Isolation And Loneliness In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

They don’t really have an friends or family because they just go from job traveling around. The characters in Of Mice and Men show that loneliness is a problem that must be overcome In order to live a happy, fulfilled life. Candy is a very lonely, and doesn’t really have any one to be there for him. In the story Carlson kills his dog, the only thing that Candy really has. “I ought to of shot that dog myself”(61).

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck has positioned the characters to help drive the plot, aid or hinder the protagonists, and deliver messages to readers. On the surface, Steinbeck’s novel seems to project a theme of loneliness, and man’s need for companionship. However, often the difference between the lonely and independent characters is obvious, and the contrast between the two groups is extreme. Most characters are completely alone, but how they manage their given circumstances can push the plot, reveal previously hidden traits that may benefit the overall story, and help the reader explore the novel itself more in depth.

Thirdly, age differences are another factor that can lead to loneliness. Candy is the oldest man at the farm, his best friend, and only friend for the matter is his dog, which gets shot in the middle of the novella. Whilst Candy is friendly and helps out the other guys think he is a little strange. As the text states, “Candy interrupted him, "I'd make a will an' leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, 'cause I ain't got no relatives or nothing….” This quote shows that Candy does not have any other friends or relatives to give anything

Crooks experiences discrimination on the ranch. Crooks sleeps in a barn instead of the bunkhouse where all of the other men sleep. When Lennie first walks into Crooks’ room, Crooks gets defensive and announces, “‘You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room’” (65). Crooks alienates himself from society, because he thinks that society has alienated him. He desires to be included. Crooks wants to punish the men for not allowing him in the bunk house. Crooks feels rejected. Crooks describes to Lennie why the ranch workers do not want him near them: “‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink’” (65). Since the workers do not include him, Crooks thinks that he does not belong at the ranch. His self esteem diminishes when the men isolate him for something he can not change. Finally, Lennie reveals his dreams of owning a farm to Crooks. Crooks acts skeptical of the idea when he explains, “‘I seen hunderds of

After the loss of Candy’s dog, he becomes lonely but has to find a way to overcome loneliness. John Steinbeck creates Candy to be an old and crippled man. Candy, since he is a older man, might not get as much work. That isn't the only reason. Steinbeck describes Candy with, “a round stick-like wrist, but no hand” (18). At this moment, George and Lennie are meeting and observing Candy for the first time. Throughout the story, the reader does not hear of Candy doing much work on the ranch. He “[shifts] his broom” on the first day but that might be the only deed he does (18). The farm workers stereotype him to be weak because he is old and only has one hand. When we first meet Candy, we learn that Candy has one main friend. That is his

In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, he illustrates the journey George and Lennie have throughout a significant part of their lifetime. Throughout the novel, many characters, including George and Lennie, are facing lonesome and they struggle to deal with it the right way. Most of the men are all alone because they have no family left or they isolate themselves from their peers. Loneliness touches each character at some point in the novel and it really emphasizes the impact it can have on an individual. Steinbeck uses the characters Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy to develop the theme that containing loneliness will make someone’s desperation deepen.

Another character that is very lonely is Candy. Candy is the oldest mentioned worker in the story. He has worked on ranches for many years of his life, and along the way, he even lost one of his hands. Candy had an old farm dog that was just like a best friend to him at the beginning of the story. Since the dog was having trouble getting around and smelled nasty, Carlson(Another worker on the ranch) convinced Candy to let him shoot the dog. This made Candy terribly sad, lonely and scared. He was scared that since he was old and wouldn't be able to work eventually that the men would do the same thing to him. That isn't how he wanted to go; Candy wanted to be able to go peacefully. He wanted to be in his own place and not have someone bossing him

had an old dog at the beginning on the novel .He had this dog for a

‘..Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world they got no family they don’t belong no place.’ This is what many felt during the ‘great depression’ in the 1930’s. John Steinbeck gives us the sense that many felt lonely ‘they got no family they don’t belong no place. The main theme of this novel is alienation; the three characters, Curley’s wife, candy, and crooks are all alienated, and felt it by another person at some point. They all have dreams... it’s the American dream... but not all dreams come true...

He didn’t fit in. Not only did he not fit in by he wasn’t accepted or respected well either. Crooks was not wanted in the bunkhouse, instead he had a small room attached to the barn. Crooks feels lonely and unwanted because of his ethnicity and nobody makes an effort to talk to him or invite him to go out with the others. p. 73 ‘“ I tell ya a guy get too lonely an’ he gets sick.”’ Even though Crooks has a lot more than the rest of the men working on the ranch, objects cannot replace human interaction. Many on the ranch strayed from human

Crooks whines to Lennie “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you” (Steinbeck 72-73). Crooks obviously needs someone to talk to and feels like he needs to know someone cares about him. In his spare time he reads books which become very boring to him. He is so desperate to talk to Lennie even though he is not listening. Crooks questions Lennie “S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that?” (Steinbeck 72). He feels left out of everything because he is the only black person in Salinas Valley and that makes him extremely lonely.Curley’s wife is also a victim of discrimination that leads to loneliness. Her dreams of becoming an actress did not plan out and she decided to settle down and get married. She got married to someone that she did not love and now she is miserable. Curley’s wife complains to Lennie “I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anyone?” (Steinbeck 87). She has no one to talk to besides Curley who she doesn’t even like. This makes her feel lonely and it makes her try to find attention from other

“Loneliness becomes an acid that eats away at you” (Murakami). In Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, loneliness is a prominent theme. George and Lennie go to work on a ranch in order to reach their American Dream. Along the way they meet many characters, including Curley and his wife, Candy, Crooks, and Slim. All of these characters have been negatively affected by loneliness. In Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy are depicted as lonely and depressed characters who search for someone or something to rid them of their loneliness and make them feel jovial, though they are unsuccessful.

'Of Mice and Men' written by John Steinbeck in 1937, is a bemused novella, full of crestfallen moments and derogatory people. John Steinbeck's 'Of Mice and Men' was set just outside Soledad in Southern California, written during "The Great Depression." This novella contains George Milton and Lennie Small, who are itinerant workers who have a dream of owning a big house with animals. These men encounter intricate situations, yet still manage to surpass them. After leaving Weed due to complications with Lennie, they settle in a nice, comfortable ranch in the next town over. The two manage to get themselves on the wrong side of the boss' son, Curley, after talking to his "tramp" of a wife. Later in the novella it is revealed that Lennie Small

Loneliness is a theme in “Of Mice and Men.” There is a lot of loneliness that is shown by people in this book. The people that are lonely are Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks. There are different reasons for them being lonely. Being lonely affects them different ways.

In the novel Of Mice and Men Steinbeck shows loneliness as the dominant theme of the story. He demonstrates how people are driven to find friendship. So far in the novel you can see that Steinbeck made the presence of loneliness stress the actions of the diverse characters. As these migrant workers roam from ranch to ranch to find temporary employment, George reminds Lennie the misery of the situation-“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place". Despite George and Lennie being lonely, most of the other characters have their own loneliness and struggle for companionship. Candy for example is the oldest worker at the ranch, who has no family, but has his dog as his