Loneliness in of Mice and Men Essay Example
Loneliness is a major theme in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Show how loneliness is conveyed through a study of 3 characters in the book.
Loneliness is one of the primary themes in Of Mice and Men. Throughout the novel, the theme of loneliness is ever-present and John Steinbeck shows and portrays the effect loneliness has on the characters, more specifically, Crooks, Candy and Curley’s wife. Firstly, Crooks is physically and emotionally isolated from the other ranchers, as well as society due to racism and low social status. Secondly, Curley’s wife did not have a name to herself, has no one whom she can share her feelings with due to her husband’s jealousy and is disenfranchised, lonely and powerless even though she has a husband and is the only female on the ranch. Lastly, Candy is portrayed to be maimed and useless, he faces isolation because of his old age and disability, and he faces even more immense loneliness after his only true friend in the world, his dog died. In the following paragraphs, I will further elaborate how all three characters face problems and negative feelings because of loneliness and isolation from society.
Firstly, in the novel, Crooks is a black man who experiences isolation due to the society in which he resides in is racist. This is evident from the quote “Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m Black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me!” This shows how the people on the ranch treated him unjustly because he is different from them given that he is black and how Crooks’ loneliness results from rejection from others. Crooks was also not allowed to participate in events and activities with the white people such as card games and is treated unfairly and discriminated and therefore, he reacts the same way towards white people who he comes across. His loneliness is also evident from his conversation with Lennie, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t matter what
Loneliness is one of the primary themes in Of Mice and Men. Throughout the novel, the theme of loneliness is ever-present and John Steinbeck shows and portrays the effect loneliness has on the characters, more specifically, Crooks, Candy and Curley’s wife. Firstly, Crooks is physically and emotionally isolated from the other ranchers, as well as society due to racism and low social status. Secondly, Curley’s wife did not have a name to herself, has no one whom she can share her feelings with due to her husband’s jealousy and is disenfranchised, lonely and powerless even though she has a husband and is the only female on the ranch. Lastly, Candy is portrayed to be maimed and useless, he faces isolation because of his old age and disability, and he faces even more immense loneliness after his only true friend in the world, his dog died. In the following paragraphs, I will further elaborate how all three characters face problems and negative feelings because of loneliness and isolation from society.
Firstly, in the novel, Crooks is a black man who experiences isolation due to the society in which he resides in is racist. This is evident from the quote “Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m Black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me!” This shows how the people on the ranch treated him unjustly because he is different from them given that he is black and how Crooks’ loneliness results from rejection from others. Crooks was also not allowed to participate in events and activities with the white people such as card games and is treated unfairly and discriminated and therefore, he reacts the same way towards white people who he comes across. His loneliness is also evident from his conversation with Lennie, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t matter what