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
Loneliness is debatably one of the most horrible feelings existent within society. It strikes every living soul at one point or another, as it takes an immensely deep emotional toll. A profound part of what contributes to the feeling of loneliness is isolation. During the great depression in the 1930’s many people suffered from imaginable loss including loneliness and separation from others. Of mice and men is a novel written by John Steinbeck, the novel follows a group of individuals during this time period of depression, and their daily adversities and interactions with others. Of Mice and Men is a novel, about closeness to others, but generally the story articulates that those outside of social norms suffer from isolation and loneliness.
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.
Crooks is the only black man on the ranch and is segregated from everyone else. By having his room separate from all the other workers, Crooks is being excluded from them. Furthermore, Crooks has the disability of a crooked back. His crooked back prevents him from working in the fields. Since he cannot work in the fields, Crooks has limited social or work contact with the other men. In Crooks’ room Crooks converses with Lennie about his feelings. Bothered, he laments over how he can “play horseshoes til it’s dark” with all the other workers, but then he has to go “read books” all by himself(72,72). While Crooks does not despise reading books, he wishes that he had a companion to confide in. The deep mistrust that Crooks feels towards others, though, is one of the reasons he does not have a friend to talk to. Lennie creates excitement in Crooks because Crooks can trust Lennie since he knows that Lennie will never repeat what he says . However, this feeling is short lived. Soon after his discussion with Lennie, Crooks realizes that he is still alone and that Lennie will not always be with him. As it is with Crooks, physical characteristics can play a part in the isolation of people, even if those people have a fixed place to
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. Steinbeck displays through the dialogue and characterizations that these characters experience isolation because of both social barriers and personal choice.
Steinbeck portrays loneliness and isolation, though many of the characters. In the novel, Lennie and George do not want to be apart from each other. George calls to Lennie, "I was just foolin' Lennie. 'Cause I want you with me" (Steinbeck 12). This quote suggests George wants the companionship of Lennie, even though George would be better on his own. Crooks is faced with isolation due to his race. Crooks states that books aren't the same as having actually men to be with (Steinbeck 72). By including this
Loneliness haunts Crooks deep down. But Crooks accepts things the way they are. Crooks doesn't talk to the other men and they don't talk to him. This causes the greatness of loneliness in Crooks. The other workers on the ranch take place in some fun activities but Crooks is near invited to come play. Crooks has no one but envy that derives from the relationship around him. Crooks is the loneliest person in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck because he is black and crippled in a very racist
In Of Mice And Men Crooks is a immensly lonely man. This can be proven by what crooks said in chapter 4. In this chapter Crooks said ”You got no right to come in my room. This here 's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me”(Steinbeck 73).This quote is very important because it shows how Crooks have been alone for so long that he doesn 't feel comfortable making friends. The readers can see this because
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.
In Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men the main theme is Loneliness and Isolation. Steinbeck really creates an image in your head of the life of the migrated ranch men. He hides the fact the characters are isolated in the language he uses. The town that the ranch is close to is called “Soledad” which means loneliness in spanish. In latin “Solitaire” (the card game the men play) means alone and isolated. 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." (p38) The way Steinbeck describes the bunkhouse indicates their lonely lives. Also by only having two shelves for their personal belongings shows their lonely insecure lives. Crooks has a better facility than any of the other ranch workers since he has a desk. Crooks does not appreciate this because he is alone and isolated from the rest, like Curley’s wife and in some way Candy.
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.
If you’re different, best of luck to you. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, there are many characters who deal with discrimination. Three characters who experience this the most are Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Lennie. Curley’s wife faces discrimination because she is a woman. Crooks experiences discrimination because he is black, and Lennie is discriminated against because of his mental disability. Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Lennie all have learned to live with discrimination, but they still long to someday be accepted.
Crooks is an all alone, isolated character in Of Mice and Men, he is so isolated that he isn 't allowed in the bunkhouse because of his skin color and this loneliness and isolation affects him. When Lennie comes into Crooks ' room Crooks says "You got no right to come in my room. This here 's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me." Loneliness affects him here because he isn 't allowed in the bunkhouse so he has his own cabin and when Lennie comes in he isn 't used to people and he gets frustrated with Lennie. The first quote shows that Crooks doesn 't typically like people in his room because he isn 't used to it. This affects him because when Lennie comes into his room Crooks begin to snap at him and saying that he doesn 't have the right to be in there. Crooks ' is also affected because it causes him to be frustrated and it seems that his loneliness makes him uncomfortable around the others. Everyone doesn’t allow him because of his skin color, they think he is different from the others because at the time skin color was a big difference. Crooks gives Lennie a little talk to help Lennie understand what he is feeling. He says "S 'pose you didn 't have nobody. S 'pose you couldn 't go in the bunkhouse and play rummy 'cause you was black." Crooks is explaining to Lennie that unlike him he doesn 't have someone to be there for him like George. He is also saying that he feels lonely that he isn 't allowed in the bunkhouse with the others. The second quote
In conclusion we can see that loneliness affects most of the characters in the story of mice and men, If not all. Loneliness in the story is shown to be absolutely inevitable. The characters in the story were unable to prevent almost any of the things that have happen to happen. They are not the kind of people that work in one place for a long time so they do not make those long lasting bonds that they should be making. Even thought I did not mention the main characters most of the characters had some sort of loneliness affecting
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