Loneliness Portrayed In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

One thing that can change a man is meeting another, as this gives him the opportunity of having a friend and not being alone. A person who is lonely will always search for a friendship. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters Crooks, Lennie, and Curley’s wife all exemplify loneliness and isolation.They all search for a bond in their own way.

Loneliness is a revolving topic throughout the book. Many characters are impacted by it and this changes the outcome of the book. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, he develops the concept of loneliness through Candy's disability, Crooks unable to fit in, and Curley's wife in order to demonstrate that loneliness impacts people by causing anger and depression.

Loneliness, it's a strange thing to think about since it isn't a problem these days, but during the Great Depression and times around this loneliness was not rare at all. This is why loneliness was a significant theme in the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. The most lonely characters in the story by far were Crooks (The dark man that works on the ranch), and Candy (the old one handed man that operates on the ranch). These two characters were not described directly as lonely, but it grew more noticeable the further into the story.

During the entire novel, Candy’s desperation was shown as Steinbeck’s main example of Loneliness and its impact on humans. Isolated after the loss of his hand, he is unable to work with the other men and reduced to the role of the swamper which causes Candy to feel unimportant and disposable. Candy seems to have spurts of short term depression throughout the novel. For example when candy is forced to put his dog down, “Candy did not answer. The silence fell on the room again. It came out of the night

“Pray that your loneliness may spur you into finding something to live for, great enough to die for.” Dag Hammarskiold

One of the loneliest characters in Of Mice and Men is Candy. Candy is a tall old man who works on the farm as a swamper because he lost his hand in an accident. Like most characters in the book, Candy is lonely for multiple reasons. Proof of this is when in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, when Candy says,”I’d make a will an’ leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, cause I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing”(59) The quote shows that Candy has no relatives left, probably due to his old age. Candy is also shown to have no friends other than his dog, which was shot in the back of the head by one of the other ranch workers. Candy’s dog was his only companion, other than George and Lennie, who he just met. He was so desperate for friendship that he was willing to give complete strangers all of his money, just to make friends and look forward to a better future. While Candy was very lonely, there were many other characters dealing with loneliness throughout the book.

Of Mice and Men Essay Loneliness can be an unavoidable part of life that can affect anyone. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, loneliness is an experience shared by all of the ranch workers regardless of social class demonstrated by Curley, Lennie, and Crooks who all represent different social standings. As the boss’s son, Curley is somewhat of an authority figure to the other ranch workers, though not a respected one.

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (Steinbeck 13). Loneliness affects people in different ways. Some people go out of their way to get attention from others, and others isolate themselves. In the story Of Mice and Men, some of the people living on the ranch are struggling with loneliness themselves. Loneliness affects characters in Of Mice and Men through Crooks isolating himself from others, Curley’s wife flirting with other men for attention, and Lennie worrying about George leaving him to take care of himself alone.

Through the character of Candy the author reveals the theme loneliness. Candy faces loneliness because before George and Lennie were at the bunkhouse, nobody really had talked to him or had a fond relationship. The only relationship Candy had was with his dog. Curley, Carlson, etc really only needed Candy for being a swamper and cleaning the bunkhouse. In the novel it says, “I’d make a will an leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, ‘cause I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing’.

Loneliness is an ongoing theme throughout Of Mice and Men. For example, on page 72, Crooks said, “Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody to be near him.” Due to his color, Crooks is ostracized from the other men and only has books to keep him company. He is lonely and need companionship that a book will never be able to provide. Curley’s wife is another example of loneliness. She said to Lennie on page 87, “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” Curley’s wife is frustrated that her husband doesn’t allow her to talk to anybody on the ranch but him. She gets bored of Curley and battles her loneliness by flirting with the ranchers.

“A guy needs somebody-to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody...I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick” (Steinbeck 72-73), Crooks, an african american migrant worker, explains. Loneliness is a powerful theme in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Being lonely, whatever race, gender, or belief, will make anyone go to the point of insanity where it will affect you and those around you. Taking place in the 1930’s, during the time of the Great Depression. Migrant workers commonly traveled alone at the time in search of work. But George and Lennie, the main characters of this novella, are migrant workers who travel together. Steinbeck shows how these two men stand out from the others because they look out of each other. Candy, an old migrant worker, and Crooks, an african american migrant worker also play an important role in Of Mice and Men. Both of these characters reveal how George and Lennie’s relationship is different from the rest which helps them able to have the American Dream that is so desired by everyone at the time. Consequently, the theme of loneliness is revealed in the novella through the isolation felt by Candy, Crooks, and Lennie.

He later explained how lonely he was to George and Lenny, and how he should've taken the initiative himself to put his friend to rest himself. Steinbeck shows Candy’s loneliness through his actions towards situations throughout his life and through the hope that he carried. Steinbeck showed how Candy eagerly wanted to escape his loneliness. Candy still had hope to make his life more satisfying. He did this by saving all his money and then he pounced on the opportunity to join Lenny and George to follow through with their ideal “American Dream”.

Loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men In Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, there are many different themes. One of these themes is loneliness. Loneliness can be described as a sadness because someone has no friends and company. The setting of the Story is in California, a normally happy place.

Throughout the entirety of the novella Of Mice and Men, the theme of loneliness can be seen in key points of the story, affecting many of the decisions and actions the characters make. In the book, solitude is the main fear of several individuals, yet, try as they might, none of them can escape what seems to be inevitable. Steinbeck sets out to show us this unavoidable isolation that seeks to pervade the world, through both direct and indirect means. He purposefully names the town Soledad, meaning “solitude” in Spanish, along with having George constantly playing solitaire, which is another play on words. However, he does have more outspoken ways of showing his opinions, simply by creating the characters of George, Lennie, Crooks, Old Candy,

In chapter three in Of Mice and Men, an older migrant worker called Candy explains to George how he lost his hand on the ranch and was compensated with a “swampin’” job and 250 dollars. Because of Candy’s older age, readers can infer that he has outlived many of his friends and family members; consequently, Candy feels all alone and longs to find a “family” before he dies. Knowing that Candy doesn’t have any remaining family helps the audience understand why he struggled so much with Carlson’s proposal to end his dog’s suffering: “I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup… You