Essay Symbolism of Loneliness in ‘Of Mice and Men’ by Steinbeck

  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

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (Steinbeck 13). This is said by George Milton in the novella Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men takes place in California during the Great Depression. Loneliness reoccurs several times because people do not stay at a work place long enough to make friends and usually travel alone. Loneliness is the main theme of Of Mice and Men because many characters deal with being lonely in different ways. It affects people who are looked down on because of their gender, race, and ability.

     There is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness leads to low self-estee. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters, Crooks, Candy, and Curly’s wife all show some form of loneliness. They are curious of George and Lennie’s friendship because they do not have that support in their life. Through his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates that many times, a victim of loneliness will have a never-ending search to fulfill a friendship.

The novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck contains an evident theme of loneliness and isolation. Steinbeck uses his characters to invoke this theme throughout the novella. One character that is able to portray this perfectly is Curley's wife. John Steinbeck's main message through the use of the theme of loneliness, is that it's better to isolate oneself from others in order to achieve your goals.

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

Iman Manzoor Ms. Foster 9 Honors English 11 January 2016 Loneliness is a part of life. It is human nature to have a friend or companion to talk to, to share things with, and to help one get through the good and bad of life. When this person is absent, one tends to feel lonely and isolated. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a good example of this.

One of the main motifs that is throughout the book Of Mice and Men is loneliness. Throughout the book, the reader meets some interesting characters. These characters are interesting because they express their loneliness and their isolation. These characters embody the motif and show the reader examples of this isolation. Some of these characters are Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife.

As the Great Depression creates a sense of isolation and loneliness, two men seem to have it all figured out as they find their way through the vast land of California. During this time, men are forced into isolation and loneliness as they travel to find work, but George and Lennie represent the need for companionship as they have their whole lives planned together. In his writing, John Steinbeck uses character mannerisms, symbolism, and social injustice to show loneliness and the need for companionship in the novel, Of Mice and Men.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, he wanted people to know about loneliness. So one person that had a lot of loneliness was Crooks. In the book Of mice and Men “Had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn.(66). In the book it said that Crooks has his own room in the harness room. So that means that he cannot talk to anybody about his feelings or his thoughts. Also since he is black nobody really respects him, or wants to talk to him. Also in the book Of Mice and Men “‘Well, I got a right to have a light. You go on get outta my room, I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room.” “Why ain’t you wanted” Lennie ask.”(68). Now Crooks is telling Lennie to leave because he doesn't want

The impact of loneliness By the time certain individuals enter the world, they’ve become susceptible to others,and almost transparent to life. It's like “ trying to find a needle in a haystack.” As a whole, we want to discover the riches of life, but we can’t . In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the overarching theme is man's loneliness .

In the book of Mice and Men there are many characters that are lonely and want their dreams to come true. This quote means that the good is gone and that the evil is taking over. “ The deep pool of the Salinas river was still in the late afternoon. Already the sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains, and the hilltops were rosy in the sun. But by the pool among the mottled sycamores, a pleasant shade had fallen.” First, the people that are socially lonely in the book is Crooks and Curley's wife. ( Curley’s wife)“ After a pause Crooks said. “ Maybe you better go along to your own house now. We don’t want no trouble.” “ Well, I ain’t giving you no trouble. Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once

Many of the characters in the novel are isolated and openly discuss their feelings of loneliness and i think that most of them feel that way because the guys travel by themselves and that's one of the reasons they may feel lonely. They also might feel lonely because they don't even have a home or a place they could call their own. The reason why I think a majority of them are lonely though is because they don't have families and just having a family and spending time with them makes you feel better and since they don't have a family is probably why most of the men spend their time at susy's place. Another one of the reasons why i think that most of the men and even the people that work at the ranch are lonely is because they have almost absolutely nothing.

“‘Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place’”(Steinbeck 13). In the 1930s, a time period known as the Great Depression, a drought and improper farming techniques devastated farmlands. Consequently, many poor, jobless men became migrant workers.

Steinbeck reveals that the attitude towards old/disabled people on the farm is one of uselessness. Once someone or something is no longer physically useful it should be gone or killed. In this case, in the book Of Mice and Men, Candy, the swamper, has an old dog who he has had for all the pups life. Other than Candy’s love for the dog, there is no reason for the dog to be on the ranch due to its old age and other disabilities. In addition, the dog is smelly and his scent hangs around in the bunkhouse even after he has left the room. So, Carlson, one of the men working on the ranch, offers to kill Candy’s dog for him. Carlson said to Candy that the dog “aint no good to you...An’ he aint no good to himself” (Steinbeck 49). Carlson used those

Throughout Of Mice and Men it is clear that everyone is not equal. There is a hierarchical structure that dictates a large proportion of what the men can and can’t do, and this heavily enforces the isolation that many men on the ranch feel. It is clear that many of the men who fall low in the hierarchy are lonely, but some that at first appear to be higher in the hierarchy aren’t enjoying their privileged lives as much as they should. Regardless of what the reader thinks of him, Curley is undeniably heigh up the hierarchy and yet undeniably lonely. Although this does not make him any better of a person or any more deserving of the reader’s pity, it is still acutely clear that he is isolated, and it is partially his own fault.