Loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Essay

In the novel Of Mice of Men, George Milton was forced to care for a man with the brain of a child. The man’s name was Lennie Small. George acted like a father rather than a friend to Lennie. George was never able to embrace Lennie’s good qualities. Instead, George focused on his bad ones and looked at Lennie as someone who was useless to him. Lennie was much more than that, but George could not see past it. George showed no compassion toward Lennie and hardly cared about how he felt. Thus, George was not a good friend to Lennie because he did some things behind his back, yelled at him constantly, and bossed him around.

Throughout Of Mice and Men, George never leaves Lennie’s; however, George does not seem to like being around Lennie: it is a responsibility he accepts. In one scene at the beginning of the book, George grows intensely frustrated with Lennie and begins a lecture which leads into a one-sided fight. They settle down for the night next to a river, when one insignificant question from Lennie sets George over the edge. He chides Lennie about how he holds him back instead of pushing him forward, and rants, “‘You can’t keep a job and you lose me every job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble’” (11). As George berates Lennie, he gives the impression that he does not enjoy being with Lennie and instead, treats Lennie like he is an unintelligent child and grudgingly takes him in. If George claims to be a suitable friend of Lennie,

George was the most important character in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck; if he was not in the book Lennie would not have had anyone to guide him in the right direction. George also changed the most throughout the duration of the book. He went from a determined working man, whose only worries were caring for Lennie and finding a job, to a man whose end goal was completing his dream of living on a small farm with Lennie and Candy, owning rabbits and other livestock so they could “.. live off the fatta the lan’” (Steinbeck 14)

Each character has a sense of loneliness about them and some more than others. George and Lennie are strangely looked at by the other characters in the Of Mice and Men. This is because they travel around together. For example when the boss greets them for the first time he think that George is pulling the wool over Lennie’s

In Of Mice and Men, the three most present motifs were belonging, sacrifice, and brotherhood. Each character in Of Mice and Men suffered because they constantly were battling with their inner loneliness. They all felt isolated to a point that when George and Lennie arrived at the ranch together, everyone was shocked. All of the characters were used to fending for themselves, which made Lennie and George’s bond so unusual. Curley’s wife exhibited the greatest degree of loneliness, especially when she opened up to Lennie at the end of the book.

Of Mice And Men “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.” In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, one of the main themes is loneliness. It’s is shown through the book in many of the characters.

“Guys like us...are the loneliest guys in the world”(Steinbeck 15). Loneliness as a common feeling by the millions of migrant workers all over the United States during the Great Depression. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, set in this era, depicts a story of loneliness within an old man named Candy; a young woman known as Curley’s Wife; and a discriminated African American named Crooks, on a barely farm in California. The ranch is filled with migrant workers, but two stick out more than all the others. George and Lennie have a dream for their future, and they plan plan to pursue their own land. Together they support each other while still surrounded by a sea of broken and isolated souls. The theme of

George is Lennie’s best friend and his only friend. He looks out for Lennie and takes care of him. George is a much smaller guy than Lennie but is like Lennie’s older brother. He does all the thinking for Lennie; he feeds Lennie, and does what’s best for Lennie. Unlike Lennie, George is all there in the head that is why George watches over Lennie and protects him. George does what’s best for Lennie.

responds to his friend, "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in

In the story George’s character is revealed in how he treats Lennie. In the beginning of the book George is quick to be harsh and frustrated with taking care of Lennie. He is often verbally abusive to Lennie and considers Lennie a nuisance to have around. George is also hasty to remind Lennie of the ideal life he could have had without Lennie, full of cat houses, whisky, and card games. “‘Why, I could stay in a cat house all night. I could eat any place I want … and order any damn thing I could think of…. An’ whatta I got,’ George went on furiously. ‘I got you!’” (Steinbeck 12). Although George is quickly angered he is still grateful to have his friend, Lennie, to travel with. This gratitude becomes even more evident by the end of the story when George is prepared to kill Lennie. At this time George reflects on all of the wonderful effects Lennie

(Steinbeck __). This quote from Crooks in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men shows the impact loneliness can have on a person. This theme correlates to George’s relationship with Lennie in the same novel. Steinbeck characterizes George as a man that is both quick to anger, but is also very close to Lennie, his developmentally challenged friend. These traits lead to George’s internal conflict of either leaving Lennie behind or staying with him.

In the book, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, loneliness is a big part of many characters’ lives. Curley’s wife can’t talk to anyone, George didn’t have anyone to share his troubles with, and Candy doesn’t have anyone either.

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world…” (Steinbeck 13). In the novel Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck writes about two guys named Lennie and George but he also writes through his characters about loneliness and what it can do to people. Loneliness is a powerful emotion because people need people to keep on going in life; loneliness is shown by the characters of Candy, an elderly man; crooks, the only African American on the ranch and Curley’s wife; the only female on the ranch.

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck explored the ideas of loneliness and how it affects a person; he showed us through the characters actions how having someone to talk to in your life can make such a difference. Crooks was a man that was “sick” from loneliness, nobody ever talked to him because the color of his skin. Lennie was free from this “sickness” because he had George to talk to and share his feelings with. Lastly, George dodged this feeling of loneliness because he had Lennie and was socially accepted at the ranch. George and Lennie were able to avoid the feeling of loneliness because they had each other, Crooks on the other hand was sick because he completely lonely.

“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty”. Mother Teresa was a very well known saint and an extremely powerful speaker who changed the lives of millions. Loneliness is like a disease that crawls its way into a heart and eats it away until there is nothing left to take. John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men does an excellent job of highlighting the damages of loneliness and prejudice. Beginning with the characters, George and Lennie on their way to the ranch that they are to begin working on the next morning when they are then introduced to Candy, Crooks, Curley and Curley’s wife. Steinbeck uses the characters George, Lennie, Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy to skillfully paint a picture of loneliness and prejudice and the pain and suffering caused by them.