Preview

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

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
604 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Theme Of Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
The Strong will Not be Lonely
Of Mice and Men Essay

Sometimes it seems as though the most privileged people are the weakest because they are not prepared to fall. “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck is a short novel that focuses on the hardship of living in California during the Great Depression. Some may agree that the main conflict in this novel is the misfortune of a kind-hearted barley bucker, Lennie, but a greater theme lies under the pages. The real hardship goes to Lennie’s best friend, George, who’s worst fear is being lonely because his heart is weak and needs someone to lean on when times get tough.

At the very beginning of the book we notice that George needs to have a companion even if his companion gets him in trouble. George
…show more content…
The boys on the ranch were going to shoot Lennie in the gut because he accidentally killed Curley’s wife. George, who couldn’t watch his companion suffer, mercy shot George in the back of the head. George threw the gun to the ground and stared at his hand that pulled the trigger until the boys found him. “Slim came directly to George and sat down beside him, sat very close to him.” He understood that George’s nightmare of being lonely had become reality. By sitting next to him then helping George to his feet animated a promise to fill the new void in George’s heart. Sim was about to take on the role as George’s companion and friend.

In conclusion, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck still exhibits George’s phobia of loneliness and how he cannot live without someone to talk to. Throughout the book, George endeavors to keep a companion that he can lean on. However, with every dumb mistake Lennie makes, George doubts the future that lie ahead. It is not until Lennie is Mercy Killed that George realizes how much he depended on Lennie to make him smile and get him through life. This relates to the modern world today, where most people don’t appreciate what they’ve got until the fragility of life takes it

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Imagine living in complete solitude with no one to talk to or interact with. Would you go insane from not being able to share your thoughts, emotions and ideas, or will you be accepting of your situation? In the novella Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie, two men travelling together in order to realize their dream of owning land, meet several workers at a ranch they have just arrived at. Several of the characters they meet, including an old man with a hand injury, an African-American with a crooked back, and a housewife who desperately wishes to become an actress, admit to having a lonely lifestyle as a consequence of living in various circumstances of solitude. Set during the Great Depression, Steinbeck uses the fictional characters, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife, to show the common emotion and feeling of loneliness people experienced during the trying times.…

    • 905 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    First of all,George is a lonely chacter because he has to take of his mentally handicaped fren Lenny.George could of have abandon him and lived without Lenny but he carries the responsability by taking care of him.Having to hate but to take care of Lenny has restricted George’s life,the oppurtunity to establish relationships.Since Lenny constantly causes problems they need to move..Unfortunately when they move so faste George doesn’t get the time to build relationships.The fact that Lenny is mentally handicapped he doesn’t offer much back to George.…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, there are multiple underlying themes that compose the story. One of the themes, loneliness, is present throughout the story. The people on the farm sometimes go into town on Saturdays to forget about their loneliness with women and alcohol. George and Lennie are lonely, too. They try to break the unyielding system of loneliness by planning and talking about buying a small farm. Curley's wife feels lonely, also. In an attempt to keep from being lonely, she visits and talks to the men at the ranch. Candy, an old ranch hand, fears loneliness also. To keep from being lonely, he keeps around his old dog. Crooks, the stable buck, is lonely, too. He is the only black man, and lives apart from the others.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    George takes care of him on the notion he will be able to teach Lennie the ways of life and in the end he will be fine and they will start a farm. Many times Lennie proves that his personality is unchanging and he has great trouble learning. He forgets constantly what gets him in trouble such as killing animals with his monstrous hands or touching the girl in the red dress. As George realizes the state of mind is in he begins to become upset with Lennie yet sympathetic because he knew ironically Lennie wouldn't completely understand or even remember being lectured. With the realization that Lennie was much dumber than he had known not being able to remember most things George began to see the relationship dissolve to a father-son type of relationship. Georges important quote "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. . . . With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowin' in our jack jus' because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us." can be seen as the hope that kept George with Lennie but by the end of the novel it is just a habitually story George tells Lennie to make him feel…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The quote chosen to depict loneliness in the novella is intended to show that as long as somebody is there with you, everything will be okay. Some may say that they can deal with being alone, but that would be defying human nature. Everybody, no matter how old, big or small, or no matter the colour of their skin, is always in need of reassurance from another human being. The fact that George having Lennie and vice versa shows that even though they constantly are disagreeing or getting on each others nerves, they have one another to rely on.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    He takes care of Lennie because he promised Lennie’s aunt, Aunt Clara, that he would protect and look after him. So when the Aunt dies, George steps up and keeps his promise to take care of lennie. While venturing through the different cities he is the person who speaks to their employers to help them obtain different jobs. Even though George tries to keep a positive mind, he can still be pressed with future thoughts when he is upset. When Lennie gets caught up in trouble they flee before things get to worse. The most important event like this occurred in Weed, the town they lived in before. In the town of Weed, Lennie was touching a girl's soft dress. After while she began to feel uncomfortable, so when she tried to pull away, Lennie would not let go. Then the girl yelled. So George and Lennie had to run away to save their lives. This began the start of their life on the run. This experience is told by George in chapter 3. "Jus’ wanted to feel that girl's dress—jus' wanted to pet it like it was a mouse—Well, how the hell did she know you jus' wanted to feel her dress? She jerks back and you hold on like it was a mouse. She yells and we got to hide in an irrigation ditch all day with guys lookin' for us, and we got to sneak out in the dark and get outta the…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Loneliness and isolation is a dominant theme in Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck during the great depression. The reason why Candy was isolated was because he was old and handicap. The only thing that kept him happy was his dog but no one liked him since he was old and stinked. Crooks has always been isolated because he is black. Being black during this time people didn't really like you they were afraid that since you're a different color you're going to cause a crime. The main character of the story was George he was isolated from everyone that was equal to him. Lennie was the only one he had to talk with but all he did was agree with him since he was retarded. Many of the characters in of mice and men are isolated and lonely, which echoed the feelings during the great depression.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    loneliness is a huge factor in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Curley’s wife (yep no one even said her name) is the loneliest character because her husband treat her poorly, looking for men to talk to, only who does talk to her kills her.…

    • 233 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The great depression was a time of strife for many people. This cannot be more true for the migrant workers of California who went around the state looking for work and never staying long in the same place. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck portrays this experience of migrating from job to job and living paycheck to paycheck, along with the loneliness that goes along with the experience, through George and Lennie’s experiences. George and Lennie are unique in that they travel together and as such are not affected by loneliness as much as some of the other characters are in the book. Of Mice and Men shows how loneliness and isolation affects the human experience in a positive and negative…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 1900’s, there was a large division between males and females. Women were stereotyped as weak and passive, with little to no freedoms not to mention they were unable to attain work as easily as men. In Of Mice and Men and Flowers for Algernon both Curley’s wife and Fay help further the point that women didn’t have it simple in the 1900’s. Through their levels of loneliness, their mistreatment as women, and their image of only being an object, it is apparent that these women faced many challenges during their existence.…

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone experiences loneliness in some part of their life and cope with it in many different ways; agreed John Cacioppo, Aubrey Hammack, and Hara Estroff Marano. Each of these writers wrote articles about the battles people face when dealing with loneliness, and how it affects your health. Hammack and Marano’s articles are similar to the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. They reveal how many people can function and go on with their lives easier when they have friends and family that will be there for them no matter what. Even though George and Lennie weren’t family they still had each other and weren’t lonely like Curley’s wife. Many people who are dealing with loneliness don’t know how it affects them. Cacioppo states how loneliness can be bad for your health in many different ways.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    George overpowers his loneliness by having Lennie by his side. Although George does not receive any advantages in return for taking care of Lennie, George still keeps Lennie by his side as a friend. In the beginning of the novella, Lennie threatens George about running away into a cave and living alone when George is frustrated by how Lennie keeps messing up, but George then starts to get worried about being alone and decides to talk Lennie out from leaving. George says to Lennie, “No-look! I was jus’ foolin’, Lennie. ‘Cause I want you to stay with me. Trouble with mice is you always kill’em." (pg.14) George disheartens Lennie from parting by saying he was just kidding.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book was set in California in the 1930's when America had a great depression which affected everyone because everyone was unemployed and had to travel to look for work so it is showing George and Lennie traveling together to achive their dream, like everyone else in America, which is very unrealistic which is why they travel together.…

    • 971 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the United States, there are over 44 million people who are lonely and longing to connect with another living soul. Loneliness is a psychological disease that gradually consumes you, until you are left feeling empty and rejected from society. Psychologists believe that physical isolation, the death of a loved one, or low self-esteem are all contributing factors. Those who struggle with this disease may experience depression or drastic personality alterations. In the novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck conveys how adversity shapes character by illustrating that loneliness influences individuals to appear cold-hearted or detached.…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    George Milton is a lonely dreamer who has a friend named Lennie Small who is very immature and George is an outcast between the ranchers. The company of Lennie makes George feel lonely and make a picture in his mind about a dream-come-true ranch. George thinks that they (Lennie and George) are the loneliest…

    • 1392 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays