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Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Decent Essays

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (Steinbeck 13). Loneliness affects people in different ways. Some people go out of their way to get attention from others, and others isolate themselves. In the story Of Mice and Men, some of the people living on the ranch are struggling with loneliness themselves. Loneliness affects characters in Of Mice and Men through Crooks isolating himself from others, Curley’s wife flirting with other men for attention, and Lennie worrying about George leaving him to take care of himself alone. One way loneliness affects different characters in the story is how Crooks closes himself off from others. Crooks is the only African American in the story. He gets discriminated against …show more content…

Loneliness affects Curley’s wife by wanting attention from other men. She is the wife of Curley, the boss of the ranch’s son. An example of how loneliness affects her was her trying to talk to Lennie. “ ‘Well I ain’t giving you no trouble. Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in awhile?’ ” (Steinbeck 77). In the story, Curley’s wife is arguing with Crooks, Lennie, and Candy. She is complaining that no one ever lets her talk to them. People are always calling her a tart or flirt. This proves that she does not get the amount of attention that she wants. She will go out of her way to get attention from others because she is lonely. Another example of how loneliness affects her is, “ ‘Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely’ ” (Steinbeck 86). Again, Curley’s wife is talking to Lennie. In this part of the story, she is trying to convince him to let her talk to him. She is flirting with him and trying to be sweet by letting him pet her hair. This proves that the lack of attention makes her feel the need to be around other men. Being dressed up on the ranch with curled hair, high heels and pretty dresses will catch other people's attention. She argues that she just wants a friend to talk to. The attention getting makes up for her loneliness that she feels. Therefore, Curley’s wife talks to other men for attention which helps her feel less lonely than she

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