Theme Of Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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.

“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.

A different form of isolation is evident in being the only person of a certain characteristic, like being the only person of a certain race surrounded by racists. An example of this is Crooks. The men on the ranch refer to him without using his name, calling him a ‘stable buck’ on pages 29 and 30, a derogatory term that refers to an African-American doing dirty work. Steinbeck’s description of Crooks’ living conditions in chapter 4 is direct evidence of his alienation: “For, being alone, Crooks could leave his things about, and being a stable buck and a cripple, he was more permanent than the other men” (pgs. 66-67). He shares very few characteristics with the other men on the ranch,

Steinbeck uses the ranch workers to express the emotion of isolation so that we can easily engage with the emotion by realising what it was like for a ranch worker back in the day. As George is a ranch worker and feels isolated, Lennie on the other end who has a serious mental disability and is often referred to a child does not understand the emotion of isolation that George feels, because he is oblivious due

Crooks was a solitary man as well, being forced by the social boundaries at the time to keep to himself. He could not even make the idle chit-chat that the other men could to occupy themselves and sidestep the preliminary loneliness of working away from family. He was separated not only mentally but physically; “Crooks … had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn.” (Steinbeck 33) Crooks, who hailed from a different line of descent than the men surrounding him, was forced by the ethics of the era to stay separated. He had no one to confide in at all. He never mentions family, only lending to the fact that he has himself alone to talk to at all save when people give orders to him around the ranch. It is loneliness at its most concentrated. Not only was he separated but “[He] wasn’t wanted in the bunkhouse …” Not only is loneliness defined as being without companions and solitary, but as being “sad because one has no friends or company.” Not being wanted only makes one sad, and having no one to talk to makes Crooks a perfect match for the definition of loneliness. With Crooks, Steinbeck overwhelmingly makes the theme of loneliness readily apparent.

Although Crooks’ character seems to have changed to a cruel and bitter person, Crooks wants more than anything else the sense of belonging. As a black person, he cannot have the same pleasures a white man, so he must take any chances given to him. Because of his limitations, Crooks must isolate himself and has to take any opportunity to some

Loneliness is a shadowy figure that brings down whoever it attacks. During The Great Depression poverty and a struggle to live was a part of daily life. John Steinbeck’s fictional novella, Of Mice and Men, portrays how the 1930’s created loneliness. Many characters show loneliness distinctly brought on by the living conditions and the prejudice of the Depression Era. Furthermore, this loneliness leads to the shattering of dreams, isolation and a cruel nature in human beings.

Loneliness can affect people’s choices and behavior in various different ways. It is a reflection of psychological closure. In general, short-term or occasional loneliness does not cause psychological or behavioral disorders, but long-term or severe loneliness may cause certain mood disorders that reduce people's mental health. First of all, both George and Lennie are lonely. At the beginning of the story, George once says that ranch workers like Lennie and him are the loneliest guys all over the world.

The famous philosopher, Albert Schweitzer once said, “We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness.” John Steinbeck wrote the book Of Mice and Men during The Great Depression. That was a time when a lot of people experienced loneliness, hopelessness, and anger in their lives. In Of Mice and Men, the most valuable theme is loneliness; This makes a lot of sense due to the time it was written. The Great Depression was a very gloomy and lonely time.

There are many ways to show loneliness and this book really use those many ways. This book is when blacks people were separated from white people. This made it so that Crooks was separated from everyone else. He was in a different place to live, he lived in the Negro stable buck. When steinbeck says “Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his

This book is about two men named George and Lennie, who go to a ranch to earn a stake to make their dream of owning land a reality. In the novella, Steinbeck uses George and Lennie’s relationship as well as the relationship of others to focus on the importance

Loneliness is like a plague that leaves a person hollow from the inside out. After being infected from the “plague”, the only cure is companionship. In the emotional and heartbreaking novel, “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck sets the scene of two unique buddies clinging together in the face of loneliness and attention in hopes of one day achieving their American dream. At the ranch, these two buddies meet Curley’s wife and Crooks who radiate symptoms of the “plague”. Steinbeck shows how hard life can be for the ranch workers who experience a superficial sense of loneliness who don't want to be left behind by society.

People believe that loneliness is only experienced by people who are alone. This, however, is not the case. Throughout the story, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck developed many thought provoking topics, lessons and themes in his story about many unique people who were working on a farm in Salinas, California during the Great Depression. These were shown through the character’s actions and beliefs in the book. Steinbeck believes that, as humans, it is possible to feel loneliness even if we are not alone because some people don’t feel as if they have someone that will care to listen to them and talk to them.

In the story of Mice and Men and loneliness is represented in many characters. There are many reasons for the characters to be lonely. But they also have dreams, their loneliness also affects their dreams in different ways. Three characters that are lonely are Candy,Curley, and George’s are affected by their loneliness because it prevents them from pursuing it. Candy is one of these lonely characters because he is older, also he doesn't have a wife, and his dog gets shot because it is old.

Loneliness is often revealed by the desire to be superior to others; as Crooks saw weakness in Lennie, Curley’s wife saw weakness in Crooks and both used these weaknesses to feel superior to others. While many characters in the ranch are lonely in their own ways, Crooks’ loneliness is not one that could be solved by leaving the ranch and starting a family. The underlying division between races was not one he could control; his fleeting hope of joining Lennie’s farm in the future was shot down by George’s reaction, and he later reminded Candy “what [he] said about hoein’ and doin’ odd jobs…” and told him to “jus’ forget it,” (Steinbeck 83). Being left out of the daily interactions of other farmers, Crooks did not feel like he had a place in the