1997: 28). (3) Sense of Self Efficacy: this is a situation were parenting style influences whether a child acquires a sense of internal control with regards to attaining desired outcomes. Some factors which promote childs self efficacy includes the parent / caregiver beliefs in the childs own sense of control, responsiveness, consistency, warmth, praise, support and encouragement to the childs to engage / participate in his/her environment (Sandler et al, 1989 cited Gilligan, R. 1997: 17). Moreover, I CAN factor helps to promote the childs sense of efficacy because; it is the childs social and interpersonal skills. Children acquire these skills by constant interaction with others and those who educate them, for example, a resilient child would say: I can communicate: at this stage, the child expresses thoughts and feelings, also be empathetic towards others. I can solve problem: the child can assess a situation of a problem, finds out what needs to be done to resolve the issues and if help is needed form others. Also I can manage my feelings and impulses; I can gauge the temperature of myself and others, and finally seek trusting relationship (John, M. 1997: 29). PRACTICAL WAYS OF PROMOTING RESILIENCE In promoting resilience, any work with children must be similarly in the contexts of their families, school, communities, and the large society (Grotherg, E, H. 2003: 5) Therefore, as a social care practitioner, it is important to know that we are only able to influence that portion of resilience that is amenable to influence through social experience. We cannot affect the degree of resilience that a person has temperamentally due to what they have inherited through their genes (Gilligan, R 2001: 6). As a Social Worker, we can encourage purposeful contact between the child, the family, and other key adults for the childs past, encourage positive school experience, encourage friendships with peers, actively foster interest, strong social network, involvement and talents in sports, music, hobbies or cultural pursuits, help the child to rehearse, and discuss problem solving and coping skills and strategies. Also, each of these I AM, I HAVE, and I CAN factors suggest numerous actions children, parent / caregiver, and practitioner can take to promote resilience (Gilligan, R. 1997: 18-21) This Scenario was adopted from the International Resilience Project by Grotberg, E, H. (2003: 30) A nine year old boy went out of the house even after his father told him not to go out. The father did not know about this until he realized it was late and the boy was not at home. You will promote resilience if you talk to him when he returns and ask why he broke the rules (I HAVE); if you make clear that his behaviour is not acceptable even with his excuses, and that he is responsible for what he did (I AM); and if you talk with him about what needs to be done to prevent this kind of behaviour in the future (I CAN). He will learn from his experience to use resilience to face this adversity, to learn from it, and to behave in a more responsible way in the future. You do not promote resilience if you yell at him or spank him when he comes home, and accuse him of being a bad boy. Then you make him feel guilty, but resentful, and you have given him a label of bad boy, which will influence his idea of himself in the future. He will have difficulty dealing with a future adverse situation, even one that he creates, because he lacks resilience and none is being promoted.

Humorous Wedding Roast for Groom Who Plays Football and Likes to Drink :: Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches

Humorous Wedding Speech for a Groom Who Plays Football and Likes to Drink On behalf of the bridesmaids, I’d like to thank you, Victor, for those kind words. It was a pleasure keeping you company at the altar this morning and I’m always pleased to see more of the competition getting married off – especially with all these lovely bridesmaids around. When I started thinking about doing this speech, I found it curious that all the wedding speeches I've heard, without exception, blatantly and disgracefully set out to demolish the character of the groom. Well frankly, Victor’s worthy of better treatment that - and there’s no better way to point people in the right direction to view Victor’s worth than via his passions. And in recent weeks, Victor’s single passion has been to provide Robin the wedding she’s always dreamed of – and he’s spared no expense. I mean, just look at this venue. I can well understand why they decided this was the place to get married – packed full of history and romance. In fact, right in the corner of the room there’s an old underground escape passage that takes you right out of the building - its true! It’s the corner Robin was repeatedly glancing at during the ceremony. At school, I remember, Victor had two passions: music and soccer (football). He dreamed of playing the guitar like Jimi Hendrix and playing soccer like David Beckham. Unfortunately, he ended up playing the guitar like Beckham and playing soccer like Jimi Hendrix – a very stoned Jimmy Hendrix on crutches. Eventually, he did improve and it’s been a lasting passion ever since. He actually became quite a good player and when I joined his football club I was fortunate enough to play along side him at centre back, where he taught me everything I needed to know about how to avoid tackling, heading and scoring goals. But being new to the team I couldn’t understand why, after each game in the changing room showers, Victor always wore a Gimp mask. And as everyone here who went on his stag (bachelor’s party) will testify, that’s another passion that still lurks deep. After leaving school, Victor appeared to develop a passion for horticulture. To quote his mother, ‘Victor’s collection of moldy plates was very impressive, he had a regular penicillin factory under that bed of his.’ He also developed a passion for driving - especially driving fast cars. Humorous Wedding Roast for Groom Who Plays Football and Likes to Drink :: Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches Humorous Wedding Speech for a Groom Who Plays Football and Likes to Drink On behalf of the bridesmaids, I’d like to thank you, Victor, for those kind words. It was a pleasure keeping you company at the altar this morning and I’m always pleased to see more of the competition getting married off – especially with all these lovely bridesmaids around. When I started thinking about doing this speech, I found it curious that all the wedding speeches I've heard, without exception, blatantly and disgracefully set out to demolish the character of the groom. Well frankly, Victor’s worthy of better treatment that - and there’s no better way to point people in the right direction to view Victor’s worth than via his passions. And in recent weeks, Victor’s single passion has been to provide Robin the wedding she’s always dreamed of – and he’s spared no expense. I mean, just look at this venue. I can well understand why they decided this was the place to get married – packed full of history and romance. In fact, right in the corner of the room there’s an old underground escape passage that takes you right out of the building - its true! It’s the corner Robin was repeatedly glancing at during the ceremony. At school, I remember, Victor had two passions: music and soccer (football). He dreamed of playing the guitar like Jimi Hendrix and playing soccer like David Beckham. Unfortunately, he ended up playing the guitar like Beckham and playing soccer like Jimi Hendrix – a very stoned Jimmy Hendrix on crutches. Eventually, he did improve and it’s been a lasting passion ever since. He actually became quite a good player and when I joined his football club I was fortunate enough to play along side him at centre back, where he taught me everything I needed to know about how to avoid tackling, heading and scoring goals. But being new to the team I couldn’t understand why, after each game in the changing room showers, Victor always wore a Gimp mask. And as everyone here who went on his stag (bachelor’s party) will testify, that’s another passion that still lurks deep. After leaving school, Victor appeared to develop a passion for horticulture. To quote his mother, ‘Victor’s collection of moldy plates was very impressive, he had a regular penicillin factory under that bed of his.’ He also developed a passion for driving - especially driving fast cars.

Diversity in Colleges Essay example -- Race Sex Diversity

Traditional Diversity At UC-Berkeley, the course description for "Politics and Poetics" (Fall Course 2002) stated that "conservative thinkers are encouraged to seek other sections." (SAF 1). Though the instructor later apologized for the description, this is the sort of encouragement conservative-minded students are greeted with many times during their college experience. It is said that in class, students are taught that their country -- and Western culture in general -- is tainted by racism, sexism, and oppression (Stearn 2). Outside class, students are forced into consciousness-raising exercises that heighten tensions and bolster radical pressure groups (Stearn 2). For example, at Brown University, an organized coalition of fifteen ethnic and political student groups stole 4,000 copies of the Brown Daily Herald in March 2002 (SAF 2). The theft was conducted as retribution for the paper's decision to print an anti-reparations [for slavery] ad penned by David Horowitz, a well-known liberal turned conservative political activist (2). The director of Brown's Afro-American studies program defended the coalition's action, claiming, "If something is free, you can take as many copies as you like. This is not a free speech issue. It is a hate speech issue." (SAF 2). Horowitz's anti-reparation comments are entitled: "10 Reasons Why Reparations For Blacks Are A Bad Idea For Blacks And Racist, Too." (Horowitz, 10 Reasons). While Horowitz's title may cause some anxiety for reparation supporters, it is, simply, an individual opinion. However, Horowitz knew very well that the opinion published with this essay would induce some serious backlash, and all odds should be placed on his counting on the scathing rebuttals to open a wide d... .... Horowitz, David. "In Defense of Intellectual Diversity." Chronicle.com. 13 February 2004: 5 pp. Internet. Online. Direct page link. . Accessed 24 April 2004. Horowitz, David and Lehrer, Eli. "Political Bias in the Administrations and Faculties of 32 Elite Colleges and Universities." April 2003: 4 pp. Online. Internet. Direct page link. . Accessed 10 May 2004. Stearn, Peter. "Expanding the Agenda of Cultural Research." 2 May 2003: 5 pp. Online subscription only. . Accessed 14 May 2004. Students for Academic Freedom Website (SAF). "Bias Incidents on Campus." 12 May 2004: 14 pp. Studentsforacademicfreedom.org. Internet. Online. . Accessed 14 May 2004. Diversity in Colleges Essay example -- Race Sex Diversity Traditional Diversity At UC-Berkeley, the course description for "Politics and Poetics" (Fall Course 2002) stated that "conservative thinkers are encouraged to seek other sections." (SAF 1). Though the instructor later apologized for the description, this is the sort of encouragement conservative-minded students are greeted with many times during their college experience. It is said that in class, students are taught that their country -- and Western culture in general -- is tainted by racism, sexism, and oppression (Stearn 2). Outside class, students are forced into consciousness-raising exercises that heighten tensions and bolster radical pressure groups (Stearn 2). For example, at Brown University, an organized coalition of fifteen ethnic and political student groups stole 4,000 copies of the Brown Daily Herald in March 2002 (SAF 2). The theft was conducted as retribution for the paper's decision to print an anti-reparations [for slavery] ad penned by David Horowitz, a well-known liberal turned conservative political activist (2). The director of Brown's Afro-American studies program defended the coalition's action, claiming, "If something is free, you can take as many copies as you like. This is not a free speech issue. It is a hate speech issue." (SAF 2). Horowitz's anti-reparation comments are entitled: "10 Reasons Why Reparations For Blacks Are A Bad Idea For Blacks And Racist, Too." (Horowitz, 10 Reasons). While Horowitz's title may cause some anxiety for reparation supporters, it is, simply, an individual opinion. However, Horowitz knew very well that the opinion published with this essay would induce some serious backlash, and all odds should be placed on his counting on the scathing rebuttals to open a wide d... .... Horowitz, David. "In Defense of Intellectual Diversity." Chronicle.com. 13 February 2004: 5 pp. Internet. Online. Direct page link. . Accessed 24 April 2004. Horowitz, David and Lehrer, Eli. "Political Bias in the Administrations and Faculties of 32 Elite Colleges and Universities." April 2003: 4 pp. Online. Internet. Direct page link. . Accessed 10 May 2004. Stearn, Peter. "Expanding the Agenda of Cultural Research." 2 May 2003: 5 pp. Online subscription only. . Accessed 14 May 2004. Students for Academic Freedom Website (SAF). "Bias Incidents on Campus." 12 May 2004: 14 pp. Studentsforacademicfreedom.org. Internet. Online. . Accessed 14 May 2004.

How is the theme of loneliness explored in Of Mice and Men? Essay

The theme of loneliness is one of the key themes throughout the book. The book starts off with a very natural feel, â€Å"On one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains.† This theme soon changes into the theme of companionship as we begin to know George and Lennie we can see they are good friends â€Å"because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you†. However Steinbeck gradually changes the theme of companionship to the opposite theme of loneliness â€Å"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong to no place.† As we meet more and more of the main characters we begin to see just how lonely they are; We later meet Curley and his wife. Curley is the only person on the ranch to have a partner, and even then it’s not a trusting, full relationship â€Å"If you can’t look after you own God damn wife, what do you expect me to do about it† Slim tells Curley. Curley’s wife says to Lennie: â€Å"I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.†. This is Steinbeck underlining how even the characters who are married are lonely and regretful. If this is the case then what about the rest of the workers who have no wife at all? George mentions his desire for a partner in the first chapter: â€Å"I could live easy and maybe get a girl†. Most of the ranch workers go to a Cat house when they get their stake, and blow it all there, showing just how much they want to be around women; they receive a pitiful amount of money every month and instead of saving it to get themselves out of their hole, they spend it in one night at the Cat house. This shows that the loneliness has driven them to the borderline of insanity, â€Å"A guys goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody† Crooks observes whilst the others are at the Cat house. I have talked about how lonely the ranch workers in general are, but Steinbeck focuses in particular on three characters: Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife; he may do this to try to put across a message to the reader, speaking out against Ageism, Racism and Sexism respectively. I will talk about Candy first: Candy is the oldest employee at the ranch and he knows it. His best friend was his dog, which has now been killed by Carlson. In the scene in which Carlson is persuading Candy to let him shoot the dog, Carlson gives a logical argument â€Å"he jus’ suffers hisself all the time†, Candy however just says that he’s â€Å"had ‘im so long – had him from a pup†. This is Candy trying to hold onto his companion, who he’s become attached to and doesn’t want him dead. Carlson however, persists and the dog is killed. Candy now has no real companions on the ranch and is worried about his future â€Å"They’ll can me purty soon.†, he explains to George and Lennie how he has â€Å"no place to go, and can’t get no more jobs†. In Chapter 3 Candy’s glimpses hope as he offers to put in some money to help George and Lennie buy their dream house â€Å"s’pose I went in with you guys?†. As he does so he again underlines his loneliness – † I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing†. With his dog dead Candy is desperately grasping for some sort of companionship and for a while it looks as if their dream may be realised. Unfortunately though, Lennie kills Curley’s wife and their dream is shattered. Crooks is the only black man on the ranch, the book was written in 1937 where racism and black/white segregation was still commonplace. Crooks is deliberately written as being black as a method for Steinbeck to speak out against the evils of racism; Crooks is clearly very lonely, even by ranch workers standards. Because he is black he must sleep in his own â€Å"little shed† and isn’t allowed in the bunkhouse with all the other workers â€Å"I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse†. In Chapter 4, the reason for this ostracising is made clear â€Å"’cause I’m black, they play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black.† The other ranch workers may think that they have no close friends, but Crooks isn’t even allowed to be around them (except while working or playing horseshoes), which is something the rest of the characters take for granted- he explains to Lennie â€Å"You got George. You know he’s coming bac k. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse? Suppose you had to stay out here and read books. How’d you like that? Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody – to be near him. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. You know he’s coming back.† This is Crooks most emotional outburst and is used effectively to really show through the loneliness that he in particular is feeling – the other workers have other guys â€Å"just to be near them†, which many of them take for granted. Steinbeck uses Crooks for other plot devices as well such as giving a small insight into how the book finishes. â€Å"Nobody never gets to Heaven and nobody gets no land.† Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife is given no name. Curley’s wife is continually referred to throughout the book as â€Å"Curley’s wife†. This is completely intentional and is used to show women’s insignificance at the time. Like Candy is the only old person on the ranch and Crooks is the only black person on the ranch, Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch. As the only woman on the ranch she has no girly friends to talk to and is thus very lonely. Her only real contact is Curley, who she doesn’t even like, describing him as â€Å"he ain’t a nice fella†. Curley doesn’t help the situation by continually keeping her under check and stopping her from talking to the other ranch workers â€Å"I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad† The ranch workers are scared of Curley so they don’t like to talk to his wife, George describes her as â€Å"jailbait†. When she tries to talk to Crooks, Lennie and Candy, Crooks tells her â€Å"Maybe you better go along to your house now, we don’t want no trouble.† Curley’s wife often uses â€Å"I’m looking for Curley† as an excuse to talk to the other guys at the ranch. When Steinbeck first introduces Curley’s wife she is portrayed through the ranch workers eyes â€Å"Bet she’d clear out for twenty bucks†. Not until the ending of the book do we see why she acts so flirtatiously – she just wants someone to talk to and she uses her body as a way of getting a guy’s attention. â€Å"I never get to talk to nobody, I get awful lonely, how’d you like not to talk to anybody?† She tells Lennie. It is interesting how, in chapter 4, when all the other ranch workers are at the Cat house, that Crooks, Curley’s wife, Lennie and Candy all meet in Crook’s house. Lennie is the only one who has a real companion (George) yet he doesn’t appreciate it until he sees how lonely the others are and empathises with them: â€Å"You got George† Having them meet is Steinbeck’s way of showing the reader how lonely they are – the people who would normally have ostracised them aren’t in the ranch at the time, and so Crooks, Candy and Curley’s wife, the three most lonely people, all feeling left out and lonely meet and talk to each other. Though it would seem that they would enjoy talking to one another, they are all so used to being wrapped up on their own, that, particularly Crooks and Curley’s wife, are not at all friendly to each other; Curley’s wife tells Crooks how she â€Å"could get him strung up on a tree so fast it ain’t even funny†. This is a reference to the lynchings of black men, which were common at the time. This, again, is Steinbeck speaking out against racism and implying that many blacks were framed for their crimes. In conclusion all of the ranch workers are lonely; all except Curley have no wife, few have close friends or companions and they live very lonely existences. There are a few however, namely Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife who are especially lonely because they have been cut off from the rest of the characters Steinbeck uses his book to speak out against sexism, racism and ageism.