Of Mice And Men Symbolism Loneliness

Loneliness, the quality of being unfrequented and remote, isolation. In simpler terms, to feel depressed due to not have companions or being alone. Loneliness is something we’ve all experienced at least once in our lives. Even fictional characters feel the negative, melancholy emotion. For example, George in “Of Mice and Men”, a novel about George and Lennie’s journey to have employment during the Great Depression to fulfill the dream of land ownership. In “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck, the author, uses symbolism to display loneliness by using things like locations and games to show loneliness through characters and how they cope with the feeling. George might have Lennie by his side, but George also feels loneliness. Now, Lennie is often a companion to George, but because of Lennie’s dependency on George, he is a burden to George. In the novel, Steinbeck symbolizes loneliness by making George frequently play solitaire. Solitaire, a card game you play by yourself, is even often played by the ranch workers which are “the loneliest guys in the world”. And not only that, “solitaire” is derived from the word “solitude”, state of isolation/by yourself; alone. In the text, it states “Almost automatically George shuffled the cards
and laid out his solitaire hand” and “George cut the cards again and put out a solitaire lay, slowly and deliberately”. These quotes show his continuous games of solitaire and how this game is what keeps him out of boredom. Crooks, an African-American stable buck, is another character that experiences loneliness because of his race. John Steinbeck symbolizes his loneliness by using the location of his residence. Crooks lives in the harness room which is far away from the other workers’ residences. In addition, not only does the distance take a toll, but the condition is terrible because it is close to where the horses excrete their waste. In the text, it states “And he had books, too; a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905. There were battered magazines and a few dirty books on a special shelf over his bunk.” This excerpt shows how Crooks copes with his loneliness with books similar to how George copes with his. Another event that symbolized loneliness was the killing of Candy’s dog.
It symbolized loneliness because it shows how Candy’s only real companion is now gone and he doesn’t have no one to rely on. In the text, it states “The old man squirmed uncomfortably. "Well- hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him." He said proudly, "You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen.". This line shows how his relationship with his dog was so long and meaningful that letting him go would be too much. Also, he might be thinking about who would he be friends now since his old friend is going to go soon. Maybe that’s why he decides to have a friendship with George and
Lennie. Loneliness is such a terrible feeling that characters like George, Crooks, and Candy feel most every day. But, although they deal with it daily, they still find ways to take themselves out of the depressing state. And maybe George, Crooks, and Candy aren’t the only lonely ones because just like George said “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.”