The Theme of Loneliness in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Essay examples

One thing that can change a man is meeting another, as this gives him the opportunity of having a friend and not being alone. A person who is lonely will always search for a friendship. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters Crooks, Lennie, and Curley’s wife all exemplify loneliness and isolation.They all search for a bond in their own way.

  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

On February 27, 1902, in Salinas County, California, an American Novelist named John Steinbeck was born. He had an early appreciation for the land, in particular, California's Salinas Valley, which would be a big impact on his writing later on. Steinbeck’s life is very similar to the book he would write, Of Mice and Men, which takes place in his hometown Salinas, and also has the same theme of Steinbeck’s life. Steinbeck experienced harshness in his life, drifting out of schools for six years until he dropped out for good. There are many themes found in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, but the most significant theme is the harshness of life, which frequently appears and develops throughout the novel.

“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.

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.

How true is the statement "Guys like us are the loneliest guys in the world"

had an old dog at the beginning on the novel .He had this dog for a

Curley is very possessive of her, as if she is something that belongs to him but that everyone else desires. Curley wants the men on the ranch to know that he has something valuable that they aren’t allowed to have. Because Curley’s wife is so lonely, she is always seeking attention and putting a lot of effort into her appearance. Steinbeck writes, “She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages.” (31) Her over the top looks portrays her desperation to be noticed. Curley also restricts her from from socializing with the other ranch men, which makes her have no friends. She is unable to make any connections with the men on the ranch because everyone knows that if they talk to her, it will end up causing trouble with Curley, something every rancher is desperate to avoid. Since nobody seems to want to talk to Curley’s wife the loneliness makes her doubtful about herself. “What’s the matter with me? Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?” (Steinbeck 85). Steinbeck wants us to acknowledge loneliness and realize that sometimes people can be together and yet still be

Throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men (by John Steinbeck), loneliness is the major underlying theme of the novel. You could almost say that the book has ‘hormonal' up's and down's. Most of the characters are very lonely because they have no family. However, George and Lennie are the contradiction to this. George and Lennie's bond towards each other are so- strong that you can almost see it as you are reading the book. Candy the old crippled man wants to be part of George and Lennie's dream to own a farm and "live off the fatta the land". Curley and his dog are like the metaphor in the book for George and Lennie. Candy has to take care of his dog and George of Lennie. The other two

That was his only companion, and even though it was old he still had love for it. Carson took Candy’s only friend away when he killed it. Later on , Candy overheard Lennie and George talking about their dream of getting a house and chimed in the conversation. Since it was just him by myself now he wanted to make their idea of buying a house possible and join them, Candy says “ S’pose I went in with you guys. Thas three hundred an’ fifty bucks and I’d put in. I ain’t much good but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some. How’d that be ?” (Steinback 59) In the book it’s obvious Candy didn’t approve of his dog getting killed at all , and was sad about it. Slim tries to make light of the situation and says, “Candy you can have any one of them pups you want… Candy did not answer” (Steinback 48) . After the problem with Lennie killing Curley’s wife he still tried to bring up him and George still getting that house with the little bit of hope left he had. Candy asks George, “ You an’ me can get that little place, can't we, George ?” (Steinbeck 100)

Curley’s wife: Curley’s wife always dreamed about being a big time movie star in Hollywood but she rather got stuck in an unhappy marriage and lives on a farm in the Salinas Valley.

the only woman on the ranch she has no one to talk or gossip to. She

Candy can't be with the other men now because he has limited work contact with the other men, so he is reduced to the role of a swamper (since he is old, and badly injured). Also Candy had only one friend left in the world and that was his dog and then his dog was shot by a character called Carlson. But he is not as lonely as Crooks because he is not a (person who is disliked and

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