Of Mice And Men Loneliness Essay

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

  Mother Theresa once said, "Loneliness is a man's worst poverty." Without friends and companions, people begin to suffer from loneliness and solitude (Dusenbury 38). Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life and cannot be avoided, as shown prevalent through each of the characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Each and every character in this novel exhibits loneliness. Lennie was isolated for being mentally handicapped, Candy was isolated for being old and disabled, Crooks was for being black, Curley's wife for being a woman, and George for having to care for Lennie and being unable to socialize with others because of Lennie's consistency of getting into trouble from town

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is book of many themes; one that is very prominent is loneliness. Loneliness is common in many people's lives and that is also true for the lives of the characters of the book. Almost all characters in the book are lonely in one way or the other.

Loneliness is the sadness resulting from being isolated or abandoned. Being lonely is almost always directly connected to relations between people, or the lack there of. Mother Teresa once said “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” In John Steinbecks classic novel, Of Mice And Men, the three characters, Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy struggle with loneliness in different forms because of characteristics that they can’t control. All three characters deal with their loneliness by searching for companionship with others on the ranch and this works out differently for each of them.

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.

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

John Steinbeck develops crooks through his loneliness because of his unableness to fit in the farm. Crooks has trouble fitting in because of his race, on the farm he feels left out because not everyone is expecting with him. Crooks has a difficulty with everyone on the farm because he is different from everyone and he can’t do the same activities with them. Crooks has no one on the farm that accepts him and it is hard for crooks not to alone. One time Lennie looked for a dog and went into Crooks room “You got no right to come in my room”. Crooks isn't used to anyone being in his room and when people do he gets annoyed, but this one time when Lennie walked in Crooks allowed him to stay because he wanted to have company and felt comforted with Lennie with him. Crooks can't be with any of the other farmers , and has always been lonely. Many of them don't spend time with him which caused him to be depressed, “Maybe you guys better go. I ain't sure I want you in here no more. A colored man got to have some rights even if he don't like 'em"Pg 90. All the men on the farm don't give the same rights to crook sas the other

When Lennie comes in and does not have any intention of hurting him, he realizes it and he let's his guard down. It may seem that he doesn't desire friendships or affection, but he no longer knows how to deal with his loneliness. It has made him into another person.

The ranch is the main setting of the book and the home of all loneliness. Ranchmen “are the loneliest men in the world” this is because “they got no family” and “don’t belong no place”. Steinbeck describes ranch life for the average man through George and Lennie. They are telling themselves this to make them feel that they have “got a future” men during the great depression lives to work they would move from city to city just to find work, no time for a family. The ranch is also very separate having different rooms for everything and the men being very reserved. All they have are “articles, soap and talcum powder, razors and western magazines”. All these items are very impersonal and lonely. They don’t have photos or letters from loved ones. The ranch men had “apple boxes” as shelves “big square table” for them to play “solitaire” on. Also everybody is very separate and never share anything they have. What also make the ranch even lonelier are all the characters.

One character that shows loneliness throughout the novel is Lennie. The first reason Lennie faces loneliness is because he is very dependent on George. Lennie demonstrates loneliness when he says, “George, you want I should go away and leave you alone...Well, I could. I could go off in the hills there. Someplace I’d find a cave” (p.12). Lennie offers to leave George and be on his own, but Lennie is not capable of leaving George. He would not know how to function or live life without George right by his side. Another reason Lennie faces loneliness is because he suffers from a mental disability. His mental disability is apparent during his encounter with Curley. “Lennie gave a cry of terror. Blood welled from his nose. ‘George,’ he cried. ‘Make ‘um let me alone, George’... Lennie’s hands remained at his sides; he was frightened to defend himself” (p.63). He is unable to make the decision to defend himself because of

The book Of Mice And Men is set a few miles south of Soledad, which

Lennie is tall and powerful, but he has the mind of a child. He travels with George who tells people they are related. George tells people he has to take care of Lennie because he got kicked in the head by a horse which caused Lennie to be slow-witted. Lennie's loneliness come from the fact that he is both mentally retarded and

Throughout the book Lennie seems to have one important task and that is keeping his friendship with George, although Lennie is often pushed to the side by his best friend (Steinbeck 2). Lennie can be described as lonely, because George forces him to stand-alone and remain quiet. Lennie is rarely allowed to speak when it comes to meeting the boss, but his work skill impressed the bosses and always secured them a job (Steinbeck 22). His condition sometimes causes others not to understand him (Steinbeck 43). Lennie cannot comprehend like the others, so he is not really allowed to hang with them (Atell).

He felt ashamed after George lectured him about their previous job. George shouted at Lennie about having to hide in an irrigation ditch after dark and sneak out of the country (Steinbeck 11). This quote shows Lennie doesn't always know what he does wrong, but when he's told, it can make him feel upset and lonely. Next, Lennie realizes what he has done wrong. He panics, telling himself had done another bad thing before running away (Steinbeck 92). This quote indicates how Lennie feels alone and separate from everyone else when he sees what he has done wrong. Lastly, he misunderstands himself and his strength. George explained to the other men, "Lennie was just scairt. He didn't know what to do. I told you nobody ought never to fight him" (Steinbeck 65). This passage suggests that Lennie feels misunderstood and even lonely due to the fact that he gets scared, hurts others, and is unaware of how strong he is. Loneliness is shown in a unique way through Lennie in the novel.

Lennie is very childish, which makes it hard for him to speak to people. Steinbeck makes this very obvious because anytime someone asks Lennie a question George is always there to help him answer the question. No one