Theme Of Loneliness In Mice Of Men

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

It can be argued that Crooks is the loneliest character in the novel. This is because he is segregated due to his race. He is the only black person on the ranch so has absolutely no one to talk to. The other characters think of him as being dirty and inferior to white people and Crooks himself has become so used to

Isolation and loneliness can plague even those who socialize with others the most. Although all the main characters in this novel live in such close quarters, and socialize with each other on a daily basis, they are still isolated in their own ways. There are many factors that can lead to loneliness, such as race, intelligence and general appearance. The constant fear of being lonely, can also lead a person to be even more isolated. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, isolation and loneliness are evident through several key characters; Crooks, George, and Candy.

“Language…has created the word ‘loneliness’ to express the pain of being alone. And it has created the word ‘solitude’ to express the glory of being alone.” (Paul Tillich) This quote narrates the novel, “Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck. In the first chapter, Steinbeck presents the idea of loneliness and men who work on ranches with no point in life. Steinbeck utilizes this setting to demonstrate these thoughts. The novel “Of Mice and Men”, demonstrates loneliness and isolation in the characters Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife.

Crooks is an African American working on the Ranch. Just by telling you he is African American and working on the ranch where there are all whites, I’m pretty sure you can see why he would be lonely. During this time segregation was going on a whole lot. Blacks and whites did not have great relations. In Chapter 4, when Lennie went into Crooks room; Crooks immediately wanted Lennie out. On (Pg.68) Crooks says “you go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room.” Since he has been isolated by everyone else, he does not want to be with anyone. Throughout the entire chapter Crooks talks to Lennie about his lonely and how a lonely guy is no good and can be sick. I think Crooks is a broken down man and just wants people around him to talk to but he knows he’s not accepted.

    George is lonely because he never had anyone to tell his troubles to. He could only

He hates it, but he has come to expect it, as he states, “Guys don’t come into a colored man’s room very much” (75). Crooks has reached the point in his life where he knows that he probably won’t ever have many friends, and this knowledge has made him gruff and seemingly unfriendly to those who come near him. However, once Crooks realizes that Lennie genuinely wants to sit and talk for non-discriminatory reasons, he becomes much more friendly, and he opens up about the state of his isolation, saying, “‘Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody-to be near him.’ He whined, ‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long he’s with you, I tell ya,’ he cried, ‘I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick’” (72-73). Crooks is isolated due to the social barrier of his race, and he is reduced to reading books alone, which doesn’t exactly make for a full and happy life. Due to his discrimination, he pushes anyone who tries to get close away, as he knows they will eventually join the prejudice, and will only make him more distant and lonely. He knows that his books and his work as the “stable buck” are really not at all the same as true friendship; however, there is nothing Crooks can do about it.This unfortunately seems to form a cycle where he perpetually pushes away society in an effort to not become more lonely,

In the beginning of the book, George said, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.” Since being a ranch worker is already so lonely, being the only black ranch worker would be excruciatingly lonely. Crooks has no one to chat with and only has the company of his books. Even as an introvert, I can relate to this. Although I do enjoy alone time, too much can become depressing.

I was jus’ foolin’, Lennie. ‘Cause I want you to stay with me,” this is just one of the examples of where George pursues friendship in response to the thought of being lonely(13). If George really didn’t want Lennie to be a part of his life George could have told him to leave him alone, but he really didn’t want Lennie to abandon him. Even with all the problems Lennie has caused, George sticks by his side and helps him out. George doesn’t want to lose the bond they share and end up being like the other men who don’t have any form of companionship.

Loneliness “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty” (Mother Teresa). In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, many of the characters fight with loneliness. George, Crooks, and Curley's wife deal with loneliness throughout the novel. All they want is to feel wanted, accepted, and to know someone actually cares about them. John Steinbeck uses loneliness as one of his strongest themes in his novel, written during the Great Depression to emphasize the American society.

Once George and Lennie get settled in on their new job, they meet the head skinner of the ranch named Slim, although he isn’t particularly lonely, he contributes to the idea of loneliness turning people shallow and mean. After a long day of work out in the fields Slim comments on George travelling with Lennie, emphasizing on how he liked how they had each other to care for. Continuing on with his

“Let me tell you this: if you meet a loner, no matter what they tell you, it’s not because they enjoy solitude. It’s because they have tried to blend into the world before, and people continue to disappoint them.” This quote, written by Jodi Picoult, explains the true meaning of how people can become lonely. Sometimes people’s differences can cause others to push them away. In the fictional novella, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, he displays this notion through the diversity of his characters.

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck explored the ideas of loneliness and how it affects a person; he showed us through the characters actions how having someone to talk to in your life can make such a difference. Crooks was a man that was “sick” from loneliness, nobody ever talked to him because the color of his skin. Lennie was free from this “sickness” because he had George to talk to and share his feelings with. Lastly, George dodged this feeling of loneliness because he had Lennie and was socially accepted at the ranch. George and Lennie were able to avoid the feeling of loneliness because they had each other, Crooks on the other hand was sick because he completely lonely.

A person that show loneliness in the story is George. George states “I want you to stay with me, Lennie.” This quote is saying that loneliness affect the people who are paired with someone that means something to them. This quote is importing to developing the theme because it show how George fear loneliness if Lennie left him. Through George’s actions of, throwing away Lennie’s mouse, reveals that George is trying to teach Lennie that he shouldn’t get everything that he wants. This action is important to developing the theme because it shows that George cares about Lennie and his future. As

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.