The Theme Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men By Stienbeck

“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.

In chapter three, an older migrant worker called Candy explains to George how he lost his hand on the ranch and was compensated with a “swampin” job and 250 dollars. Because of Candy’s older age, readers can infer that he has outlived many of his friends and family members; consequently, Candy feels all alone and longs to find a “family” before he dies. Knowing that Candy doesn’t have any remaining family helps the audience understand why he struggled so much with Carlson’s proposal to end his dog’s suffering: “I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup… You wouldn’t

Loneliness is a revolving topic throughout the book. Many characters are impacted by it and this changes the outcome of the book. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, he develops the concept of loneliness through Candy's disability, Crooks unable to fit in, and Curley's wife in order to demonstrate that loneliness impacts people by causing anger and depression.

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

Loneliness can be caused from a lack of activity and communication with anyone. People become upset when their lives go downhill but if they do not do anything to change it then that is there own fault. In the book Mice and Men,John Steinbeck develops the concept of loneliness through Candy’s age, Crooks race and Curley’s wife’s gender in order to demonstrate that loneliness can cause people to act out and become depressed.

“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.

During this time, Lennie and George also experience how cruel the real world can be, and realize that even though they are working for basically scraps, they had to settle because their job options were limited. Soon after, Candy’s wife comes looking for him, and Lennie then comments on her beauty to George. George, knowing that this would not end well, quickly reminded Lennie of his previous run in with women and how they were kicked out of the previous city because of it. (Steinbeck 97). George then asks Slim, another ranch worker, if he could have one of his puppies to comfort Lennie because he is getting somber at how the ranch owners are treating him (Steinbeck 101).

Lennie and George are two migrant workers during the Great Depression in the 1930’s who travel to a farm in California to work where they meet many people including Candy, Curley's wife and Cooks. All three of these characters are discriminated against, whether it be through ageism, sexism, or racism. Notably, the theme of loneliness is revealed in John Steinbecks novella Of Mice and Men through the isolation felt by Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks. In chapter three, an older migrant worker called

“Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck is a novel that illustrates the theme of loneliness through out its’ story. The central relationship between George and Lennie is a bond based on preventing the loneliness of a farmhands life. The minor characters such as Crooks and Candy, reveal their loneliness in the story as well. Finally, the main plot twist of the story, the death of Curley’s wife, was a result of a situation caused by loneliness.

“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). Loneliness can negatively impact peoples lives by causing them to act, look, speak different and be less of themselves. Loneliness isolates and dehumanizes the victim.

Candy is a old handicapped man with his left hand cut off, he got his left hand cut off in a machine. He can only do simple jobs like wash the dishes and work in the garden, this isolates him from the other workers. Candy’s only friend was a dog and later in the story a character named Carlson shot his dog and this makes him lonelier. After he talked to George and Lennie about the money that he has in the bank George includes him in there dream to own a ranch to themselves but that dream sonly ended when Lennie accidently killed Curley’s

The theme of loneliness is conveyed through the characters of Lennie, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife. As George is away tending the whore house, Lennie experiences what it is like to be alone. For example, Lennie goes and visits the stable buck in the barn. With Crooks testing Lennie and asking him what would he do if George did not come back, Lennie freaks out and hopes that he will not always have to be alone. Crooks has been lonely for pretty much his whole life. For example, his parents told him he cannot play with the white kids or be friends with white people. He is also the stable buck on the ranch and cannot be in the same house as everyone else nor talk to anybody. Candy lives everyday alone without his best friend by his side anymore.

In fact, after overhearing the plans of George and Lennie 's dream farm, candy confides in george that he “ … ain 't much good with only one hand” (59) and “he won 't have no place to go…” (61). Pleading to be included in their dream, candy continued his attempts to convince George: “ I’d make a will an’ leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, ‘cause I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing” (59). Understanding just how important security is to his own future, Candy hopes he can tempt George with his life’s savings and seal the deal when he mentions he had no living relatives to either help him or benefit from his death. Scared and embarrassed, Candy never comes straight out and admits how ageism has affected him, but he does express his feelings of fear and his desire to feel like he belongs when he comments to George, “They’ll can me purty soon. Just as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunkhouses…” (60). Without any family or friends,without a job or any money, Candy latches on to the idea of owning land together: “ And’ it’d be our own an’ nobody could can us” (58). Unfortunately, since Candy is much older than the other ranch workers, he often feel left out and lonely amongst a group of young, healthy men. Despite his insecurities, Candy still wants to contribute to something to society to help provide him with a sense of purpose and to help him feel like someone still needs him.

Candy also has a desire for companionship and the security that comes with owning a piece of land, which is why he is so eager to join George and Lennie on their pursuit of the American dream

Loneliness could occur in anyone's life at any point and time, whether it is caused by ones difference from the majority of people, or it is that nobody shows interest in you overall. This is easily found in John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, where numerous characters happen to have experience with severe loneliness. The novel was set in a 1930s timeline when elderly, coloured skinned, and women were treated very poorly, and isolated from society. The time setting was the major cause for the occurrence of loneliness. Various characters, such as Cand, Crooks, and Curley’s wife have played key roles to make the theme of loneliness notable. Along with how it was caused, and how these people fought or accepted their isolation.