Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Of Mice And Men
By John Steinbeck

The novel ‘Of Mice and Men' written by John Steinbeck, is about a journey the two main characters, George and Lennie take. The ill-assorted pair come across work in a small ranch near a place called ‘Soledad'. This is where they meet the other characters in the story. One of the main points Steinbeck makes us aware of is the damaging effects of loneliness on people's lives. The setting also helps to create a clear picture of the loneliness as do the characters they meet. The book is set in the 1930s in Soledad. Workers are given a bunkhouse to stay in while working on the remote ranch. The description Steinbeck gives of the bunkhouse emphasises the lack of security and comfort in the men's lives as
George has to always keep an eye on Lennie and therefore Lennie is a burden to him. Lennie on the other hand is too dim to understand anything apart from what George says. He seems to live in his own world and everything he does revolves around whether it pleases George or not. But they have something that all the other men have not got, and that is a true friendship. Lennie manages to keep George sane, while George is there to help Lennie. George likes to talk to Lennie about their dream ranch. He says to Lennie ; that guys like us are the loneliest people in the world; but he comments
But later on in the book, George loses Lennie as he has to shoot his best friend so he died thinking of his dream. When Candy lost his dog, he kept thinking about him. He felt he should have shot his dog himself, not a stranger. When George had to shoot Lennie, he felt terrible. He had just shot his best friend and only friend in the world. Because of this, he has to live the rest of his life alone and knowing that he killed his only friend. But I think he did the right thing. I think it shows their strong friendship. After George killed Lennie, it seems that he would have a better life without him, but really he would have a worse life and would turn out like the other ranch workers. He will suffer from loneliness and will have no true friends. Of course, his dream will never come true either ,as he could not proceed with it without Lennie. In conclusion I think the simple moral to the story is everybody needs someone to talk to in order to survive. Curley's wife died because she had no one to talk to. Crooks says he feels sick sometimes because he is so lonely. It is obvious that he will not live a happier life and will probably die soon. Also Candy is old and lonely and is always associated with his dog. I think he will end up dieing soon, not only of old age but of a broken heart. It is obvious that all the workers on the ranch will die a sad and lonely death, mainly because they had