Loneliness Of Farm Life In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Steinbeck tells a story of loneliness and inequality. Throughout the novella, characters are often alone and are in some way treated differently from others. The story took place in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. People during that time period just wanted to survive; that was their idea of the American Dream. They traded survival for happiness. All the characters in the novella are somewhat alone and have nobody to count on. Curley’s wife is the loneliest in the novella because she is the only woman on the ranch, she is in an unhappy marriage, and she is mistreated because she’s the only woman.

An additional character who portrays loneliness throughout the book is Curley 's Wife. She feels lonely and isolated because nobody wants to be around her in fear of Curley seeing them with her, so she thinks that she has no one to talk to; this leads to a deep, fathomless feeling of loneliness. When she finally does find someone she can talk to, she mainly talks about how she hates the ranch because nobody ever talks to her. Another favorite topic of hers is to talk about how lonely she is all of the time. “—Sat 'day night. Ever 'body out doin ' som 'pin. Ever 'body! An ' what am I doin '? Standin ' here talkin ' to a bunch of bindle stiffs—a nigger an ' a dum-dum and a lousy ol ' sheep—an ' likin ' it because they ain 't nobody else” (Steinbeck 78). This is the part of the novella when the reader stops thinking of Curley 's Wife as a “tart” (Steinbeck 28) who “gives the eye” (Steinbeck 28) to every man she sees; rather,

He has used this by using the quote '' The ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young.'' Steinbeck has described her as an angel who washed out her sins and went pure. In contrast to this Curley only cares about his social status. You can see this when ''Curley...ain't you better stay here with your wife''. Normally when your wife dies you would want to share your last moments together but the fact that Curley has to be reminded about his wife's death is upsetting since his main focus is killing Lennie. And it emphasises that he just used her as a possession due to the fact that it was a loveless marriage therefore he didn't really care much about her. In this quote you can also tell that all the bunkmates felt sorry for her even thought she acted with suspense because she didn't deserve more misery in her

Through her actions, Curley's Wife shows that she is lonely. Curley's Wife says to the men, "I'm lookin' for Curley" (Steinbeck 31). This quote represents that Curley's Wife is trying to be evasive, saying that she is searching for her husband but what she really demands is attention. In the barn with Lennie it appears that she needs companionship when she is sharing with him about her past. Curley's Wife talks about how she could be in the movies (Steinbeck 88). This passage suggests that she is sad that there aren't a lot of people around her because that is what it could be like if she was in the movies. Through the words about her husband Curley, she shows she needs companionship. She discloses that she doesn’t like Curley because he doesn’t let her talk to anyone but him (Steinbeck 87). This quote proposes that Curley isn't a very favorable companion because he isn't likeable and he doesn’t let her converse with anyone. During the novel Curley's Wife shows she is lonely and needs companionship through her feelings, her actions, and other

Steinbeck wrote about many different characters who are full of dreams which sadly none of their dreams came true. Everyone has a big dream that would like to accomplish one day but sometimes , when we get lonely our dreams don’t come true. Through these characters John Steinbeck shows the effects about true loneliness.

In a society of people all in the same situations how can someone feel so alone. When lives fall apart and people have nothing to hold on to people need each other most, yet are pushed so far from others. The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, follows the storyline of two men who are displaced farm workers during the Great Depression; they travel around and stick by each other’s sides no matter the circumstance. After many jobs they end up on a farm,the farm they hope will be their last stop. The time spent on the farm is filled with blooming friendships and careless quarrels, yet with an abundance of characters and entertainment- many people on the farm feel alone and out of place. Characters such as Crooks and Curley’s wife often come to mind when the subject of loneliness is brought up. Throughout the book using characters such as Crooks and Curley's wife, John Steinbeck demonstrates that humans are immensely impacted by separation from society and it will change the way that people will act and show themselves to others.

He has used this by using the quote '' The ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young.'' Steinbeck has described her as an angel who washed out her sins and went pure. In contrast to this Curley only cares about his social status. You can see this when ''Curley...ain't you better stay here with your wife''. Normally when your wife dies you would want to share your last moments together but the fact that Curley has to be reminded about his wife's death is upsetting since his main focus is killing Lennie. And it emphasises that he just used her as a possession due to the fact that it was a loveless marriage therefore he didn't really care much about her. In this quote you can also tell that all the bunkmates felt sorry for her even thought she acted with suspense because she didn't deserve more misery in her

He has used this by using the quote '' The ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very mo and simple, and her face was sweet and young.'' Steinbeck has described her as an angel who washed out her sins and went pure. In contrast to this Curley only cares about his social status. You can see this when ''Curley...ain't you better stay here with your wife''. Normally when your wife dies you would want to share your last moments together but the fact that Curley has to be reminded about his wife's death is upsetting since his main focus is killing Lennie. And it emphasises that he just used her as a possession due to the fact that it was a loveless marriage therefore he didn't really care much about her. In this quote you can also tell that all the bunkmates felt sorry for her even thought she acted with suspense because she didn't deserve more misery in her

Curley is very possessive of her, as if she is something that belongs to him but that everyone else desires. Curley wants the men on the ranch to know that he has something valuable that they aren’t allowed to have. Because Curley’s wife is so lonely, she is always seeking attention and putting a lot of effort into her appearance. Steinbeck writes, “She had full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages.” (31) Her over the top looks portrays her desperation to be noticed. Curley also restricts her from from socializing with the other ranch men, which makes her have no friends. She is unable to make any connections with the men on the ranch because everyone knows that if they talk to her, it will end up causing trouble with Curley, something every rancher is desperate to avoid. Since nobody seems to want to talk to Curley’s wife the loneliness makes her doubtful about herself. “What’s the matter with me? Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?” (Steinbeck 85). Steinbeck wants us to acknowledge loneliness and realize that sometimes people can be together and yet still be

In the novel “Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck, the emotion of isolation is presented frequently throughout the novel. John Steinbeck shows the emotion of isolation through the characters in the novel which makes it easier for the reader to relate to this emotion because we are all familiar with it. Throughout the novel Crooks who is a black stable buck lived on the ranch with many other men, but due to the extensive racism during that time, this made him feel isolated from everyone. A quote that shows this is “A guy gets lonely if he ain’t got nobody...

Loneliness is the feeling of isolation and no hope or dreams in your life which is what Steinbeck achieves by portraying this theme effectively using key characters and settings in Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck writes about the Great Depression and how two friends, Lennie and George, stay together through this tough time. They go from town to town and work on ranches, always staying together. This new haven in California they stumble upon seems like a good fit, however Lennie creates problems and terminates their chances of survival there.

An idea I found interesting in the novel ‘Of Mice And Men,’ by John Steinbeck was loneliness and isolation. I found this idea interesting because it helped me understand how important it is to be surrounded by people. George and Lennie’s friendship contrasts this idea as they are friends and they have each other, whereas most of the other ranch workers travel alone. The idea of loneliness was strongly conveyed through the characters Crooks and Curley’s wife, they are both key examples of lonely and segregated characters. The location of the ranch also represents the idea of isolation as the Spanish translation of the town’s name ‘Soledad’ means loneliness.

In the chapter where she is talking to Lennie about all the fame she could've had and what she could've made out of herself she says, “Well, I ain’t told nobody this before..”(Steinbeck 88.) This quote shows that Curley’s wife never expresses her feelings. People who are often lonely tend to not share their feelings with others but when they do they make it clear. As I was reading the article Psychology Today I saw two quotes that made me think of Curley’s wife. The first one was, “What makes us happiest in life? Some people may point to fabulous fame and fortune. You could have people around you throughout the day or even be in a lifelong marriage and still experience deep, pervasive loneliness.”("Psychology Today." Loneliness. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.) This shows how Curley's wife is lonely because she is married to Curley but she still wants to be around the other guys. She wants to be noticed. As it says in the quote a person could be married for a long time and still feel loneliness. Also, Curley’s wife always wanted to be an actress and be famous. Like the quote says she wants fame and fortune. She craves that because she is

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

In the whole book Of Mice and Men the main theme was either loneliness or isolation. Throughout the book each characters were feeling either lonely or isolated for an example Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife just to name a few.