Of Mice and Men
Of Mice and Men
‘Soledad means loneliness. Why is this relevant to Of Mice and Men? Discuss’
Soledad derives from the word Solitude, a state of social isolation. It is the situation/state of being alone. Loneliness is defined as an emotional state in which a person (or animal) experiences an immense feeling of emptiness and isolation.
Loneliness and isolation is a theme that is reflected constantly throughout Of Mice and Men such as; the characters, in the minor actions that the characters pursue, in this case, when the men play solitaire, and also the settings which are described to us that give us the idea of loneliness.
The characters in Of Mice and Men experience loneliness in various ways to each other through the story. Many of the men who work at the ranch travel alone besides George and Lennie. This makes the other men curious yet also suspicious of their motives. Many of the workmen and characters at the ranch can be seen as lonely in the way that they are separated from their families and civilisation, however, the characters which are the main victims of loneliness in Of Mice and Men are Curley’s wife, George and Crooks. John Steinbeck portrays Curley’s Wife as the only female on the ranch and gives the reader a description to identify her with ‘Full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red’ (Page 32), Steinbeck presents her as a beautiful young woman who is especially appealing to the men at the ranch. As we progress in the book we find that one of the men Whit explains, “I never seen nobody like her. She got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody. I bet she even gives the stable buck the eye. I don’t know what the hell she wants” (Page 51). It is soon discovered that Curley’s Wife is always looking for Curley and he is always looking for her. However this is just her alibi so that she can go around the ranch trying to talk to all the men and get their attention, which she doesn’t get from Curley. The
‘Soledad means loneliness. Why is this relevant to Of Mice and Men? Discuss’
Soledad derives from the word Solitude, a state of social isolation. It is the situation/state of being alone. Loneliness is defined as an emotional state in which a person (or animal) experiences an immense feeling of emptiness and isolation.
Loneliness and isolation is a theme that is reflected constantly throughout Of Mice and Men such as; the characters, in the minor actions that the characters pursue, in this case, when the men play solitaire, and also the settings which are described to us that give us the idea of loneliness.
The characters in Of Mice and Men experience loneliness in various ways to each other through the story. Many of the men who work at the ranch travel alone besides George and Lennie. This makes the other men curious yet also suspicious of their motives. Many of the workmen and characters at the ranch can be seen as lonely in the way that they are separated from their families and civilisation, however, the characters which are the main victims of loneliness in Of Mice and Men are Curley’s wife, George and Crooks. John Steinbeck portrays Curley’s Wife as the only female on the ranch and gives the reader a description to identify her with ‘Full, rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red’ (Page 32), Steinbeck presents her as a beautiful young woman who is especially appealing to the men at the ranch. As we progress in the book we find that one of the men Whit explains, “I never seen nobody like her. She got the eye goin’ all the time on everybody. I bet she even gives the stable buck the eye. I don’t know what the hell she wants” (Page 51). It is soon discovered that Curley’s Wife is always looking for Curley and he is always looking for her. However this is just her alibi so that she can go around the ranch trying to talk to all the men and get their attention, which she doesn’t get from Curley. The