Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Steinbeck introduces Lennie by physical description and it gives us an idea of how powerful he is compared to George. “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders” (Steinbeck, Pg. 2) In this quote, the author is trying to make the reader

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (Steinbeck 13). This is said by George Milton in the novella Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men takes place in California during the Great Depression. Loneliness reoccurs several times because people do not stay at a work place long enough to make friends and usually travel alone. Loneliness is the main theme of Of Mice and Men because many characters deal with being lonely in different ways. It affects people who are looked down on because of their gender, race, and ability.

Setting: The story begins in Connecticut but is focused in Salinas Valley, CA. The story spans a good half century, from the Civil War era to World War I.

In the novel Of Mice and Men, Arthur John Steinbeck successfully creates a timeless literary novel. The novella was first published in 1937 and transcends time with compelling characters and a unique plot, readers easily become invested in the book. Steinbeck takes you on an emotional roller coaster throughout the story with characters that earn the reader 's sympathy from the start of the novella. Students usually read Of Mice and Men their freshman year of high school. Some people believe that students should not read Of Mice and Men because of its strong language and mature themes. There are multiple reasons students should read Of Mice and Men. The literary novella introduces students to new literary devices and does not take away from

Since the beginning of time, the dual nature of humanity has comprised of two mindsets that lie on opposite ends of the human spectrum - rationality and sentiment. Long before the era of advanced technology, humans have consistently been put to the test against the elements, and every time a new challenge befell them, humans merely conquered and adapted to their new challenge due to their survival instinct to be at the top. The very nature of humans to dominate others drives their everyday actions to strive for success. However, the predacious nature of humans is also a dangerous force to society as manifested through John Steinbeck’s classic novella, Of Mice and Men. This story revolves around George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced

They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch to work up a stake and then go inta town and blow their stake”(Steinbeck 15). Lennie exclaimed “’With us it ani’t like that.’

Everyone needs companionship to truly prosper in life and be cheerful. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck this claim appears many times through characters who struggle with feeling fulfilled due to the lack of companionship. The characters are jealous of the relationship George and Lennie have because of their solitude. This envy is proven multiple times within the book with Crooks, Candy, and even Slim, showing that it is human nature to crave attention because of the fear of being alone.

It foreshadowed how George would later become one of the ranchers, alone. Whenever Lennie gets mad and tries to stay away from George, George’s answer was always the same wanting Lennie beside him. This also reveals how George doesn’t want to become lonely like others.

The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck takes place on a ranch a few miles outside of Soledad, in a valley called Salinas during the Great Depression in California. The novel is about two itinerant ranch hands, George and Lennie, who stick together and dream of one day owning their own farm. Unfortunately, this dream, along with Lennie, dies when George makes the difficult decision of killing his friend Lennie after he accidentally snaps a woman’s neck towards the end of the novel. George’s action of killing Lennie at the end of the novel was incorrect.

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck displays characters who each express their individual sense of loneliness. In particular, Crooks, the stable buck, exhibits a specific kind of solitude which stems from his background, discrimination towards him, and his isolation. As a child, Crooks grew up with two brothers that were “always near [him], always there” (73). He mentions remembering “[his] old man’s chicken ranch” (73) where he could live freely, spend time with his family, and play with his friends. Now, he has lost everything - his brothers, his family’s ranch, and the company that he had through his family and friends - thus igniting his loneliness.

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck addresses the theme of loneliness and isolation. The novel tells the story of two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who while traveling together chase the American Dream. This becomes difficult because society misunderstands Lennie’s thought process. This gets him into trouble that George has to get him out of. This connection George and Lennie shared was rare for workers during this era. Migrant workers never stayed in one location for too long. They also traveled by their lonesome. Not only this, but many people were also social outcasts and shunned by society. Steinbeck establishes the theme of loneliness and isolation, a very common problem throughout the Great Depression, by telling of those that are alone and others actions towards them.

“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.”

Steinbeck had to work to earn his own money as a teenager; he worked on ranches nearby Salinas in the summertime when he was in high school. In 1919, he entered Stanford University in Palo Alto, but withdrew after two years. Until 1921 Steinbeck worked on a ranch south of Salinas before returning to Stanford. He then attended classes on and off and worked several different jobs when not at school, including one as a laborer in the beet and barley fields of Salinas. This is the experience he continued on to write about 15 years later in Of Mice and Men (“Of Mice” 242).

Going from place to place, working for a month, then collecting a wage at the end of each month was how the people in California worked during the great depression, according to Steinbeck. The great depression hit everyone undoubtedly hard, but for some it hit them the worst. George and Lennie are examples that John Steinbeck used to show the hardships people were going through. Most men were alone during this time, however, in Steinbeck’s novella George and Lennie are the exception. Even though they have each other, both of them still are tempted by life. Steinbeck brings out the image of those without family, a job that they continuously do, and even the people who generally have no place to call home. In Steinbeck’s novella his purpose was

Through his characters, John Steinbeck, author of Of Mice and Men, illustrates the way people endure isolation, and the despondency that is found in those lacking a purpose which was commonplace during the Great Depression. One such character is Crooks, who is different from the other ranch hands because he is an African American, and as such, he is forced to live alone. He has a crooked, misshapen spine, which makes him even further of an outcast. He is lonely, and he has shielded himself from the other farmhands in an armor of pessimism and abjection, when in all actuality, he wants to talk to the other workers rather than reading books alone in his room. He feels that “A guy needs somebody to be near him. . . A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody” (72). In this way, Crooks is insinuating his own need for company, and when Lennie and Candy show up in his room, “It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger” (75).