Many people live lonely and isolated lives. People who live lonely lives often begin to get comfortable with being lonely and like to be by themselves. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, expresses how many people live lonely, isolated lives.Through three main characters, Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks. John Steinbeck shows the effect that loneliness has on people. Here is my explanation.
One of the characters John Steinbeck uses to show loneliness is Crooks. Crooks is being segregated because of the color of his skin.(”An’ he give the stable buck hell, too. Give the stable buck hell? Sure. Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger. Page #20;Said by Candy and George) He stays in the barn by himself, he gets called a nigger a lot, and he gets threaten
An exemplary instance of racism in the story has to do with Crooks, who is the black stable buck. The primary content nested within this example shows how Crooks is treated unfairly compared to the other farm workers due to his race by showing his forcefully isolated living conditions. It is stated that Crooks “...had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn” (Steinbeck 66). The other men on the farm are all able to live together, in one central bunk, where they can all play games and have fun together. Due to Crooks being separated from the rest of the men, he is isolated
Crooks, an African American stable buck, has the dream of having someone to talk to. But, with Crooks being African American his opportunity to talk to someone is limited. Crooks emphasizes the bigotry he has to face “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room… cause I’m black. They play cards in there. But I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink” (68). It’s clear that the other men racially stereotype crooks and this prevents him from talking to anyone. Crooks is reminded of his unfair advantage because of his race when Curley’s wife says “Well, you keep your place then, Negro. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it aint even funny” (81). Crooks responds to this by retreating back to his way of isolating himself and not talking to anyone unless it’s expected.
Many individuals like to be alone, but loneliness only serves them well in small doses. Being alone can benefit some to help keep their emotions in check or clear their minds, but too much of it becomes unbearable. Eventually, constant loneliness, resulting from a lack of friendship, will lead to cruelty. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck examines the effects of loneliness through a life without friendship. In the story, George and Lennie travel from town to town as migrant workers, trying to accumulate enough money to buy their own ranch. The personality of Crooks, Curley’s wife, and George and Lennie’s relationship show that a life without friendship leads to loneliness and cruelty.
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.
Every farm has a worker that everyone looks up to for leadership, trust and respect. In Of Mice and Men, Slim quiet at first , but when he does speak, his voice carries over every conversation in the room. He assumes the role of final authority when he makes a decision, everyone else respects him for it. Slim made himself one of the vital characters of the story by providing his knowledge and understandings when he talked with George about him and Lennie, when he reassured George and Lennie about the breaking of Curly’s hand, and when he tried to help out George when he killed Lennie. The friendship that occurred between George and Lennie happens extremely rarely.
Title Here John Steinbeck shows that there the many lonely people in this world, and that there are many ways people deal with it. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck you meet many lonely people. In the book George and Lennie state how good and rare there friendship is and how everyone else is lonely. On the ranch there are a lot of other lonely people, they are Crooks and Curley’s wife.
“They left the weak ones here” Curley’s wife stated when the other men went off into town, leaving herself, Candy, Crooks, and Lennie. Though in Of Mice and Men George and Lennie seek friendship and asylum with each other, there is a sense of division between the strong and the weak. The weak, being Crooks who is isolated because of race, Candy who is isolated because of his age and injury, Lennie who is isolated because of his mental disability, and Curley's Wife who is an outcast because she is female, are treated as less than the other men, dehumanized throughout the writing itself. Lennie is compared to several animals within the first chapter, "...and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws." (pg. 2) as well as a horse and a terrier.
“I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, … ‘Cause I’m black“ (Steinbeck 68). Crooks loneliness is from the color of his skin, also his disability, and how he distrust everyone. “They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunkhouse they’ll put me on the country“ (Steinbeck 60 ).Candy ’s loneliness started the day he lost his hand and couldn’t work along the side of the other workers, so know he cleans the bunkhouses.
John Steinbeck's Novella, Of Mice and Men ,Steinbeck explains the theme of loneliness and these three ways, Crooks living alone and being a black man, and George and Lennie having no one besides each other, and Candie after his dog was shot. Have you ever felt lonely because I know the people in this book have. I have felt like I have had no one. The core of crooks’s loneliness is him being black and being segregated from everyone else.
Several characters in the novel “Of Mice and Men” suffer from loneliness and are searching for friendship and acceptance. John Steinbeck author of “Of Mice and Men” introduces various characters who display emotions of loneliness and characters who suffer from a desire of companionship.
Crooks is constantly being referred to as the “stable buck” and a “nigger” for being the only black man on the ranch (Steinbeck 20). The men on the ranch use this name to feel higher up on the social ladder and to not be the only one standing out for treating an African American man well. Furthermore, Crooks is not allowed certain privileges such as not being “wanted in the bunkhouse” or being able to interact with others like not being about to play cards “because I’m black” which is another way to show that he is socially rejected (Steinbeck 68). Crooks not being allowed to freely interact with others, and being segregated clearly is a mean for others to empower themselves. Having more self-confidence allows others to fit in more with the crowd, or, in this case, fit in with all the discriminators on the
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck highlights the theme of prejudice and discrimination of African Americans during the Great Depression; in the book Crook’s an African American was treated in atrocious ways as a result of other people's prejudices, and that caused him to be lonely. On this occasion, Crook’s is the one who gets the boss’s wrath when he is upset. In the book they reference that because Lennie and George were not there on time that “the boss gave the stable buck hell.” (Crook’s was the stable buck.) (Steinbeck, 1937) This demonstration of how he is not treated the same as everyone else, because the boss doesn't give anyone else hell, just the african american. Following that Crook’s uses horse medicine for his back,
Finally the last place Crooks shows loneliness is when he says “if I say something why it's just a nigger sayin’ it.” (70) When he says this he's talking about how he's not included, he feels discriminated, and he has no voice because of his skin colour. He's also lonely because theirs no one of his kind in the ranch and no one wants to be his friend because they think of him as some sort of slave and just a tool. In the end Crooks shows a great theme of
Steinbeck describes “Crooks the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room”(Steinbeck, Page 66). This is an example of how the author describes Crooks in the novel and uses racial slurs. In addition, Crooks was dealing with isolation. Crooks had not been welcomed into the bunkhouse with the rest of the workers; so, he lived by himself in the harness room. “‘I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room.’
them as he says, “If I say something, why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it”. (74) Crooks is not the only one who is discriminated against. For example, Curley’s wife is also discriminated against for being the only woman on the farm. In the 4th chapter, George says ,“Well ain’t she a looloo?” (51) and later on Candy says, “Maybe you just better go along an’ roll your hoop. We ain’t got nothing to say to you at all.”(79) Candy speaks for him and the other men when