Societal Desolation In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Crooks was isolated and separated from the other ranch members due to his skin colour. He hides his loneliness by reading books because he cannot go out with the other men to socialise at the end of the day. ‘Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody – to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.

The men treat Curley’s wife the same way they treat Crooks, but they treat her this way because she is a women. Due to the fact that Crooks is black, the other guys exclude him from many things. Crooks is a perfect example of how racism can cause loneliness.

Survival is often introduced as a concept of endurance, persistence and perseverance, a textbook idea about simply living or dying. At the inception of human life, merely surviving was imperative and existence was something that humans fought for on a daily basis. But, as we flourish independently, as societies and as a race, the concept of survival is warped, and growth as an individual, as well as coping with everyday hardships and not just traditional examples of adversity such as poverty and destitution are prime examples of survival. In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the reader is presented with the idea that survival is not synonymous to staying alive, and moreover, that cultural and societal struggles shape self in accordance with the way we face them. Survival of the fittest is the primordial notion that only the fit have the power and strength to live, and more importantly, thrive in their environment.

While Crooks, a victim of racial prejudice, expresses his isolation openly, he also socializes with other workers on the job and while playing horseshoes with them. Curley’s wife, on the other hand, cannot talk to anyone without suffering the consequences of a jealous husband: “ I get so lonely,’ she said. “you can talk to people , but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?”

Lastly Crooks goes through this theme because he has to stay in a room next to the barn and is isolated from the others because he is black. Steinbeck uses different factors to portray the loneliness and isolation within characters such as physical or mental, which then deliver various messages to readers. Curley’s wife struggles through loneliness and isolation because she is the only woman on the ranch. Curley’s wife is

However he first tells Lennie about their dream, about tending rabbits, living off the land from the crops, and shoots him. Friendship and Loneliness is shown here where George is Lennie’s best friend, and everyone else stays away leaving Lennie alone. Other times in the novel the reader witnesses many other characters face this same factor of isolation. Some examples are,

Steinbeck displays through the dialogue and characterizations that these characters experience isolation because of both social barriers and personal choice. Crooks being an African-American on the ranch, full of whites, struggles racially which causes his withdrawal from the society. Crooks explains to Lennie his when he’s accompanied by him “ A guy goes nuts if he ain 't got nobody. Don 't make no difference who the guy is long’s

Crooks is a black man who isn’t allowed to be in the house with all the men. The men won’t allow him to come in because of his color. Crooks is lonely and he doesn’t bother the men. One night Lennie came in and was talking to Crooks and telling them about the farm that they were going to get. For once Crooks thought well maybe I won’t be lonely I could go with them and don’t have worry about none of them.

Have you ever had to experience homelessness? Have you ever felt alone with no hope left? During the novel Lennie was one of the main characters. He was one of the most important people in the novel. Both him and George were homeless, they had no money and no way of transportation other than walking.

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,

Prejudice, it’s something humans all do naturally. Everybody, no matter what race, appearance and family history, have some level of prejudice against others. In the novel Of Mice and Men, Curley’s wife, Candy, and Crooks are discriminated against, ‘picked on’ and there are certain degrees of prejudice they are treated with. These characters are crucial in providing the audience or the reader with evidence that prejudice is a human fault and the way in which these characters were treated, is to be expected. Curley’s wife is a prime example of the type and degree of sexism and discrimination that women during that time were treated with.

In the 1930’s having mental problems was seen as being unbright. People back then did not understand what being mentally challenged was they would treat them like any other person which would make it hard on the person who had the challenges. In the book george stays with Lennie so he doesn't get into trouble.

On page 72 Crooks says, “Well s’pose, jus’ s'pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?” Curley's wife tries to persuade Lennie to not do exactly what George always tells him to do. The characters in Of Mice and Men show many different sides of the human condition.

Crooks was forced to sleep in a separate room next to the stable, apart from the bunks where the rest of the ranch workers resided. Crooks was unable to participate in anything that the rest of the ranch workers did. All of this was a result of his ethnicity. “ “Cause I’m black. They play cards, but I can’t play because I’m black.

One of the predominant themes that govern the story and characters in the book is friendship, "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” Lennie And George are very lucky to have each other, although they are rather different to one another,