Loneliness And Isolation In 'Of Mice And Men'

Loneliness is one of the primary themes in Of Mice and Men. Throughout the novel, John Steinbeck shows the enormous effect that loneliness has on the characters. Steinbeck most clearly illustrates this theme through Crooks, Candy, and Curley 's wife. Ranch hands are ideal types of people to portray as being lonely, because their constant travel leaves them without someone to talk to or share things with. Steinbeck also shows how important it is for every human being to have a companion. Companionship is necessary in order for someone to live an enjoyable life. Although loneliness affects each one of the characters in Of Mice and Men differently, they all experience negative feelings from their lack of

Award winning novel, Of Mice and Men was published in 1937 by author John Steinbeck. Set in Salinas Valley, the novel follows migrants George Milton and Lennie Small on their journey for work during Great Depression. Embodying an array of themes such as loneliness and responsibility, the dominant key themes throughout the novel is powerlessness. Shown through the economy, gender discrimination and mental disabilities, the theme of powerlessness relates to all of the characters in different ways.

The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is set in America in the 1930’s and it describes the lives of migrant farmers as they go from farm to farm looking for jobs. It also shows the loneliness of the characters and the hard work that they put in. The main characters of the book are Lennie, a man-child, and George, a small man but very powerful character that takes care of Lennie in their journey. Also when they get to the farm they meet the bosses wife who is very lonely and looks for company in the workers. Steinbeck uses characterization to bring his characters to life using various techniques.

People are considered to be social beings, yet, again and again, they seek to falsify the claims of civility, and show themselves as the detached individuals they tend to be. In his novella, “Of Mice and Men,” John Steinbeck designed several faulty pairings that display the true disparity and detachment that are proven to be a part of every relationship in the story. Through the associations of the main characters, Lennie and George, along with several other characters within the narrative, Steinbeck exposes the root of 1930’s relationships in promises, loneliness, and a basic need for companionship, rather than any true fondness- a junction that can easily be nullified.

Curly and his wife act out often and are constantly wanting attention. This can be seen on page 86. "I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely." Curley's wife also shows us in the book her loneliness and cries for attention. Another example, She says, “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” Her marriage with Curley did not make her happy, but it made her feel terrible and unworthy. She has wanted to become a movie star her whole life, but never got the chance. She is also getting avoided by fellow ranch workers because she always causes trouble and brings

In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck utilizes loneliness as an overarching theme, there is however one character that is noticeably longer than the others in Steinbeck's novella. This character is Crooks, a bitter and aloof man, he used to have a family with brothers and a 10 acre chicken ranch. Now he lives the life of a stable buck isolated by his race (he is the only African American on the ranch) among other things (Steinbeck,2002). This loneliness truly characterises him and causes no end to his bitterness. John Steinbeck Portrays Crooks as the loneliest character because, he is isolated by race, disability, location and a lack of companionship.

“Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliness guys in the world. They got no family...we got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us” (Steinbeck 14). During the Great Depression, much of society is alienated while survival of the fittest prevails. The power of loneliness affects the individual involved as long as the society it is present in continues to harvest the discriminatory ways. During the 1930’s, the Great Depression was at its peak; The stock markets crashed, and a chain reaction caused the unemployment rates to rise to an all time high. Thus, migrant worker became popular because they were always needed on a farm and it was a way for one to find employment. In of Mice and Men, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife are all victims of the Great Depression. Candy and Crooks work on the farm, while Curley’s wife is the flirtatious nuisance whose dreams were crushed. The pervasive emotion throughout this novella is loneliness. Loneliness is felt by Candy, Crooks, and and Curley’s wife, whether it’s being represented symbolically as the characters are fighting social devastation, learning to make it alone, or through their actions.

The relevance of ‘Of Mice and Men’ being set in the town of Soledad comes from the parallels drawn between the meaning of the name ‘Soledad’ and the deeper sense of loneliness expressed through the characters of the novella. The symbolism of the loneliness that is associated with the town of Soledad establishes an underlying sense of loneliness in all characters. The author uses a variety of techniques to develop this underlying loneliness in each of the individual character’s lives. Such individual characterisation building on the loneliness established in the connotations of Soledad is evident in Curley’s wife, Crooks, George and Lennie,

“I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick” (Steinbeck 72). This quote from the character Crooks from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck demonstrates the powerful effect loneliness has on the human mind and body. Loneliness heavily impacts both the plot of Of Mice and Men and the actions and emotions of characters throughout the novella. It directly leads to the deaths of Lennie and Curley’s wife, as well as playing a crucial role in the day to day lives of Crooks, Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife.

The book Of Mice and Men was written by John Steinbeck in the Mid 1930s, and it takes place during the Great Depression. The book is about two migrant workers, named George and Lennie. During the Great depression it was unusual to see two migrant workers together, but they depend on each other and have a brotherly bond that keeps them together. Fear is the cause and the effect of isolation and it leads to vulnerability and hopelessness. Steinbeck develops this theme of isolation through the use of symbols and characters.

Loneliness can affect the way one perceives both themselves and those around them. They will often try convincing themselves that they are fine in solitude, but in reality they know they need others. Depending on the person, loneliness will be shown and handled differently. While some handle it better, others cannot take the pressures of it. In both John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Nicole Krauss’s The History of Love, the characters deal with loneliness in ways that are both successful and, more often, unsuccessful.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novella about two men from northern California in the 1930s, working on a ranch. George and Lennie, who is mentally challenged, are running from their home after Lennie did something horrible. They both start working on a ranch in order to work towards their dream of owning their own ranch and having rabbits. After meeting many people and working for only a few days, Lennie gets into trouble and runs away only to be killed for his crime. John Steinbeck portrays through his book that loneliness and isolation are the effects of a loss of friendship.

Braidey Neace Mrs.Newell English 9 21 February 2018 Of Mice And Men Essay Option 3 The book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck uses loneliness and isolation to give a big central idea and theme of the book. Characters in this book are experiencing loneliness and they are faced to live a difficult life.

The Pain of Loneliness John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, uses the theme, the pain of loneliness, to convey a message to the readers of how being lonely can impact a person. The author illustrates the theme by using some of the character’s quotes from the novel to show how the pain of loneliness made an impact on them. The theme, the pain of loneliness, is portrayed through the characters: Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s Wife.

‘Of mice and men’ is a tale of loneliness and hardship felt by the people living in America during the 1930 's. Written by John Steinbeck and published in 1937, it tells the heartbreaking story of two ranch workers during the depression; George Milton and Lennie Small. At the time America was very poor, with a shortage of jobs so people had to travel in search of new jobs. As many people were constantly moving, lasting friendships or relationships were hard to come across. People became scared to have friendships, scared of each other making them lonely and isolated. Most of the characters lived by ‘every man for himself’; only having to care for themselves, not having to worry about others and therefore