Preview

Of Mice And Men: Loneliness

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
307 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Of Mice And Men: Loneliness
A famous catholic sister of god once said “the most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.” Loneliness is shown profoundly throughout the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In this essay I will be observing the characters Lennie, George, and Curley's Wife, I will be discussing how loneliness impacts them individually. Although George seems to be a knowledgeable and kind person, he often can feel lonely at times. George relies on Lennie for company, and companionship. An example of this, is when George says to lennie; “I could get along so easy and nice without you on my tail.”(p7) George says this to Lennie, because George really loves lennie but doesn't want to show any sign of compassion towards Lennie.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Loneliness is presented in ‘of mice and men,’ in many ubiquitous forms. 2 characters, who are overly dominant in the world of loneliness, are George and Crooks. ‘We are the loneliest guys in the world.’ As this statement is said, the audience is under realisation of the true meaning behind the novella. As well as personal loneliness, there are forms of physical loneliness, such as the setting of the book, which takes place in a town, known as ‘Soledad,’ which ironically enough, is the Spanish word for ‘Solitude.’ The existence of loneliness outlines the engagements of the assorted characters in the book.…

    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    How does John Steinbeck use the context of the Great Depression to explore the major themes in Of Mice and Men?…

    • 841 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    During the 1900’s, there was a large division between males and females. Women were stereotyped as weak and passive, with little to no freedoms not to mention they were unable to attain work as easily as men. In Of Mice and Men and Flowers for Algernon both Curley’s wife and Fay help further the point that women didn’t have it simple in the 1900’s. Through their levels of loneliness, their mistreatment as women, and their image of only being an object, it is apparent that these women faced many challenges during their existence.…

    • 1743 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Loneliness is an experience that many people experience in their lives. In Of Mice and Men, Loneliness is a key factor in why many of the characters are characterized the way that they are. John Steinbeck makes most of the characters seem lonely. Most of the ranch hands travel alone except for of course George and Lennie. Crooks, the only African American on the ranch, is always in the barn away from the others, and is not allowed in the bunkhouse because the color of his skin. Old Candy, the oldest person on the ranch, experiences loneliness because his dog, his only companion, had just been shot. Candy’s wife, being the only woman on the ranch, is always seeking someone to talk to. A crippled African American that lives isolated from the others, an old swamper who just lost his companion forever, and the only woman on the ranch are all desperate to find someone to talk to, and suffer from an acute loneliness that leads to many different consequences.…

    • 821 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Of Mice and Men" essay on Loneliness is a basic part of human life. Every one becomes lonely once in a while but in Steinbeck's novella "Of Mice and Men", he illustrates the loneliness of ranch life in the early 1930's and shows how people are driven to try and find friendship in order to escape from loneliness. Steinbeck creates a lonely and blue atmosphere at many times in the book. He uses names and words such as the town near the ranch called "Soledad", which means loneliness and the card game "Solitaire" Which means by ones self. He makes it clear that all the men on the ranch are lonely, with particular people lonelier than others. In the opening chapter, Steinbeck introduces the idea of loneliness and men who work on ranches living temporary lives, with no aim in life. Steinbeck uses the setting to convey these ideas. As they were walking along the path, it is described as " a path beaten by hard boys coming down from the ranches to swim in the deep pool, and beaten hard by tramps who come wearily down from the highway in the evening to jungle-up near water" (p.18) This creates a setting and shows how men who work on the ranch have had temporary, isolated and lonely lives. He also writes "an ash-pile made by many fires" (p.18) This shows that many men must have walked through this road to enter a lonely and miserable life, moving from ranch to ranch finding useless work. I think all the people living in the ranch are lonely. This proves this where Steinbeck describes the bunk house where all the workers sleep. "Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves for personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk." (p38) The way Steinbeck describes the bunkhouse indicates their lonely lives. Also by only having two shelves for their personal belongings shows their lonely insecure lives.…

    • 2148 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Loneliness and isolation is a dominant theme in Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck during the great depression. The reason why Candy was isolated was because he was old and handicap. The only thing that kept him happy was his dog but no one liked him since he was old and stinked. Crooks has always been isolated because he is black. Being black during this time people didn't really like you they were afraid that since you're a different color you're going to cause a crime. The main character of the story was George he was isolated from everyone that was equal to him. Lennie was the only one he had to talk with but all he did was agree with him since he was retarded. Many of the characters in of mice and men are isolated and lonely, which echoed the feelings during the great depression.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Loneliness is the feeling of isolation and no hope or dreams in your life-which is what Steinbeck achieves by portraying this theme effectively through key fictional characters in Of Mice and Men. By living in the town of ‘Soledad’ (Spanish for loneliness), the audience gets an overwhelming sense of the depressing environment that the migrant farmers are living through by their repetitive lifestyle and the consequences they face through the Great Depression and the Dustbowl. Yet another aspect of loneliness which is exposed vulnerably through several characters is the idea of the American Dream, for Steinbeck teaches us that even through hard work and prosperity, it is unattainable which is represented by Curley’s wife, Crooks, Candy and George + Lennie. These personas are left in isolation for as George says that ‘Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They don’t belong no place…’ which is to say that these characters have lost all hope in their lives, which Steinbeck conveys effectively, and the fact that despite this, they still believe there is hope to come for them, which leaves me to sympathise for them more.…

    • 1348 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the United States, there are over 44 million people who are lonely and longing to connect with another living soul. Loneliness is a psychological disease that gradually consumes you, until you are left feeling empty and rejected from society. Psychologists believe that physical isolation, the death of a loved one, or low self-esteem are all contributing factors. Those who struggle with this disease may experience depression or drastic personality alterations. In the novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck conveys how adversity shapes character by illustrating that loneliness influences individuals to appear cold-hearted or detached.…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The loneliness of Crooks, Lennie, Candy, and Curley's wife is shown in many different ways. The first person that is lonely is Crooks. Crooks is lonely because he is the only black man on the ranch, and he cannot go in he bunkhouse because it is filled with white people, so he cannot talk to anyone before bed. For example, nobody is allowed in Crooks room because he is not allowed in the bunkhouse therefore Crooks has books in his room to read. Another person who is lonely is Lennie. Lennie is lonely because all he has is George, and when George leaves Lennie has no one else. He is also lonely because he cannot talk to people because they do not understand him. For example, when George went into town, Lennie had no one to talk to so he went…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    A person is always trying to find a bond with another person, but in this lonesome world that doesn’t always occur. When people are deprived of companionship, a lot of different effects happen in different people. The different situations that everyone is in can lead to different outcomes and can lead to people developing different personalities and different situations in life. This longing for companionship is a theme that is widely explored in the book in the book Of Mice and Men. In this book, John Steinbeck uses the characters Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy to show that loneliness is sadly a part of life that everyone has to fight against.…

    • 1552 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Loneliness, the quality of being unfrequented and remote, isolation. In simpler terms, to feel depressed due to not have companions or being alone. Loneliness is something we’ve all experienced at least once in our lives. Even fictional characters feel the negative, melancholy emotion. For example, George in “Of Mice and Men”, a novel about George and Lennie’s journey to have employment during the Great Depression to fulfill the dream of land ownership. In “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck, the author, uses symbolism to display loneliness by using things like locations and games to show loneliness through characters and how they cope with the feeling.…

    • 575 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Loneliness is the theme of the novel Of Mice and Men. The shadow of loneliness follows the majority of the characters. Loneliness is the meaning of the and the end of the novel. Everyone seems to deal with their loneliness is different ways. Loneliness can be the beginning of people having serious problems. Everyone in life needs and deserves to have someone to talk with, that’s just how life is. How could you possibly live being an extremely lonely person?…

    • 494 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    6. Loneliness is a dominate theme in Of Mice and Men. Most of the characters are lonely and searching for companion or just as an audience. The examples of character discuss the example of character loneliness, the efforts of the characters in search of companionship and their varying degree of success.…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    John Steinbeck Loneliness

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The famous country music singer/songwriter, musician, and actor Waylon Jennings said, “This world that I live in is empty and cold, the loneliness cuts me and tortures my soul.” Loneliness is one of the fundamental themes of the novel, Of Mice and Men in which John Steinbeck wrote in the midst of the Great Depression. In this essay, I am going to show who loneliness impacts the three characters, Crooks, Lennie, and Candy.…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are several themes present in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, among them powerlessness and the impossibility of the American dream. Although these two themes definitely make up a fair portion of the story, they are not the subject of this paper. Nay, for standing prominently alongside these themes is loneliness, which is indisputably one of the most major concepts explored in the duration of the story. The theme of loneliness is thoroughly fleshed out through both characters – specifically Lennie and Curley's wife – and the involvement of migrant workers in general.…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays