“Of Mice and Men” is written by John Steinbeck, published in 1937, it was set in the 1930’s during the Great Depression in California. George and Lennie are the two protagonist characters; they are farm workers who have a dream of one day owning their own ranch. They find work in a ranch near Soledad and are met by different characters, most of which are lonely and the only thing keeping them alive is their dreams. Loneliness is the unpleasant emotional response to isolation and lack of companionship, in the novel “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck portrays the theme of loneliness and isolation effectively through key fictional characters. This essay will describe the way loneliness is shown in “Of Mice and Men.” Through several characters, another …show more content…
Steinbeck shows us how separated Crooks is kept from the others by describing how Crooks lives alone in a shed as he is excluded from the companionship that exists in the bunkhouse. Crooks lives in a “little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn” We see where and how Crooks lives, his possessions including books as he reads instead of having company. When he comes to speak to Slim about mule’s foot, he does not enter. “Crooks was a proud, distant man” because he had no choice but to endure this prejudice and isolation. Consequently, he bitterly guards his enforced privacy, saying to Lennie, “This here’s my room...I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room.” Crooks also has ‘a mauled copy of the California civil code for 1905’ which suggests that regardless of Crooks being motivated and strong to achieving an affluent life, his life will never be the same. Crooks’ race makes him more vulnerable and exposed to others easily, especially by Curley’s wife threatening him to be “strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny” which conveys that Crooks is used for other people’s pleasure and has no freedom or boundaries. When Crooks tells Lennie that “A guy needs somebody - to be near him” and “a guy gets too lonely” and “A guy sets alone out here at night.” We know that Crooks is admitting to being lonely and that he longs for
In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, he illustrates the journey George and Lennie have throughout a significant part of their lifetime. Throughout the novel, many characters, including George and Lennie, are facing lonesome and they struggle to deal with it the right way. Most of the men are all alone because they have no family left or they isolate themselves from their peers. Loneliness touches each character at some point in the novel and it really emphasizes the impact it can have on an individual. Steinbeck uses the characters Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy to develop the theme that containing loneliness will make someone’s desperation deepen.
John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, is a story in which a influencing idea of unpreventable loneliness conquers. Steinbeck uses words such as ‘solitaire’ which means ones self; The novel starts off in ‘Soledad’ which means loneliness. In this novel Steinbeck shows us the importance of friendship and companionship and how important it is to have a friend to share your life with. He uses almost every character in this novel to stress the importance of having a friend. Most of the characters are craving companionship, lonely and have no one to share their life with. This book is filled with characters who are trying to find friendship but are incapable of finding a way out of their lonely and isolated life. Steinbeck shows how the lifestyle
During the Great Depression, it was not uncommon to become morosely secluded while working. Men would go far away from their families in search of any jobs they could get, with only themselves to confide in; colleagues only filling in the void of friends and family partially. Naturally, John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, written during this period, would reflect this fact as a major aspect of the story. Loneliness would become the sinew of Of Mice and Men, manifested in some of the story’s main characters: Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. These allusions to loneliness are found throughout the book, mimicking the rampant disease of isolation at the time.
All of us have gone through loneliness at some point in our lives. Some more than others, but definitely at one time. Google defines loneliness as, “sadness because one has no friends or company.” In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, this is a recurring issue that many characters face at different times throughout the story. Most of the time, the author has the character express their loneliness directly through dialogue directed towards another character, but sometimes the reader needs to analyze hints from the author or re-read sections to uncover a character's hidden loneliness.
Moreover, Steinbeck shows Crooks’ social capabilities being affected through his living conditions. Every other worker lives inside the bunkhouse except him. The reasoning for this is shown through a conversation with Lennie, Crooks states “I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse...They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink” (68). With Crooks living in his own quarters, Steinbeck is representing how he is being deprived of the social interactions that take place inside the bunkhouse. Crooks can not create certain relationships and simply play cards like everyone else can all because he is black.
Loneliness is a key point in the novel Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck. Candy, Crooks and Slim are characters in this novel. They live on a ranch, they all are lonely either because of isolation, they got something taken away or just alone. In the novel Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, loneliness is overall a bad feeling that can still be felt when surrounded by others.
In the book, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, loneliness is a big part of many characters’ lives. Curley’s wife can’t talk to anyone, George didn’t have anyone to share his troubles with, and Candy doesn’t have anyone either.
All of the people on the ranch sleep in either a house or the bunkhouse. However, Crooks because of his race has to sleep out in the barn. Over time he grew accustomed to not being able to go into the other people’s places and sleeping quarters. Yet, since he cannot go into there’s he feels that they shouldn’t be allowed to go into his room either. ”You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room.’ ‘Why ain’t you wanted?’ Lennie asked. ‘Cause I’m black’" (Steinbeck 68, Ch.4). Crooks has started to think what the “white” people think and started believing that he is inferior. When really Crooks doesn’t know how to act, because he has never had someone want to come into his room before and is kinda suspicious. Crooks is lonely since he does not have any friends on the ranch, because of his
“A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green” (Steinbeck 1). The novella, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about loneliness and the different ways the characters combat it. Several characters that are included in the novel such as, George, Candy, and Crooks, all fight against their solitude in their own ways. One of the main characters, George thinks being poor is better than having no one next to him, “Guys like us, that work on the ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family.
Crooks had been alone for many years, spending his nights alone with nobody to talk to and nothing to do but read. In the book Crooks lives alone in a shed and isn't allowed to socialize with the others because of the color of his skin. When Lennie came in to talk with crooks he said “Come on in and set a while, long as you won't go and leave me alone.” and he
Have you ever been powerless, or isolated from this world? Some people in life have no power in a situation and isolated, and those people are in Of Mice and Men made by John Steinbeck. Receiving prejudice in this story is very tough and rough for these guys. They get isolated from the outside world because people think less of them in the story. Just for a quick summary of who these people are; Lennie is a really big guy who has a brain illness that makes him mentally challenged and not mature. he is likely to not control his body and usually makes trouble whatever he touches; The other person in this story is Crooks, who is an African slave who is just isolated from everyone else from the farm because of his race. He doesn’t have a say in
Crook which is one characters that was isolated and lonely because of his race, disability and his deep mistrust of others. He is physically separated from the other men and has his own room in the barn. And since he is black he does not have the freedom or flexibility like the other worker have. His loneliness forces him to talk to Lennie. But when Lennie tried, helplessly in an attempt to make friends with Crook said sharply, "You got no right to come in my room. This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me." Since Crook has always been treated differently than the other workers he treated everybody how he was treated. However when Crook was little his dad never wanted him to play with the kids since they was white use a quote “There wasn’t another colored family for
The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a story which follows the lives of two migrant farm workers named George, a small man with well-defined features that can think quickly, and Lennie, a giant man that has some mental handicaps, as they start to work at a new job. The story takes place during the Great Depression where many men roamed the country in search of a place to settle down and make a living. Throughout the story, we meet many new characters who are facing similar struggles. When the two main protagonists arrive at the ranch, they are greeted by Candy, an old "Swamper" trying to make himself useful even with his age working against him. Later they learn of a man named Crooks who lives alone in the barn because of his dark
Loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men In Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, there are many different themes. One of these themes is loneliness. Loneliness can be described as a sadness because someone has no friends and company. The setting of the Story is in California, a normally happy place.
“Loneliness- sadness because one has no friends or company.” In Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, loneliness is a main characteristic of the characters set in this point of of time. Throughout the story about the Great Depression, there are multiple main themes. One of themes that occurred within many of the characters was loneliness. Of Mice and Men uses each character a different way to portray the fact that many people during the Great Depression were more or less lonely.