Loneliness Portrayed In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck

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

“‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world’”(Steinbeck 13). In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, we look at how the strong prey on the weak. Set during the Great Depression, Steinbeck reveals loneliness within many of his characters through the isolation felt by Candy, Lennie, and Curley’s wife. During this time, migrant workers were people who just needed a job and leaped at every opportunity, so they will pack up their things and move from job to job. Like Lennie, George is also a migrant worker.

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.

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

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.

In the novel, “Of Mice and Men” is mostly about how lonely and isolated the characters are. Many of the characters such as Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife face a lot of loneliness. Some of these characters can be lonely for various reasons some because of the color of their skin and others because they are too old and others have someone but feel unwanted. John Steinbeck, uses these characters to deliver the greater message that no matter how you look or who you are, you face loneliness. Many of the characters feel lonely and isolated.

“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.

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck discusses the idea of loneliness and how people who work at the ranch have no family and no future in lives. He indicates that all people at the ranch are lonely, but he specifically uses a few characters to highlight their state of being lonely and more miserable than the others. He emphasizes the loneliness of ranch life during the Great Depression, and shows how people are willing to try and find friendship in order to escape from the state of loneliness. Steinbeck uses loneliness as the principal theme and issue among Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks to show their desire in pursuing companionship, attention and success.

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.

Loneliness plays a large role in developing themes and characters throughout the novel Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a story about the lives of most American workers during the Great Depression. The story follows two friends, George and Lennie, as they try to get enough money to buy their own piece of land in Salinas, California, which seems like an impossible dream. Along the way, George and Lennie meet many other workers struggling with a common problem, loneliness. Throughout the story, it is made clear that everyone is lonely and is longing for companionship, even though no one can truly find friendship in the harsh world they live in. Three of the loneliest characters in the novel are Candy, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks.

People believe that loneliness is only experienced by people who are alone. This, however, is not the case. Throughout the story, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck developed many thought provoking topics, lessons and themes in his story about many unique people who were working on a farm in Salinas, California during the Great Depression. These were shown through the character’s actions and beliefs in the book. Steinbeck believes that, as humans, it is possible to feel loneliness even if we are not alone because some people don’t feel as if they have someone that will care to listen to them and talk to them.

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,

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’.

“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.

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