Of Mice And Men Essay On Loneliness

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

Steinbeck has written of Mice and men in a time period where men travelled alone and rarely sent time with other people. This is reflected in the characters of the novel, who are all lonely however some are lonelier than others. These include Crooks, Candy, Curley and Curley’s wife. They all have the hope of achieving their own dreams, which is the cause of their loneliness.

The loneliness is maintained by the challenges that the characters have to face, and they sustain those challenges of being inhumane towards each other. Crook, a figure in the story who experiences discrimination encounters the challenge of race, due to the book’s setting in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Crook is a black American man who is excluded from activities and has to occupy a room in a stable, and he is not allowed in the bunkhouse for it is only for the white men. Crooks tries to defend himself by saying “You got no rights comin ' in a colored man 's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all” (Steinbeck 4.80). but Curley 's wife replies: “Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy, it ain 't even funny" (Steinbeck 4.81). At this point, he resorts to backing down and replying “Yes, ma’am" (Steinbeck 4.81). He acknowledges the fact he will be and always has been discriminated against because of the certain colour of his skin. Equally important, Candy who is described as "a tall, stoop-shouldered old man … He was dressed in blue jeans and carried a big push-broom in his left hand" (Steinbeck 1.18). His right hand is simply a

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 this essay I will show how Steinbeck presents Curley’s wife in a number of ways throughout the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’, showing both how she is portrayed as a ‘nice girl’ as well as a ‘floozy’. This novel was set during the great depression and is written around two key themes of the American dream, which every ‘ranch hand’ owned their own patch of land, and loneliness, the only common feeling that each individual in the novel feared. Loneliness was the main theme that caused Curley’s wife to be interpreted in a negative way by the other ranch men.

Because of Crooks’ crooked spine and his skin color, Crooks is more stationary than most other men. This also means that on the ranch, Crooks is left alone because he is black and is lonely because he is looked down on and treated as being inferior to everyone else. Curley’s wife is very different from Crooks when it comes to physical attributes. “A girl was standing there looking in. She had full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers” (Steinbeck 31). Curley’s wife is white and because she is married to the boss’s son, she is treated with more respect than most of the working men. Because she is the only woman on the ranch, she cannot talk to and do anything with any other women. Since Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch, she becomes very lonely and ends up flirting with the other working men on the ranch, like Slim, Candy, and Lennie. Crooks and Curley’s wife are very different when it comes to physical attributes, because Crooks is treated as being inferior and Curley’s wife is treated with more respect than any worker. But, both Crooks and Curley’s wife’s physical appearance make them lonely. Crooks is lonely because he is a cripple and black, so people tend to keep

Well I think curley’s married a tart.” This connects to my thesis because she is trying to get attention from the men on the ranch. Slim isn’t the only person who she has giving “the eye” All the men on the ranch knows she flirts with everyone she wants someone to pay attention to her because her husband doesn't give her attention. Curley’s wife tells lennie she could’ve had a better life. Curley's wife feels she could’ve had a better life before and wouldn't be living like she is living right now.

The other men on the ranch make an effort to avoid her in fear of getting fired; the men suspect Curley will fire them if they are caught talking to Curley's wife. Curley's wife is not solely lonely because she is a woman, but rather her connection to the boss of the ranch is the major root of her loneliness. Much like Crooks, Curley’s wife is an outcast in society. Curley’s wife implies this while talking to Lennie and explains, “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to no one but Curley. Else he gets mad.

Candy was the first person to find Curley’s wife, dead in the barn. He then went out of the barn and obtains George’s attention then brings him in. As George and Candy

Lois Lowry wrote “The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it. Memories need to be shared,” in The Giver. This is an important lesson we all must learn……………. Through the use of conflict in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, he illustrates how we must stay together and what happens if we don’t.

The theme of loneliness is shown in Lennie, Crooks, Candy, and Curly's wife. These four characters feel loneliness from not having someone there for them at all times. When George is gone Lennie has nobody. Lennie and George are always together so when George leaves Lennie feels lonely. For example, when George goes to the another ranch to work. Crooks is lonely because he has no wife. For example, Crooks is an older man so he has a harder time to get around and to welcome people in. Candy is a one handed lonely man who only has a job because of when he first worked its two hands. Candy is the old man swamper who is lonely because he has no company. For example, Candy lives with nobody. He only attends the cattle when needed. He has no other

We are introduced to the character of Curley’s wife in chapter two. Up until this point, George and Lennie have just arrived on the ranch. They are greeted by ‘the old man’(Candy). Candy is a long-term swamper who has no real friends other than his companion dog. In efforts to befriend George and Lennie, Candy takes the opportunity to help them accustom to the ranch. A quick profile of the boss is followed by a low down on Curley and his wife. Candy portrays a negative impression of Curley’s wife and even goes as far as describing her a ‘tart’. Aswell as this he goes on to say that she ‘She got the eye’. This gives the reader the impression that Curley’s wife is promiscuous. Women of promiscuous character are shamefully looked down upon by society

Rosalind Wiseman once said, “Social Isolation is one of the most devastating things you can do to a human being.” In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the characters explain what it's like to be lonely and isolated. As George and Lennie go around looking for work, they land a job at a farm and most the people at the farm, including George and Lennie, tell about how they are lonely all while working on the farm. Lennie ends up killing Curley's wife as she explains to him how she is lonely Steinbeck uses the characters Candy, Crooks, and George to show loneliness and isolation and how it affects them in the story.

In of Mice and Men, the men working on a ranch communicates a sense of loneliness and isolation. First, they are there by themselves with no families or good friends. Second, they have got no real homes, nor a permanent job. Third, they have concerns about being kicked out of a job, if anything goes wrong. In addition, Curley’s wife is lonely because she has no one to talk with sincerity, nor someone who listens to her sincerity. The people in ranch try not to imply with any matter of her; meanwhile, she isolates herself from other people by showing herself as a flirty and mean women, and she longs for attention. On the other hand, Crooks is an older man who lives by himself in his own bunk; he takes care of the horses on the ranch, and he

Mother Teresa once said, “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved”. Loneliness and feeling unloved can be two different things, but they can also go together. When someone feels unloved they may also feel lonely, and when someone is lonely it may be because they feel unloved. People look for friends and someone to talk to, someone to be there for them, but not everyone gets to have that feeling of comfort and friendship and so they feel lonely. In the novella Of Mice And Men by: John Steinbeck loneliness is a major factor for the character Lennie. Loneliness leads this special character down a path, and affects his decisions throughout the story.