Overcoming Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men?

Loneliness is a key point in the novel Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck. Candy, Crooks and Slim are characters in this novel. They live on a ranch, they all are lonely either because of isolation, they got something taken away or just alone. In the novel Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, loneliness is overall a bad feeling that can still be felt when surrounded by others.

The year is 1937 and our two main characters, Lennie and George, are found wondering about the wilderness south of Soledad, California due to an incident with Lennie and a woman. Early on it becomes evident that Lennie and George are vastly different. George is a man of wit while Lennie is a physically powerful man who is intellectually limited(5). They are roaming ranch hands in search of labor. George is told of a farm a few miles away with two job openings.

“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” This quote, written by Jodi Picoult, explains the true meaning of how people can become lonely. Sometimes people’s differences can cause others to push them away. In the fictional novella, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, he displays this notion through the diversity of his characters.

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.

“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 the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck addresses the theme of loneliness and isolation. The novel tells the story of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who while traveling together chase the American Dream. This becomes difficult because society misunderstands Lennie’s thought process. This gets him into trouble that George has to get him out of. This connection George and Lennie shared was rare for workers during this era. Migrant workers never stayed in one location for too long. They also traveled by their lonesome. Not only this, but many people were also social outcasts and shunned by society. Steinbeck establishes the theme of loneliness and isolation, a very common problem throughout the Great Depression, by telling of those that are alone and others actions towards them.

“Of Mice and Men” is written by John Steinbeck, published in 1937, it was set in the 1930’s during the Great Depression in California. George and Lennie are the two protagonist characters; they are farm workers who have a dream of one day owning their own ranch. They find work in a ranch near Soledad and are met by different characters, most of which are lonely and the only thing keeping them alive is their dreams. Loneliness is the unpleasant emotional response to isolation and lack of companionship, in the novel “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck portrays the theme of loneliness and isolation effectively through key fictional characters. This essay will describe the way loneliness is shown in “Of Mice and Men.”

During the 1930’s there wasn’t much happiness, most people who didn’t own land had a rough go of things, and they most definitely weren’t good times. So with that, the theme for the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, is loneliness, a character that represents this theme is Lennie. E= As most of us who have read the book know, John Steinbeck portrayed the character Lennie, as being a little bit “slow. L= He in fact, was the only man at the ranch, that was “slow”. George, Lennie’s caretaker, even mentioned this to the boss when they both first arrived at the ranch telling the boss, “He ain’t too bright, but he’s a hell of a good worker”.

Loneliness is an experience that innumerable individuals go through when they have no one on their side to be their companion. Steinbeck achieves in making this theme function with characters in the short story of “Of Mice and Men”, that immediately makes readers step in the characters’ shoes and eventually remember about situations that have been difficult to forget. Steinbeck’s use of the word Soledad, is significant to give the meaning lonely to this town to make the readers get a feeling of a depressing environment all the characters live during the Great Depression. During the Great Depression ever soul actually terrors the sensation of loneliness. Such as, George, Candy, Carlson and Curley’s wife.

Throughout our lives, we find that we just aren't ourselves without a companion, someone to watch our back, someone we can talk to through rough times. Sometimes when we find ourselves lost in life we go to some of our best friends in search for some advice. Its just the nature, the nature in every living thing that pulls us towards a specific companion’(s), to help us complete the journey that is life. Life is not so easy without a friend, the feeling of loneliness that some of us were lucky enough to never come across. Just as shown in Of Mice and Men, a novel that shows what good a companion can do for you in life.

Loneliness: A Desolate Hill It should not be possible for two people to be as close as brothers yet both be completely alone, however, in the novella Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie and George are two very close friends who are practically each in their own world. Lennie and George have been traveling together for a very long time and have always were always there for each other. Lennie is shown throughout the book as having a severe mental illness that makes him have the mind of a young child.

Almost everyone, in the book Of Mice and Men, was lonely in some type of way. The town Soledad actually means solitude, implying that loneliness was a definite theme in the book (Leaf). For instance Crooks, the black stable hand lives alone. Being the only black person on the ranch, he often keeps his distance from the others (Steinbeck 74). He cannot work with other, because of his crooked back, taking away his opportunity to ever work with the other men (Steinbeck 66). He loved to read and because he was so lonely he liked to clean to occupy his time (Steinbeck 67). He’s not allowed to stay in the bunkhouse because the others do not like to socialize with him. Crooks feel like no one likes him because he is black. He says in the book, “Guys

In an every man for himself society, do people face loneliness? John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men revolves around the strong bond between George and Lennie and contrary to many in the time period, the two characters show no sign of discrimination and work together to achieve their American Dream. When they arrive to work at a farm, several of the other characters see the friendship between George and Lennie and begin to express their loneliness. During the Great Depression, men and women alike had no one to turn to in the every man for himself society as portrayed by Steinbeck’s characters: Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy.

John Steinbeck did see what was going on and he wanted to have the readers of his book see it, too. George and Lennie are put in this book to show that loneliness is also a factor. One good way that Steinbeck presents this is the explanation that George tells Lennie about the guys like them. “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on to some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to (Steinbeck 13).” Steinbeck is correct with his point that they are all alone.