Loneliness & 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

Friends are needed in a person’s life for emotional stability whom without would lead to a life of loneliness and solitude. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the characters Crooks, Candy and Curly’s wife exhibit a form of loneliness. They are driven to George and Lennie’s friendship because they lack support and that emotional stability in their own lives."A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't matter no difference who the guy is, longs he with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick" (Steinbeck, 13). Throughout his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows that victims of isolation crave to fulfill a companionship to fill in that void of loneliness.

Loneliness is one of many central themes in John Steinbeck’s classic novella, Of Mice and Men. Throughout the story many characters sought after the company and attention of others. Each character has a certain barrier that keeps them isolated from the outside world. Three characters who portray this loneliness throughout the novella are Crooks, Curly’s wife, and Candy. Each having a different wall between them and society.

In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, it is about two friends. One friend was large but had a mental disability, Lennie, and the other friend is intelligent and average, George. The two friends can't stay and work at a place for too long because Lennie always gets into trouble and they have to find another job. When George and Lennie finally found a ranch to work at, Lennie kills Curley's wife, the boss's son's wife, accidentally so George kills Lennie. Although George is better off without Lennie, now he is going to be as lonely as the other characters. Loneliness can affect a character's actions and choices, by causing them to be mean, isolated, and seeking for someone's attention.

Would you like to know where and how loneliness can occur through characters in novels and in reality? Well, in the book Of Mice and Men, by Jerry Steinback a commonly occurring central problem is based off of many forms of loneliness occurring through many, if not every character besides sub characters where we do not get a deep enough of an insight to create ideas or inferences about them. Of Mice and Men, is a story mainly focused on two characters, one named Lennie who’s mentally ill and who’s incapable of anything except the needs of physical strength. And another named George, who is smart but caught in the guilt of Lennie’s needs. Meaning, he was and got stuck with Lennie because Lennie ‘s guardian who was George’s friend died so Lennie had no one except his friend George. They together travel as poor migrant workers, and what makes things worse is that Lennie doesn’t know how to stay out of trouble. George works hard in trying to keep a steady life with Lennie, but it’s literally impossible with a man like Lennie. George can’t always be with Lennie to keep him from doing things he isn’t supposed to do. Eventually they get going on a new ranch after an incident with Lennie, and Lennie 's troubles bring him to killing the Master’s son’s wife of their new ranch, where George is later forced to kill Lennie. Loneliness is displayed throughout the book through certain characters who experience it

In a society of people all in the same situations how can someone feel so alone. When lives fall apart and people have nothing to hold on to people need each other most, yet are pushed so far from others. The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, follows the storyline of two men who are displaced farm workers during the Great Depression; they travel around and stick by each other’s sides no matter the circumstance. After many jobs they end up on a farm,the farm they hope will be their last stop. The time spent on the farm is filled with blooming friendships and careless quarrels, yet with an abundance of characters and entertainment- many people on the farm feel alone and out of place. Characters such as Crooks and Curley’s wife often come to mind when the subject of loneliness is brought up. Throughout the book using characters such as Crooks and Curley's wife, John Steinbeck demonstrates that humans are immensely impacted by separation from society and it will change the way that people will act and show themselves to others.

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.

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.

Loneliness is present throughout this novel. For example, this isolation is shown when the ranch hands go into town on Saturday night to ease their loneliness with alcohol and women. Similarly, Lennie goes into Crook's room to find someone to talk, and later Curley's wife comes for the same reason. Crooks says, “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”. (72) Even Slim mentions, “I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean.” (41) George’s taking care of Lennie and the dream of the farm are attempts to break the pattern of loneliness which is part of the human condition. Lennie's desire to pet soft things comes from his need to feel safe and secure, to touch something that gives him that feeling of not being alone in the world. For Lennie, the dream of the farm parallels that security. However, George and Lennie are not the only characters who struggle against loneliness, the theme of loneliness is most notably present in Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife. They all fight against their isolation in whatever way they can. For example, until its death, Candy's dog stopped Candy from being alone in the world. After its death, Candy struggles against loneliness by sharing in George and Lennie's dream. Curley's wife is also lonely

In the novel “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck demonstrates the incapability and isolation for ranch workers to endure and survive with loneliness and how they handle it.

In Of Mice and Men, we have a plethora amount of the feeling of isolation and loneliness with these characters.Crooks is talking to Lennie in his little room about what if George never comes back. After Lennie says that nobody will talk any hurt about George; Crooks said gently, “Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you didn't have anybody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that? S’pose you had to sit out here an’ read books. Sure you could play

In Of Mice and Men, Lennie and George are portrayed by Steinbeck as the exception to lonesomeness, as demonstrated through the literary device of dialogue, such as “Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you.” (Steinbeck, page 15-16). In The Yellow Wallpaper, Gilman shows loneliness in Jane, through extensive internal dialogue and description of her isolation. An example of this is when Jane tells her diary “Of course I don’t [cry] when John is here, or anybody else, but when I am alone. And I am alone a good deal just now.” (Gilman). The seclusion that Jane feels in the story inevitably contributes to her descent into madness. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses foreshadowing to infer the presence of isolation in the novel; even through the name of the town “Soledad”, translating to solitude. Another example of Steinbeck portraying loneliness is the poor relationship between Curley and his wife. Curley’s wife is made to feel so isolated on the ranch that she turns to Lennie for someone to talk to; this shows the seclusion and control she must feel from her husband. “I get lonely,” “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad.” (Steinbeck, page 85). Similarly, John is very controlling of Jane in The Yellow Wallpaper. While Curley and John have very different intentions, each of the women are made to feel alone, and ultimately placed into the positions that lead to their deaths. Steinbeck and Gilman utilize these techniques, to successfully commentary how loneliness and isolation, can contribute to a fruitless

‘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

At some point in one’s life there is not only contentment or grief, but a state of loneliness. Loneliness is a part of human life, although some suffer from isolation more than others. Being lonely can lead to depression or create a different persona in oneself. Struggling through isolation can eventually kill one’s soul, expecting no hope or ending up in dangerous situations. The novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck portrays the theme of loneliness especially through two characters. Crooks and Curley’s wife experience the state of isolation as they crave for a friend or someone they can talk with. Steinbeck urges readers to feel pathos when analyzing Crooks and Curley’s wife through the nature of their isolation, their actions and