Charmi Patel Barrett English 208 17 December 2014 Codependency: The Side Effect of Loneliness Sam Keen once wrote, “There are two questions a man must ask himself: The first is 'Where am I going? ' and the second is 'Who will go with me? ' If you ever get these questions in the wrong order you are in trouble" (Keen 12). It is the time of Great Depression and it is every man for himself. In this society it is typical to live and travel alone but some are unable to handle this life of loneliness and develop a reliance on codependency. Codependency is a psychological condition in which someone is in an unhealthy relationship that involves living with and providing care for another person with a pathological condition. Whether it is George codependent on Lennie or Candy dependent on his companions, the characters form a codependent relationship to avoid a life of misery. Analyzing Of Mice and Men through a psychoanalytic lens, Steinbeck elucidates the characters’ formation of unhealthy relationships, through their ego and superego, in order to satisfy their loneliness. Loneliness causes an individual to seek the company of another. George and Lennie became aware of this early on in their lives leading them to form a mutual dependence on each other. At the ranch, after being asked by Slim, George opens up about the incident in Weed, "[George] 'Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie" (Steinbeck 44). In
“Actually, feeling lonely has little to do with how many friends you have. It 's the way you feel inside. Some people who feel lonely may rarely interact with people and others who are surrounded by people but don 't feel connected” (Karyn Hall 2013). Truthfully, loneliness is something almost all people fear. It 's a deeper feeling then just being isolated. It 's feeling distant or disconnected from others. Loneliness is so much more than just feeling secluded, it 's feeling rejected by society, or even like an outcast. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck suggests that there is a deeper meaning to being lonely than just the superficial sense of
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
Friends are needed in a person’s life for emotional stability whom without would lead to a life of loneliness and solitude. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the characters Crooks, Candy and Curly’s wife exhibit a form of loneliness. They are driven to George and Lennie’s friendship because they lack support and that emotional stability in their own lives."A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't matter no difference who the guy is, longs he with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick" (Steinbeck, 13). Throughout his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows that victims of isolation crave to fulfill a companionship to fill in that void of loneliness.
A good friendship is needed to survive through tough times. Lennie respects George because George gives him comfort. George cares for Lennie so much that he considers him to be part of his family: “George said, he’s my cousin. I told his old lady id take care of him. He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid” (Steinbeck 22). Aside from comfort and advice, Lennie also needs George because when he gets in trouble, George always manages to find a way to help him get out of it. When Lennie had got in trouble in Weed, George stays by his side and gives him advice that helps remain safe and calm. George has many opportunities to leave Lennie and change his lifestyle, but he needs Lennie just as much in order to help him through his own hardships. Lennie looks
Would you like to know where and how loneliness can occur through characters in novels and in reality? Well, in the book Of Mice and Men, by Jerry Steinback a commonly occurring central problem is based off of many forms of loneliness occurring through many, if not every character besides sub characters where we do not get a deep enough of an insight to create ideas or inferences about them. Of Mice and Men, is a story mainly focused on two characters, one named Lennie who’s mentally ill and who’s incapable of anything except the needs of physical strength. And another named George, who is smart but caught in the guilt of Lennie’s needs. Meaning, he was and got stuck with Lennie because Lennie ‘s guardian who was George’s friend died so Lennie had no one except his friend George. They together travel as poor migrant workers, and what makes things worse is that Lennie doesn’t know how to stay out of trouble. George works hard in trying to keep a steady life with Lennie, but it’s literally impossible with a man like Lennie. George can’t always be with Lennie to keep him from doing things he isn’t supposed to do. Eventually they get going on a new ranch after an incident with Lennie, and Lennie 's troubles bring him to killing the Master’s son’s wife of their new ranch, where George is later forced to kill Lennie. Loneliness is displayed throughout the book through certain characters who experience it
Solidifying the theme of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the protagonist George expresses his significant loneliness despite a strong kinship with his friend Lennie, “’I ain’t got no people… I seen the guys that go around the ranches alone. That ain’t no good’” (41). Published in 1937, amidst the horrific turmoil of the Great Depression, Steinbeck’s novella struck a sensitive chord with readers. Set in the heart of California’s Central Valley, this story follows two men, George and Lennie, as they run from old shadows to a new farm for work. Clinging to the distant dream of owning their own piece of land, the men imagine life outside their present difficulties. Illustrating that life is varied by emotional complexities beyond black and white, George’s longing for companionship and family seep through in conversations with his new co-worker Slim. Despite Lennie’s sheer physical strength, his mental abilities are limited to that of a naïve, innocent, and very young boy; the result is a relationship akin to an uncle and nephew. Lennie, with primal-like behaviors and a gold-fish memory, struggles to adhere to George’s words of wisdom. In the end, tragedy strikes them both as George is forced to kill Lennie due to an accident with the son of the landowner’s wife – a woman who looks for trouble at the onset. Consequently, George’s state of loneliness is bequeathed to a new level as he begins to imagine life without Lennie in tow.
In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, he illustrates the journey George and Lennie have throughout a significant part of their lifetime. Throughout the novel, many characters, including George and Lennie, are facing lonesome and they struggle to deal with it the right way. Most of the men are all alone because they have no family left or they isolate themselves from their peers. Loneliness touches each character at some point in the novel and it really emphasizes the impact it can have on an individual. Steinbeck uses the characters Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy to develop the theme that containing loneliness will make someone’s desperation deepen.
“A guy needs somebody- to be near him...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”(Steinbeck 72). The Great Depression, which occurred in the 1930s, was rough on migrant workers, young and old, women, and black people alike. Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks undergo loneliness and discrimination during the Great Depression. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men characters Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks, like so many people during the 1930s, experience harrowing times of being isolated from everybody else during those times. The things they face are being separated in a different room, being shunned by men who think they are above them, and people thinking that they are too old and useless. The theme of loneliness is expressed and felt in the novella Of Mice and Men through the isolation and discrimination of Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks.
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.
George and Lennie are different from other workers because they have each other to look after, and Candy has his dog as a companion so he would not feel alone. Crooks yearns for companionship because he is segregated and lonely. Similarly to Crooks, Curley’s wife doesn’t have anyone and she goes around the ranch flirting with other ranchers. Ranchers yearning for companionship reveal how hard it was during the Great Depression. For example, in Life As We Know It, humans have to find a way to survive the moon eclipse, to survive they have to fight for food. Survivals had face many emotional and physical challenges, where they start feeling lonely and longing for someone to be at their side during harsh times to soothe away their loneliness. Human beings are designed to feel and think, sometimes feeling alone cause them to lose their minds, and they would do anything to have a strong relationship with someone that will help them get rid the feeling of loneliness. In Of Mice and Men, characters are struggling to find a friend that helps them get through the Great Depression. Being lonely is not easy during the Great Depression, but it causes people to forget themselves and changes them into a different
Without Lennie, George is relieved of stress and liability. George promised Clara, Lennie’s aunt, that he would take care of Lennie. Providing for Lennie was too much on George’s plate. It was more than he could handle. Often times George snapped. In chapter one, before arriving at their new job George vocalizes “God a’ mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy…I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out”(11). Taking care of Lennie took a toll on George because, Lennie has a mental disability. Lennie restricts George of opportunity and a sense of ownership. Regularly moving from job to job due to Lennie’s wrong doings, George never could settle down. For instance, Lennie and George got fired from a ranch in Weed. George explains “Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever’thing he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk...that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie.” Life without lennie simpifies life for george and protects other people and
Everyone needs companionship to truly prosper in life and be cheerful. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck this claim appears many times through characters who struggle with feeling fulfilled due to the lack of companionship. The characters are jealous of the relationship George and Lennie have because of their solitude. This envy is proven multiple times within the book with Crooks, Candy, and even Slim, showing that it is human nature to crave attention because of the fear of being alone.
When one thinks of responsibilities, things like chores probably come to mind; what one might not think of, however, are relationships. In John Steinbeck’s realistic fiction novella Of Mice and Men, it is demonstrated through multiple examples how characters feel responsible for their relationships, whether or not they want to be. Relationships, or lack thereof, were especially important in this time period because of the Great Depression. Everyone in this time felt helpless and alone; however, those who had relationships found a sliver of hope in this time of despair, and those who did not were particularly lonely. Steinbeck shows the importance of responsibility in relationships through George and Lennie, Candy and his dog, and Curley and his wife.
Many of the characters do suffer from loneliness in the novel Of Mice and Men. George lets everybody know early on in the novel that he is lonely. When George reminds Lennie that "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (Steinbeck Section 1). Men like George who travel from farm to farm usually never have anyone to look to for companionship and protection. As the story goes on, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife all state their deep loneliness. 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. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick" (80). In a world with no friends to confide in, random people will have to do. Each of the characters search for a friend, someone to confide in and be able to talk to on an everyday basis, as Crooks says. In the end, however, companionship of Curley’s kind seems impossible to find. For George, when Lennie dies, George’s dreams and hopes of finding a companion disappears.
At some point in one’s life there is not only contentment or grief, but a state of loneliness. Loneliness is a part of human life, although some suffer from isolation more than others. Being lonely can lead to depression or create a different persona in oneself. Struggling through isolation can eventually kill one’s soul, expecting no hope or ending up in dangerous situations. The novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck portrays the theme of loneliness especially through two characters. Crooks and Curley’s wife experience the state of isolation as they crave for a friend or someone they can talk with. Steinbeck urges readers to feel pathos when analyzing Crooks and Curley’s wife through the nature of their isolation, their actions and