1929. The New York Wall Street stock market collapses and the dollar becomes worthless. Unemployment is high and men are in dire need for jobs. Taking into consideration that “Of Mice And Men” is set in 1929 in all this chaos, one would think that the harsh conditions facing working men would overpower all else. However Steinbeck shows us the fear of isolation is worse. Steinbeck portrays the theme loneliness in different ways. He sets the tone of the book in subtle ways that could go unseen but if you look clearly all point to loneliness being a major theme in the book. He illustrates the loneliness of ranch life in the 1030’s and shows how people are driven to try and find friendship in order to escape loneliness. From the get-go, Steinbeck …show more content…
My favorite is the description given of the sleeping bunks of the ranch workers. “Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves for personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk”-p19. Only having two shelves two shelves to hold their beholding’s, showed that they never stayed in one place long enough to actually collect memoirs to remind them of their past. They move around too much to actually collect belongings-this is a lonely way of life. Steinbeck also uses characterization to portray loneliness. He uses sexism, racism and ageism to get his message across. He makes it clear that everybody on the ranch has a degree of loneliness within their lives. Unfortunately some have it worse than others. I think that there were three characters that were the loneliest. Crooks,Curley’s wife and …show more content…
For most part of the book they appear to have more than what most of the other characters do not have-friendship. George and Lennie look out for each other. However I believe that they were still lonely. Lennie is simply too dim to realize that the lifestyle they is living is not ideal. George on the other hand realizes this and sees Lennie as a burden as he has to constantly look out for Lennie. George is eventually faced with the fact that he will be lonely forever when he is forced to kill his only friend. When one of the members of the friendship is removed-the other is left in misery. He has to live the rest of his life alone and knowing that he has shot his best and only friend. In conclusion, the theme of loneliness is very well illustrated by Steinbeck. Through very subtle ways and through the more obvious confessions. Most of the characters searches for a friend to confide in, someone to help them measure the world but in the end, companionship of this kind seems unattainable. If this book has taught me anything, it’ll have to be that everybody needs a friend to talk to, no matter what race, gender or age. You have to have companionship to prevent you from suffering from loneliness and your harsh
1. Of Mice and Men begins with a description of a picturesque woodland that surrounds the Salinas River. It is filled with rabbits, birds, and other innocent, almost “lifeless” animals. The water is described as “warm” and “twinkling.” The author's use of word choice and imagery creates a calm, idyllic setting.
While reading this book a few things were noticed like the number of characters who were experiencing loneliness. Although none of the characters really know each other they still have one thing in common and that’s their need of companionship. In my essay I’ll be explaining how each one needs a companion. The characters Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks all exemplify loneliness and isolation.
Another example of characters experiencing loneliness is represented in the Article “Harvest Gypsies” by Steinbeck. In the article Steinbeck states “They are resourceful and intelligent people, who have gone through hell”(“ The Harvest”). In the quote he is talking about how the migrant workers are seen has incompetent or lazy because of their social status. Many people during the time period judged people based on social class. Just like how Curley’s wife was judged by hers.
We all may have had the feeling of loneliness and isolation, wanting companionship feeling abandonment. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, there are men living on a ranch having their own reasons for loneliness or being isolated. The three characters Crooks, George, and Lennie crusade dealing with own ways of loneliness and isolation. Crooks has no one that likes him because he’s black, Lennie struggles mentally and George struggles with always having to care for him. They all can’t decide whether it is that they want to be alone or not.
Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men portray the character trait of loneliness, which ultimately causes their downfall. Curley’s wife is someone who tries everything she can to find a companion to talk to, but she is unsuccessful. Crooks is alone in the fact that he is the only one of his ethnicity living on the farm. Although it may not be obvious, George and Lennie display the theme of solitude the most because they have no one that understands their situations. The theme of loneliness is universal; many have suffered from its
The author John Steinbeck tries to get the reader to understand that loneliness is dangerous and make society rude and cruel to one another to seek attention. Steinbeck uses foreshadowing and symbolism to express the theme by creating suspense and an emotional connection to the characters and their dreams.
Loneliness can often make a person feel empty and upset. It can leave a person in despair and make them feel like they have no ambition. Steinbeck presents the possibility of forlornness and men who chip away at ranches,
Very early in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George shares with Lennie how he wishes he were alone. He is one of the few character who actually has someone to keep him from loneliness, yet he wishes to be alone. He has tolerated living and traveling with Lennie for so long that he wishes he could experience what it would be like to be alone. In the same way his partner Lennie threatens him that he will just go up into the mountains and find a cave and live without him.
Loneliness and Alienation in “Of Mice and Men” In John Steinbeck’s novel, “Of Mice and Men”, many characters were plagued with loneliness and alienation, and most characters were in need of acceptance. The harsh time period of the Great Depression affected three characters in, “Of Mice and Men” greatly. Three characters that are plagued by loneliness and alienation and are in need of acceptance the most include George Milton; the protagonist of the novel, Crooks; the negro stable buck with a crooked back, and Curley’s wife; a young woman who just wants somebody to talk to. In this essay, you will learn why George, Crooks, and Curley’s wife were the loneliest and why other characters were not plagued with loneliness and alienation as much as these three characters. George Milton is the protagonist of the novel.
Some of the characters in the book have been described as more isolated and lonely than the other character, with the ones in particular ; Crooks, Candy and Curley’s Wife. Crooks is lonely because he is black and has a crooked back which is physically isolating him, Candy is lonely because he is old and only has one hand, Curley’s Wife is lonely because she is the only woman on the ranch. All the people living on the ranch are lonely to some extent. This is proven when Steinbeck describes the bunkhouse where all the workers sleep. " Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves for personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk."
The men on the ranch travel by themselves and have no real connections to each other. Curley's wife spends her days wandering around the ranch, hoping someone will be open to having a conversation with. Crooks is completely isolate and has to live in a small room next to the barn because he has a different skin tone compared to all the ranch workers. Lastly, Candy feels lonely and isolated since he is separated from the other men after losing his hand and losing his dog. I think one of the morals of the story is that everyone needs someone to talk to in order to survive.
A key aspect of any novel or story is the way the characters interact and feel towards everything. In John Steinbeck’s, “Of Mice and Men”, the characters tend to give off the effect of loneliness and the feeling of isolation throughout the novel. The main characters that give off the effect of loneliness and the feeling of isolation are Curley’s wife, Crooks, and George. They’ve been truly alone, if not in mind then in body.
Lonely Characters in Of Mice And Men Imagine a world where people didn’t really care what one said to another, and neither cared enough to ask each other questions. A place where everyone existed in silence, but were together at the same time. As portrayed in the novel, Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, in which Steinbeck’s idea of loneliness is isolation in silences. The author teaches the reader that friendship is mostly about conversation, and magnifies the effects of isolation through the eyes of Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy.
First, loneliness is the sadness caused by having no friends or company, and friendship is a state of mutual trust and support between people, they are polar opposites, yet a person may acclaim to have both. For example today a person may have a friend, or many, but still will face loneliness in their life in one way or another. This is shown in Of Mice and Men periodically throughout the novel, knowing this the reader is challenged with such themes, the enticing beauty of friendship between George and Lennie, and the gloomy dreaded idea of loneliness shown by Curley’s wife, Candy, Crooks, and again Lennie. Among these characters the reader may also feel a connection between themselves and the characters, even though the world now and during the publication of Of Mice and Men has changed a lot. The world has reformed, and developed exponentially so, however friendship and loneliness is still a facet of everyday
One’s self has experienced loneliness from choice or forced into isolation. The novel ¨Of Mice and Men¨ written by John Steinbeck, took place during the Great Depression, near Soledad, California. The protagonist, George and the antagonist, Lennie are mid aged, white men who are working on a ranch with other mid aged, white men. Along with ones who aren’t as focused at the time, such as Crooks, the negro or black, Curley’s wife, the woman and, Candy, the old and weak man were treated differently from all the white, strong males in the novel due to the setting the novel. This making distance in relationships in Of Mice and Men, isolating these characters into loneliness.