Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
Of Mice and Men Draft
In the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck, loneliness is portrayed in many ways and contributes to many of the characters reasons for being who they are and the way that they behave. I will talk about how the 1930’s great depression contributed to making the characters have a sense of loneliness and how these people dealt with loneliness in different ways. Loneliness is the feeling of isolation and no hope or dreams in your life-which is what Steinbeck achieves by portraying this theme effectively through key fictional characters in Of Mice and Men. By living in the town of ‘Soledad’ (Spanish for loneliness), the audience gets an overwhelming sense of the depressing environment that the migrant farmers are living …show more content…
through by their repetitive lifestyle and the consequences they face through the Great Depression. From the beginning of the novel we get a sense of Lennie’s reliance upon George and even though George has Lennie for company it seems as though Lennie is like his shadow, forever following him everywhere. No matter where he goes, Lennie follows and it isn’t as if George can leave him to fend for himself, he has to look after him all of the time like he is a parent for Lennie rather than a friend or companion. George always talks about how if Lennie wasn’t there he could have a girl by now, but George couldn’t leave Lennie because he loves him. George is isolated because Lennie is not of the same mental level as him, so there is no one to talk to and as he often says, "I could live so easy without you." Lennie could also be seen as lonely because he is isolated, and commanded not to talk to certain people by George, by doing so he restricts Lennie's freedom using the threat of Lennie not being able to "tend the rabbits." When Crooks is first introduced he is not named by his first name, but by “Stable Buck” or “Negro Buck”.
Crooks is isolated because of his skin colour, "S'pose you couldn't go in the bunkhouse and play rummy cause you was black", he is rejected by his fellow workers and isn’t allowed to sleep in the bunkhouse, he is forced to sleep out in the stable with all the animals because that is how low he is considered within the community because he is black and racism was very bad during the 1930’s. Crooks was also considered disabled by being a ‘negro buck’ as black people were treated terribly as slaves and not in society. This is shown by Steinbeck’s language of setting as Crooks lives in a ‘little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn’ as if to say that he is not considered important on the ranch or by his employees or anybody around him. He also has ‘a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905’ which conveys to me that despite Crooks being motivated and strong to achieving a prosperous life, his life will never be the same. Because of his skin colour he is often discriminated and most of the people do not take him seriously like Curleys’ wife for example. Her behaviour makes Crooks kick her out of his room, but instead of leaving the barn she threatens him with punishments if he does not act the way she wants him to. Crooks sleeps in a bunk filled with straw and his medicines are kept along with the animals medicines as if although he is one of the animals and …show more content…
has no higher status than the animals he shares him home with. Crooks experienced harsh terms of racism towards him and he put with it well because he kept himself to himself and didn’t get involved into anybody else’s business. Candy is a prime representation of isolation and loneliness in ‘Of Mice and Men’. Firstly, it seems his disability has brought him down by the ranchmen because he has ‘no hand’ which says to me that he isn’t practical in the ranch. Even though he still has his job he feels worthless and like he can’t help because he doesn’t have his hand, if he had his hand he would be more involved with the ranch and work but his role is reduced to swamper (someone who does odd jobs), also his old-age puts him down because he isn’t as able as the other men. When his dog was shot by Carlson it was like he had taken away his oldest friend and his companion really when everybody else was out working the dog would be there for him and when the dog is killed he feels he has little left to live for and is desperately lonely until George and Lennie say that he can be part of their ‘American Dream’ and Candy offers to help buy their dream because of his disability money he was given when his hand got cut off. He does not go into town with the other men, and sees the inclusion in George and Lennie’s dream as the only way out. Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch and has no-one who will talk to her – including her husband.
Her sexuality isolates her from the other characters and it is sexism that this woman experiences which is why she feels so lonely and isolated compared to everyone else. She is bored and lonely, but her attempts to engage the attention of the men on the ranch only serve to push them further away from her. She has already given up on her dream of a better life as a movie star. She has no name and is initially seen as the possession of her husband. She is also a good-looking lady who wears quite a bit of makeup and form-fitting dresses. She is referred to as ‘jailbait’ or ‘lulu’ and this means she is just referred to in a sexual way rather than seen as a lonely woman desperately craving attention from her husband and wishes she hadn’t wasted her life by marrying Curley because she could of made something of herself. When she begins to talk to Lennie she feels as though she can tell him everything without even knowing him for very long, she lets out her feelings of how she wanted to be a famous movie star yet marrying Curley crushed those dreams of
hers. Overall, George + Lennie, Curley’s Wife, Crooks and Candy are affected by the harsh reality of loneliness which Steinbeck presents emotionally through setting and their own ‘disabilities’ in 1930’s America- whether it’s racism, sexism or not able to perform practical skills. Even with their American Dream, Steinbeck shows this only makes them the more vulnerable against the wide world ahead of them within a lonely town known as ‘Soledad’. When people are experiencing loneliness, their actions, as well as their way of life is altered. Also some problems and changes are caused by loneliness. And as seen in the novel Of Mice and Men it is proven that humans have a common need for companionship.
In the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck, loneliness is portrayed in many ways and contributes to many of the characters reasons for being who they are and the way that they behave. I will talk about how the 1930’s great depression contributed to making the characters have a sense of loneliness and how these people dealt with loneliness in different ways. Loneliness is the feeling of isolation and no hope or dreams in your life-which is what Steinbeck achieves by portraying this theme effectively through key fictional characters in Of Mice and Men. By living in the town of ‘Soledad’ (Spanish for loneliness), the audience gets an overwhelming sense of the depressing environment that the migrant farmers are living …show more content…
through by their repetitive lifestyle and the consequences they face through the Great Depression. From the beginning of the novel we get a sense of Lennie’s reliance upon George and even though George has Lennie for company it seems as though Lennie is like his shadow, forever following him everywhere. No matter where he goes, Lennie follows and it isn’t as if George can leave him to fend for himself, he has to look after him all of the time like he is a parent for Lennie rather than a friend or companion. George always talks about how if Lennie wasn’t there he could have a girl by now, but George couldn’t leave Lennie because he loves him. George is isolated because Lennie is not of the same mental level as him, so there is no one to talk to and as he often says, "I could live so easy without you." Lennie could also be seen as lonely because he is isolated, and commanded not to talk to certain people by George, by doing so he restricts Lennie's freedom using the threat of Lennie not being able to "tend the rabbits." When Crooks is first introduced he is not named by his first name, but by “Stable Buck” or “Negro Buck”.
Crooks is isolated because of his skin colour, "S'pose you couldn't go in the bunkhouse and play rummy cause you was black", he is rejected by his fellow workers and isn’t allowed to sleep in the bunkhouse, he is forced to sleep out in the stable with all the animals because that is how low he is considered within the community because he is black and racism was very bad during the 1930’s. Crooks was also considered disabled by being a ‘negro buck’ as black people were treated terribly as slaves and not in society. This is shown by Steinbeck’s language of setting as Crooks lives in a ‘little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn’ as if to say that he is not considered important on the ranch or by his employees or anybody around him. He also has ‘a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905’ which conveys to me that despite Crooks being motivated and strong to achieving a prosperous life, his life will never be the same. Because of his skin colour he is often discriminated and most of the people do not take him seriously like Curleys’ wife for example. Her behaviour makes Crooks kick her out of his room, but instead of leaving the barn she threatens him with punishments if he does not act the way she wants him to. Crooks sleeps in a bunk filled with straw and his medicines are kept along with the animals medicines as if although he is one of the animals and …show more content…
has no higher status than the animals he shares him home with. Crooks experienced harsh terms of racism towards him and he put with it well because he kept himself to himself and didn’t get involved into anybody else’s business. Candy is a prime representation of isolation and loneliness in ‘Of Mice and Men’. Firstly, it seems his disability has brought him down by the ranchmen because he has ‘no hand’ which says to me that he isn’t practical in the ranch. Even though he still has his job he feels worthless and like he can’t help because he doesn’t have his hand, if he had his hand he would be more involved with the ranch and work but his role is reduced to swamper (someone who does odd jobs), also his old-age puts him down because he isn’t as able as the other men. When his dog was shot by Carlson it was like he had taken away his oldest friend and his companion really when everybody else was out working the dog would be there for him and when the dog is killed he feels he has little left to live for and is desperately lonely until George and Lennie say that he can be part of their ‘American Dream’ and Candy offers to help buy their dream because of his disability money he was given when his hand got cut off. He does not go into town with the other men, and sees the inclusion in George and Lennie’s dream as the only way out. Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch and has no-one who will talk to her – including her husband.
Her sexuality isolates her from the other characters and it is sexism that this woman experiences which is why she feels so lonely and isolated compared to everyone else. She is bored and lonely, but her attempts to engage the attention of the men on the ranch only serve to push them further away from her. She has already given up on her dream of a better life as a movie star. She has no name and is initially seen as the possession of her husband. She is also a good-looking lady who wears quite a bit of makeup and form-fitting dresses. She is referred to as ‘jailbait’ or ‘lulu’ and this means she is just referred to in a sexual way rather than seen as a lonely woman desperately craving attention from her husband and wishes she hadn’t wasted her life by marrying Curley because she could of made something of herself. When she begins to talk to Lennie she feels as though she can tell him everything without even knowing him for very long, she lets out her feelings of how she wanted to be a famous movie star yet marrying Curley crushed those dreams of
hers. Overall, George + Lennie, Curley’s Wife, Crooks and Candy are affected by the harsh reality of loneliness which Steinbeck presents emotionally through setting and their own ‘disabilities’ in 1930’s America- whether it’s racism, sexism or not able to perform practical skills. Even with their American Dream, Steinbeck shows this only makes them the more vulnerable against the wide world ahead of them within a lonely town known as ‘Soledad’. When people are experiencing loneliness, their actions, as well as their way of life is altered. Also some problems and changes are caused by loneliness. And as seen in the novel Of Mice and Men it is proven that humans have a common need for companionship.