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Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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“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

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