Reflection On Care Of Surgical Drains Nursing Essay

Reflection On Care Of Surgical Drains Nursing Essay The use of drains continues to be an important aspect in the management of patients postoperatively. While drains serve an important function, they are also associated with complications such as haemorrhage, tissue inflammation, retrograde bacterial migration, and drain entrapment (Walker 2007). It is therefore very essential for nurses to provide adequate monitoring and care of surgical drains and provide measures to ensure prevention of complications from arising. While working in the surgical ward, I have been exposed to patients with surgical drains. This reality pushed me to know more about surgical drains and to gain more competence in the management of these patients. In this essay, I would be reflecting on my experiences as I worked to achieve my learning outcome of becoming proficient with surgical drains. I would be utilising Gibbs (1988) model of reflection which consists of 6 stages, namely: description, feelings, evaluation, analysis, conclusion and action plan. DESCRIPTION In the past, I have been exposed to patients in the surgical intensive care unit with surgical drains. I have known how to monitor care for the drains and have seen the surgeons remove these drains. But, I have never tried removing surgical drains before. Only surgeons and surgical resident doctors were allowed to remove drains in the country where I have trained before. Thus, when I started my adaptation program in the surgical ward, I was impressed with how skilful the nurses are with surgical drain removal. This gave me the urge to become proficient with the care of drains. During the first week of the adaptation program, I started my quest for knowledge by doing a literature review about the indications, importance of drains, the different types and the risks complications involved with drains. I gathered information from my mentor about the hospitals protocol and procedures for the care of drains as well as the different surgeons preferences in the care of their patients drains. It was then that I found out that surgeons always prefer the drains of orthopaedic patients (hip and knee replacements) to be taken out after 24 hours. As cited by Tucci, et al (2005), closed suction drainage systems are commonly used in orthopaedic surgery, the rationale for its use is to theoretically reduce wound haematoma and infection. Knowing that I was already well equipped with knowledge, I then focused on enhancing my skills in this aspect. I worked hand in hand with my mentor as I observed how she monitored, re-vacuumed, and removed the drains. I observed the techniques and principles that she utilised and noted the different materials needed for each procedure. FEELINGS When I already felt ready to remove the drain for the first time, I was feeling a little bit anxious that I would do something wrong especially that my mentor would be supervising me as I perform the procedure. I knew that time that I was well prepared knowledge wise and I exactly knew what I was about to do, but there is always that feeling of nervousness when you do something for the first time. My anxiety was lessened when my mentor reassured me as she told me not to worry as she will guide me all throughout the procedure. I had all the materials ready and was all geared up with personal protective devices. After obtaining informed consent from the patient, I removed the drain without any difficulty while making sure that aseptic technique was observed. Aseptic technique is very important to prevent surgical site infections. According to the NICE guidelines (2008), the development of an SSI depends on contamination of the wound site at the end of a surgical procedure and specifically relates to the pathogenicity and inoculum of microorganisms present, balanced against the hosts immune response. Thus, proper hand washing and maintaining sterility are very important when handling drains. Aside from removing drains, I have gained more confidence in re-vacuuming drains, monitoring drainage output, documenting and watching out for complications. While taking care of these patients, I ensured that complications are prevented by providing health teachings about hygiene, proper hand washing, measures to prevent complications and early detection of any complications. EVALUATION With the entire learning process, I was able to achieve my goal of attaining positive learning outcomes. I had been more proficient with handling surgical drains. I have improved my knowledge and shared these with my patients for them to have a safe recovery. I had been very keen with minimising complications and had been more watchful of the danger signs. I have known and practiced infection control by heart as well. There was one negative incident that occurred during my adaptation experience. This incident made me more cautious whenever I took care of patients with drains. We had a patient who underwent a major breast operation who had four astra drains in situ. She developed a haematoma during our shift because of the fact that all of her drains were all clamped from the previous shift. The surgeon himself discovered the nurses error and noticed the haematoma as well. He was not happy with what happened and told us to be very cautious with his patients drains. We made an investigation and found out that the nurse who re-vacuumed the drains from the previous shift failed to unclamp the drains. We made an incident report and informed the ward sister about the incident. We regularly monitored the patients haematoma and regularly massaged the affected area. ANALYSIS This incident made me realise how quickly complications arise when a single error is done. It taught me to be more cautious when re-vacuuming drains. Ever since that incident occurred, I always double check that all the drains are unclamped and patent before leaving the patients rooms. I always check the wound drain site for any haematoma or other unusualities as well. CONCLUSION Although it was not my error that the drains were clamped, I could still say that I do have a fault in that incident. If I could have checked the drains and the wound initially at the start of the shift, that haematoma might not have occurred or if not, be minimised. I was too busy taking care of other postoperative patients and kept saying to myself during that time that I would check the drains the wound after I am settled with the other patients. If I could have managed my time well and spared a little of my time to assess that patient, the incident might not have occurred. This incident served as a lesson for me the other staff nurses in the surgical ward and taught us the importance of drains thus, they should not be taken for granted. ACTION PLAN Based on this entire experience, I plan to widen my knowledge about surgical drains by doing more research work about other types of surgical drains that I am not familiar with to enhance my knowledge and to be prepared when the time comes that I would come across these types of drains. I also intend to be always updated with my knowledge by reading recent articles from journals or other sources and grab any opportunity of attending seminars/ trainings for continuing professional development.

New Generation of a Mobile Primary Frequency Standard

New Generation of a Mobile Primary Frequency Standard New generation of a mobile primary frequency standard based on cold atoms S T Mà ¼ller 1, J de Martin Jà ºnior 1, R D Pechoneri 1, P Santa Catharina1, V S Bagnato2 and D V Magalhà £es1 Abstract. We have constructed a mobile primary frequency standard using intra-cavity cold cesium atoms and the first results shown the advantages of using this kind of system compared to cesium beam standards. Based on an expanding cloud of atoms, it has no stringent size limitations and one can imagine the possibility of a clock even more compact. In order to assemble a new system even smaller, we are developing a system containing lasers, microwave source and cavity in a single box. The mobile atomic standard based on cold atoms is an important contribution to a primary standard of high relevance, and a possible strategic product with a broad range of applications. Introduction With exceptional accuracy, atomic clocks have applications in several fields of modern fundamental physics [1]. They allow not only to investigate the macroscopic scales theories like relativity or gravitation, but also to know better the microscopic world, in atomic scale, thanks to quantum mechanics. Two of the main applications are navigation and telecommunication systems, and atomic references are the heart of the most advanced navigation system, satellite constellations positioning like GPS, GLONASS, and Beidou [2]. Most of the high performance time standards require an extremely complex construction and operation, but the size of these systems makes them incompatible with some applications, which require a compromise between size and performance. These include space and industrial applications, such as telecommunication lines, mobile telephone networks or internet, calibration of instruments, dissemination of local time references with good quality, etc. The Atomic Time and frequency Standard Program under development at USP Sà £o Carlos [3] has two main atomic frequency standards being developed, an atomic fountain [4] and a system based in a cold atomic cloud in free expansion [5]. Besides those experimental standards, our facility has commercial atomic clocks and a hydrogen maser. The theoretical and experimental knowledge acquired with these standards are now employed in the development of a mobile atomic frequency standard, which should maintain the same level of stability and accuracy of the experimental setups. To ensure the mobility of the system, new diode laser sources, microwave synthesizer, vacuum and control systems are being redesigned. Experimental setup and temporal sequence The aim of this project is the construction of a cold atoms compact frequency standard that works in an innovative way, since the steps of the sequence occur in the same place, within a microwave cavity. For the physical package we use a cylindrical cavity, sculpted in a stainless steel vacuum chamber and resonant in 9.2 GHz. This operation mode allows us to design a much more compact system than a conventional cold atoms clock, where the various interactions are in different parts of the instrument. Therefore, the compactness of the clock is achieved through a sequence purely temporal. The most relevant steps can be seen in Figure 1. The temporal sequence of the compact frequency standard can be divided in four well defined steps (see figure 1), as follows: (Step 1)Trapping atoms in a magneto optical trap (MOT) In this stage is possible to capture 108 atoms using magnetic field and three counter-propagating pairs of laser beams (MOT) [6]. This is important to catch up the atoms together in the same spatial region, forming a cold cloud, and to remove a huge portion of the cloud’s kinetic energy. In this step the atomic cloud attains very low temperatures and becomes more stable. The cycling transition is used, and repumping is done using the transition. (Step 2)Sub-Doppler Cooling and the Preparation After the first reduction of the kinetic energy, the system passes from MOT configuration to optical molasses by switching off the current supply of the magnetic field. Simultaneously, the atomic cloud is cooled even more, changing the intensity and detuning of the laser beams with acousto-optical modulators, reaching levels below 10 ÃŽ ¼K. In order to prepare the atoms in their ground electronic state , the repumping light is switched off 5 ms before shutting off the cooling light. During this interval, optical pumping efficiently transfers the atoms to the required ground state. (Step 3) The clock transition interrogation Now, the cold atoms are in a single initial state and after the total shutdown of the lasers beams, the cloud starts a free expansion. During the expansion the atoms are interrogated in a Ramsey sequence [7], consisting of two coherent microwave pulses with 1ms of duration and separated by 8ms. These pulses excite the clock transition between the two hyperfine levels . (Step 4) The Detection To detect the atoms that have transitioned to the level after the two microwave pulses, the light beams originally used as a cooling laser are turned back on for 40 ms, and the fluorescence signal is collected. Once the resonance is observed, it can be used as a frequency discriminator. The transition probability difference of two successive measurement acts as an error signal used to control the local oscillator frequency. Results Figure 2 presents a typical scan of the microwave frequency across the clock resonance in our device [5]. Using the Ramsey fringe of Figure 2, we can scan around the central fringe to determine the linewidth with a theoretical fitting (Figure 3), obtaining a value of 47 Hz. The contrast is better than 80% (where the contrast is defined as a difference between resonance amplitude and background). To measure the frequency stability of the system is necessary to lock the central resonance observed on figure 3 to the microwave chain (macroscopic oscillator). The microwave chain on the other hand is phase locked to the 5 MHz output of the Hydrogen Maser. The modulation of the frequency is controlled by a computer, which also register the introduced correction to keep the interrogation signal at its maximum. The stability observed is , as presented in Figure 4, demonstrating that this compact cold atom frequency standard can reach performances better than commercial beam clocks, which typically have short time stabilities on the range of 10-11 10-12. The advantage of cold atoms in such compact system can be easily observed if compared with commercial thermal Cs beam clocks. The long term stability already surpasses the currently used commercial standards and the clock transition linewidth is on the order of 50 Hz for our system, meanwhile the same resolution can be achieved only with a thermal system that has some meters in the interrogation region (26 Hz for a 4 m long interrogation region [8]). [GMD1] Reducing the system volume We actually envisage a more compact system, mounting the apparatus in a single block. This should be done keeping all the necessary processes to produce a frequency standard signal. 4.1. The macroscopic oscillator A fundamental piece of the atomic standard, it corresponds to the signal that generates the time reference. The feedback from the atoms interrogated with its signal closes the loop for the atomic frequency reference. It should be as small as possible, but still taking into account some parameters as temperature deviations [9, 10]. To achieve reliable performance, we will use PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) control and peltier elements as actuators. 4.2. Lasers Diode The use of laser diodes is fundamental in the system. They should keep a very low effective linewidth, in order to not degrade the SNR of the clock transition. In the limit of high resolution spectroscopy, the laser noise can add a significant parcel to the overall budget of noise contributions. 4.3. General Control of the System Careful control of all the steps of the clockwork (trap, sub-doppler cooling, interrogation and detection) is mandatory. In each cycle the microwave source is corrected, and the steps consist of well synchronized events, such as laser light frequency shifts, pulsing of the microwave signal, triggered signal detection and processing of the atomic fluorescence [11]. Conclusions We have developed a compact system to be used as a mobile reference for frequency signals. We managed to cool 108 atoms at 10 ÃŽ ¼K in a microwave cavity and after the Ramsey interrogation the detection by fluorescence is applied. The core idea is the use of cold atoms as a high performance and reliable clock source. We have been working in the reduction of volume to make an embeddable prototype, in order to maintain the high quality characteristics necessary for the operation of such device. References Jespersen J and Fitz-Randolph J 1999 From sundials to atomic clocks (Mineola: Dover Publications) Ramsey N F 2002 Application of atomic clocks in: Laser physics at the limits, ed Figger H. et al (Berlin: Springer) p 3 Ahmed M, Magalhà £es D V, Bebeachibuli A, Mà ¼ller S T, Alves R F, Ortega T A, Weiner J and Bagnato V S 2008 The brazilian time and frequency atomic standards program An Acad Bras Cienc 80, 2 Magalhà £es D V 2004 Construà §Ãƒ £o de uma fountain atà ´mica para utilizaà §Ãƒ £o como padrà £o primà ¡rio de tempo Doctorade thesis Mà ¼ller S T, Magalhà £es D V, Alves R F and Bagnato V S 2011 Compact Frequency Standard based on an Intracavity Sample of Cold Cesium AtomsJ. Opt. Soc. Am. B 28 11 p 2592 Metcalf H and Van Der Straten P 2003 Laser cooling and trapping of atoms J.Opt. Soc. Am. B 20 p 887 Vanier J, Audoin C 1989 The quantum physics of atomic frequency standards v2 (Adam Hilger) Glaze D J, Hellwig H, Allan D W and S. Jarvis 1977 NBS-4 and NBS-6: The NBS primary frequency standards Metrologia 13 p 17-28 L. E. Schnurr 1967 The transient thermal characteristics of quartz resonators and their relation to temperature-frequency curve distortion 21st Annual Symposium on Frequency Control (1967) Ji Wang, Yook-Kong Yong and Tsutomu Imai 1998 High-order plate theory based finite element analysis of the frequency-temperature relations of quartz crystal oscillators Frequency Control Symposium Proceedings of the 1998 IEEE International (1998) J. Levine 1999 Introduction to time and frequency metrology Review of scientific instruments 70, 6 [GMD1]

New Learning Strategies for Generation X Essay -- Education Careers Es

New Learning Strategies for Generation X Generation X workers resent the labels that have been used to describe them: slackers, arrogant, disloyal, having short attention spans. In fact, these descriptions are less likely to reflect the behaviors of individuals in Generation X than the perceptions of managers who are not attuned to new ways of learning. This Digest investigates ways in which the learning characteristics of the young adults classified as Generation X reflect the need for the new teaching and learning strategies promoted by cognitive scientists, such as learning in context, cooperative learning, and real-world application of knowledge. The Life Experience Gap The gap between Generation X and earlier generations represents much more than age and technological differences. It reflects the effects of a changing society on a generation. Young adults born between 1961 and 1981 have radically different life experiences than those in generations before them. In their youth, many Generation Xers were "latchkey kids"--children who saw both of their parents working and/or furthering their education. Many of them were raised in single parent homes, the children of divorced parents. They grew up with "fast" food; "remote control" entertainment; and "quick response" devices such as automatic teller machines and microwave ovens, all of which provided instant gratification. As young adults, Generation Xers find themselves facing limited economic prospects and a society different from any preceeding them. The previous generation saw rapid economic growth and expanding opportunities. Generation Xers see corporate downsizing and layoffs, limited opportunities for career positions, and an economically troubled socie... ..., p. 1. <http://www.physics.wisc.edu/~shalizi/Generation-x_Articles/brinkley/> Caudron, S. "Can Generation Xers be Trained?" Training and Development 51, no. 3 (March 1997): 20-24. Hornblower, M. "Great Xpectations." Time 129, no. 23 (June 9, 1997): 58-68. Losyk, B. "How to Manage an Xer." Current 392 (May 1997): 12 Newmann, F. M. et al. "Authentic Pedagogy: Standards that Boost Student Performance." Issues in Restructuring Schools. Issues Report No. 8. Madison, WI: Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools, 1995. (ED 390 906) Sachs, P. Generation X Goes to College. An Eye-Opening Account of Teaching in Post- modern America. Chicago, IL: Open Court Publishing Company, 1996. Wagschal, K. "I Became Clueless Teaching the GenXers." Adult Learning 8, no. 4 (March 1997): 21-25. "Your Life." USA Today 125, no. 2622 (March 1997): 6.

Victor is the True Villain of Frankenstein Essay -- Mary Shelley

At first glance, the monster in Frankenstein is a symbol of evil, whose only desire is to ruin lives. He has been called "A creature that wreaks havoc by destroying innocent lives often without remorse. He can be viewed as the antagonist, the element Victor must overcome to restore balance and tranquility to the world." But after the novel is looked at on different levels, one becomes aware that the creature wasn't responsible for his actions, and was just a victim of circumstance. The real villain of Frankenstein isn't the creature, but rather his creator, Victor. As a romantic novel Victor is responsible, because he abandoned his creation. As an archetype novel, Victor is the villain, because he was trying to play god. Finally, Victor as a Gothic novel, Victor is at fault, because, he and the creature are two different parts of the same person. If Frankenstein is looked at as a romantic novel, Victor, not the creature, is truly the villain. When Victor created the creature, he didn't take responsibility for it. He abandoned it, and left it to fend for itself. It is unfair to bring something into the world, and then not teach it how to survive. The creature was miserable, and just wanted a friend or someone to talk to. On page 115, the creature said, "Hateful day when I received life! Accursed the creator. Why did you form a monster so hideous that even you turned from me in disgust." This line shows the agony the monster was in, because of how he looked when he was created which led to even Victor running away from him. If Victor didn't run, he could have taught the monster and made his life happy. After the creature scared the cottagers away he said, "I continued for the remainder of the day in my hovel in a state of utter ... ...three different symbolic levels, as a Romantic novel, Archetype novel, or a Gothic novel. On the romantic level, Victor is the villain because he abandons the creature and leaves it to fend for itself. The creature is miserable and just wants a friend, but was abandoned by Victor making it almost impossible. On the Archetype level, Victor is the villain because he tries to play god. He wants to be worshipped like a god, by creating his own species, and creating life from plain matter. But in doing so, Victor disturbed the natural order of things. Finally, Victor is the villain on the Gothic level. There he is the villain, because he and the creature are part of a greater being, and Victor's subconscious wants William and Elizabeth dead, which is why the monster kills them. Despite the fact that Victor didn't physically murder anyone, he was the villain of the novel.

Symbols and Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Essay -- Great Gatsby Essays

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby       Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has more relevance in today’s society than it did when it was written. With the recent societal trend that emphasizes lack of morals and material wealth over a meaningful existence, Fitzgerald’s message really hits home. Which is more important - money or love? Social status or being true to oneself? Fitzgerald uses metaphor and symbols to great effect in order to illustrate what can happen when the pursuit of happiness becomes warped (by American ideals) into the pursuit of money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the major symbols in the novel is the color green. Green represents the hopes and dreams of people striving to accomplish the American dream of wealth and glory. Green is the color of money and is often used to purvey the concept of wealth, especially with reference to Gatsby. Whenever Gatsby's mansion is described there is always mention of the color green. His house is surrounded by "a large green lawn" or the "green ivy" which grows on his house. The interior of his car is described as "a sort of green leather conservatory" ... ...arning and take a second look to determine what is truly fulfilling in life. Works Cited Bewley, Marius. "Scott Fitzgerald's Criticism of America." In Modern Critical Interpretations: The Great Gatsby. edited by Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. 1986. 11-27. Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner Classic, 1986. McAdams, Tony. "The Great Gatsby: An Examination of Metaphor and Symbolism." In Readings on The Great Gatsby. edited by Katie de Koster. San Diego, California: Greenhaven Press. 1998. 111-120.

Muay Thai Essay

Muay Thai is originally come from Thailand. It is form of kickboxing but Muay Thai employs techniques with the hands, feet, elbows, and knees extensively. Muay Thai is popular in many parts of the world these days. People involves in Muay Thai usually to test their self confidence, speed, strength and self defense. Reveal the Topic -Today, I am going to share on the basic training of Muay Thai. Establish Credibility Currently, I trained with Muay Thai Club in Shah Alam. I started training on age of 18. On 2009 while doing my diploma, I joined ‘Muay Thai Competition, in Maran, Pahang and I won the first place. Preview of Body Speech The 3 basic training of Muay Thai is built up physical strength, use of punching bag and sparring. Body 1 Build up physical strength -First of all, trainees must play rope jumping around 15minutes to 30 minutes to warm up. For the purpose maintaining stamina, he/she need to jogging 5km to 10km per day. This also can control weight to make sure trainees in their weight class. For example weight class is 56kg to 60kg, so the trainees must around this weight. For fit physical body, trainees must weight-lifted to get muscular. It brings a psychological to opponent. For me, advantages on physical structure boost my confident. 2 Punching bag -When play with the punching bag, trainees must imagine the punching bag as a opponent. They need have a certain level of strength, conditioning, and skill to punches, kicks, knees and elbow strike the punching bag. Punch combination, speed, timing, punching defense, counter-punching. They need learn about angle to attack and strength. 3 Sparring – Trainees probably looking forward to get in the ring, but before to get in the ring they must have an experience sparring to know the situation in the ring. Usually the instructor asks him to wearing the thick pads which cover the forearms and hands. This pads are used to absorbs the impact of the fighter’s strike and allow to react to the attacks. Sparring is to test technique, skills, range, strategy and timing against partner Conclusion Everything you do have a risks,also muay thai but these risks only apply to fighters who are lazy in their moves or who are just not very well trained. If you follow all your lessons to the letter and keep in good shape, the risks don’t really become a factor.

Consider the theme in Of mice and men Essay

* The book Of Mice and Men was set in the time of the great depression of the 1930’s in California in a place called Soledad. Men travelled around looking for any work they could find, they had to leave families and homes just to make money. Even firms and companies went bankrupt, these were depressing and desperate times, no hope and no future. * During this period of time there was a depression in America. Unemployment was high, so men moved from ranch to ranch looking for work, never staying in one place long enough to firm any real relationships, so this was a very lonely existence. * John Steinbeck’s inspiration from came from him at an earlier age working as a migrant farm worker and so he understood completely about the conditions and life around him so he could really create an atmospheric story. * It is based on two men, George and Lennie, who travelled from ranch to ranch. George is a small and fairly intelligent man while Lennie is a large man of very little intelligence. They had travelled together for a long time. * In my opinion, the most obvious point made throughout the book about the world of migrant workers is that it is lonely. George tells that â€Å"†¦guys like us†¦are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This is also shown when Slim comments that he â€Å"†¦hardly never seen two guys travel together†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Most migrant workers travel on their own and this is why George and Lennie face some fairly intrusive questions from their new boss when they first arrive at the ranch. This boss even finds it so unusual that he asks George, referring to Lennie, â€Å"†¦what stake you got in this guy?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . He also again refers to this being unusual by saying â€Å"†¦I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . * They are many characters in the novel that are also lonely and this is due to sexism, ageism, but mainly racism. One perfect example is Crooks†¦Crooks, the black stable buck is forever being picked on by the other men at the ranch, mostly because of his colour. In the time in which the book was set, black people in America were thought of as lower than white people. At the ranch, Crooks cannot live in the bunk – house with all the other men, but he has to sleep in the harness room, at the back of the barn. Crooks is given no privacy, and gets quite cross because he is not allowed to enter the bunk-house but the other men can just walk into his room. In the book he says to Lennie, â€Å"You’ve no right to come into my room, nobody got any right in here but me.† * Another reason is because of your age. Candy is lonely because he is old, and is different from the other hands. His only comfort is his old dog, which keeps him company and reminds him of days when he was young and whole.He has no relatives, and once his dog is killed is totally alone. He eagerly clutches at the idea of buying a farm with George and Lennie, but of course this all comes to nothing.Candy’s disappointment is expressed in the bitter words he utters to the body of Curley’s wife, whom he blames for spoiling his dream. Paragraph 1 * George is a kind man. He travels with Lennie and helps him to survive although Lennie is more of a burden than a help, and creates many problems for him. He is also friendly, and almost immediately makes friends with Candy, Carlson, Slim, and the other ranch hands.He has matured a lot since the incident he relates to Slim where he made Lennie jump into a river just for fun. He realises that Lennie depends on him, and needs him to survive.George often insults Lennie and ‘gives him hell’, but he doesn’t really mean it. Although he often talks about how well off he could be without Lennie he secretly doesn’t want Lennie to leave, and when Lennie offers to do so in the first chapter, George virtually pleads with him to stay, ‘ Ive got you an you’ve got me’. This is because George also depends on Lennie to a certain extent for his unconditional friendship. George is intelligent, as Slim points out in chapter three, but also modest in denying being smart. He expresses his desire to be different from other ranch hands who merely work for a month and then spend all of their money, but also realistically realises that his dream of owning a house with Lennie (or anyone else) is unlikely to ever come true. Overall, George is an intelligent and kind character. He is thoughtful enough to realise that the best thing for Lennie is to shoot him, for the alternatives are even worse, and compassionate enough to kill Lennie himself. * Lennie is a massive, extremely strong man, who has no living relatives. He travels about the country searching for work with his companion, George. Lennie’s Aunt Clara had asked George to take care of Lennie if she ever died. The most obvious feature of Lennie’s character is that he seems retarded. He is a man who has the mind of a child. Slim is one of the first characters to notice this, remarking that Lennie is ‘Jes’ like a kid’ and Curley’s wife also comments on how he is ‘Jus’ like a big baby’. Lennie doesn’t know his own strength, and this is one of the things which lead to his eventual downfall. He realises that he is, ‘strong as a bull’, but he can’t judge how much force to use for certain actions. That is why he kills his pets, when he only intends to pet them and play with them. It is this inability to judge his strength, combined with his desire to pet things and Curley’s wife’s desire to be petted and admired which leads to Lennie’s inevitable death. The ability to judge one’s own strength is one of the first signs of maturity, and it is important that Lennie doesn’t have this ability. Despite the major flaws in his character he is amiable and ‘friendly ‘, and doesn’t do any of the bad things he does on purpose.He has a poor memory, and has to repeat things to himself many times to remember them. Even then, he still forgets them. He has a blind faith in George, trusting in him to protect and look after his welfare. For example, remember the incident George describes to Slim when he told Lennie to â€Å"jump in the river† and Lennie obeyed, without a thought to his own well being. This illustrates Lennie’s trust in George, and also his immaturity.However, it must be noted that Lennie can still be quite crafty, as when he cunningly persuades George to tell him the story about the rabbits by threatening to leave him. Paragraph 2 * Because of Lennie’s handicap George has established a personality around his companion to make it easier to live around him. George has found a way of coping with Lennie which is to shout at him†¦. † God a’ mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy.† He supports him in the way he needs although when he is angry he does criticize him â€Å"As dum as a horse†. * George thinks of Lennie as a companion as he doesn’t have any family. On the other hand he finds him as a pain. Lennie feel the same way to a certain extent but also fears George as he is in control and orders and protects Lennie. They travel together searching for work on ranches and so never settle, and so don’t establish true friendships with others, but since they have each other they seem secure, but Lennie gets into a lot of trouble and so needs George so really George doesn’t have time for himself, which is why they do almost everything together. * Others see this relationship as different:- Slim comments † Aint many guys travel around toghther†¦.Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other†. George and Lennie are different as Lennie says † I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you† * Dreams are significant when considering how these men as one of the ways in which the characters combat the loneliness and hopelessness of their existence. For example the â€Å"dream farm†, a dream shared at first only by George and Lennie, later spreads to include Candy and Crooks, as they are all desperate to escape their lonely lives Crooks reveals that it is the favourite dream of the itinerant ranch hands: ‘Seems like ever’ guy got land in his head.’ It is a powerful dream, however, and even Crooks falls for this, for a short time.To Lennie, the dream is a cure for â€Å"disappointment and loneliness†, and he often asks George to recite the description of the farm to him. Paragraph 4 * Crooks is an even lonelier character than Candy, because not only is he old and a cripple, like Candy, but he is also black. Most of the men have a lot of prejudice against Crooks, referring to him with derogatory terms such as â€Å"nigger†. (Prejudice around slavery wasn’t rare) * He lives in the shed at the other end of the ranch, isolated from the rest of the workers there. * Crooks is a victim. We are told by Candy that the Boss takes his anger out on Crooks, though Crooks does nothing wrong. * Crooks spends his time alone reading and is a fairly knowledgeable person, as he owns a copy of the California civil code for 1905 He also plays horseshoes until dark. This shows us that Crooks is interested in reading as is most likely one of the smartest of the crowd. This also suggests that he has found reading as an â€Å"escape route† from the ‘terrible world’ around him. * Crooks reveals that it is the favourite dream of the itinerant ranch hands: * As a result of the discrimination against him, Crooks has become bitter and cynical. This is why when Lennie and Candy tell him about their plan to buy a house he reacts with scorn and disbelief. ‘Seems like ever’ guy got land in his head.’ It is a powerful dream, however, and even the cynical Crooks falls under its spell for a short time. Paragraph 5 * Curley’s wife is described as having full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails painted and her hair hung in little rolled clusters. * Most of the ranch hands except for Slim brand Curley’s wife as ‘tart’. In fact, she is portrayed as such whenever she appears, obviously playing up to and teasing the men. We can definitely say that she is lonely. John Steinbeck illustrates how lonely Curleys wife is when she says † I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely† She says so several times, and that is to be expected since she is stuck on a ranch with men who dislike her and rarely talk to her, as they fear getting into any sort of trouble with her husband Curley, ‘stay away from her’. However, she attempts to overcome her loneliness in the wrong way. George immediately realises that she means trouble when she first turns up in the bunkhouse, and it is hardly surprising that her actions lead her new husband to be fiercely jealous. She is so cruel because of her unhappiness, her isolation and the failure of her dreams. She dreamt of being â€Å"in the movies† or even in a â€Å"show†. She is disappointed and marries Curley to spite her mother only to find out â€Å"he aint a nice fella†. She wishes she could have made something of her life. She walks around the ranch, dressed inappropriately and seductively. and she has only been married a couple of weeks. She admits to Lennie that she doesn’t like her husband and regrets marrying him. She seems to be of limited intelligence, as this shows her how desperate she is to escape. It is partly her desire to be petted and admired which leads her to allow Lennie to stroke her hair, which in turn leads to her death at Lennie’s hands. She is only ever known as ‘Curley’s wife’ which indicates that the author viewed her as a possession of Curley’s rather than a human being. I pity her as she made a mistake into leading herself into these problems with Curley and this is making her bored ill. Paragraph 6 * The next afternoon, Lennie is in the barn. All of the other men are outside playing a game of horseshoes, and Lennie’s only company is his dead puppy. Lennie had accidentally killed it. He fears that George will not let him tend and feed the rabbits if George knows that he killed the puppy. While Lennie wonders what to do, Curley’s wife appears. She tries to get Lennie to talk to her, but Lennie is reluctant, since George had threatened to forbid him from tending his rabbits if Lennie ever did so. When she directs Lennie’s attention to his puppy, though, Lennie forgets about not talking to her. He explains everything to her. Curley’s wife listens sympathetically, and she tells Lennie about her aspirations of being an actress, and how she believes her mother deliberately thwarted her plans. She becomes angered by Lennie’s continual references to rabbits, and asks him what his attraction to them is. Lennie explains that he likes to touch and pet soft things, like rabbit fur. * Curley’s wife allows Lennie to stroke her hair, but panics when he won’t let go. She begins to struggle and scream, and Lennie, also in a state of panic, shakes her to make her stop saying, ‘ I don’t want you to yell. You gonna get me in trouble jus’ like George says you will’, and he covered her rouged lipped mouth with his large palms. She continued to scream and struggle and now the fully nervous Lennie shouted angrily at her, ‘ Don’t you go yellin’ , and shook her; and her body flopped like a fish ‘he shakes her so violently that her neck broke and she died instantly. Lennie knows that he has done another bad thing and remembers that George told him to go and hide in the brush down by the river, so he quickly runs there. Sometime later, Candy enters the barn and discovers the body of Curley’s wife. He runs and fetches George. George realises what has happened, and says that he has to tell the others. Candy protests, rightly pointing out that Curley would deliver no mercy to anyone who had killed his wife. Candy is in favour of letting Lennie escape. He asks George if it is still possible to buy the house, but his dreams are shattered when George says it isn’t. When George tells the labourers the news, they all go into a frenzy, and seem affected by blood lust. Curley is furious and vows to kill Lennie. Carlson rushes off to get his gun, and even Whit wants to join in the hunt. Carlson reports that his gun has been stolen, and everyone thinks that Lennie is responsible. George begs Curley to have mercy on his companion, but Curley says he can’t because Lennie has a gun. All of the men run off except for Candy, who lies down in despair. * The relationship between George, Lennie and Candy was now destroyed. * This relates to the â€Å"theme of dreams† as they couldn’t get their own place and so their dream had crumbled as well. Paragraph 7 * Loneliness affects many of the characters, and Steinbeck seems to show that it is a natural and inevitable result of the kind of life they are forced to lead. The itinerant workers are caught in a trap of loneliness – they never stay in one place long enough to form permanent relationships. Even if such relationships existed, they would probably be destroyed by the demands of the itinerant life. Candy is lonely because he is old, and is different from the other hands. His only comfort is his old dog, which keeps him company and reminds him of days when he was young and whole. He has no relatives, and once his dog is killed is totally alone. He eagerly clutches at the idea of buying a farm with George and Lennie, but of course this all comes to nothing. Candy’s disappointment is expressed in the bitter words he utters to the body of Curley’s wife, whom he blames for spoiling his dream. George is also caught in the trap of loneliness. Just as Candy has his dog for company, George has Lennie (who is often described in animal-like terms). Continuing the parallel, George too is left completely alone when Lennie is killed. The dream farm is his idea, and he says ‘We’d belong there †¦ no more runnin’ around the country†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. Another lonely character is Curley’s wife. Newly married and in a strange place, she is forbidden by Curley to talk to anyone but him. To counter this, she constantly approaches the ranch hands on the excuse of looking for Curley. The only result is that the men regard her as a slut, and Curley becomes even more intensely jealous. Finally, her loneliness leads to her death as she makes the ‘ serious error of trying to overcome it by playing the tease with Lennie. Curley himself is lonely. His new wife hates him as do all the ranch hands who despise him for his cowardice. He has married in an attempt to overcome his loneliness, but has blindly chosen a wife totally inappropriate for the kind of life he leads. His feelings are all channelled into aggressive behaviour which further isolates his wife and leads to the incident with Lennie where his hand is crushed. Crooks is another who is isolated because he is different. He copes with it by keeping a distance between himself and the other hands. When he does allow himself to be drawn into the dream of working on George and Lennie’s dream farm, he is immediately shut out by George’s anger. * The conclusion, in my opinion is that people are brought together though loneliness and separated as they grow hostile (Crooks). It is like an endless game which has to be played by someone before someone gets eager and makes it worse by instigating. This is fate†¦what will happen will happen†¦. Just like a game †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. someone always wins†¦..and someone always loses†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..!