Preview

Of Mice And Men: The Effects Of Loneliness

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
206 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Of Mice And Men: The Effects Of Loneliness
Steinbeck depicts the effects of loneliness through characters in Of Mice and Men. Curley’s wife is possibly the loneliest character demonstrated in the book Of Mice and Men. “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely.” (Steinbeck 86) This example suggests it isn’t just Lennie and George who distance themselves from Curley’s wife, it is many people on the ranch. Lennie’s frustration throughout the book allows us a glimpse of his feelings of isolation. “If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an find a cave. I can away at any time.” (Steinbeck 12) Lennie explains to us how frustrated he gets with George for always being so upset with him. Crooks depicts his feelings of isolation during his conversation

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

    Curley's Wifes Loneliness

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Almost everyone is lonely at some point in their life. Whether you want to hang out with friends and no one is available, or you're just sitting in your bedroom by yourself isolated from everyone else with nothing to do. Throughout your life you are going to want to be surrounded by people you enjoy and are loved by. In John Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men" loneliness and the need for companionship is shown in ways such as Crooks with discrimination, Curley's wife, and conflict.…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 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

    The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, takes place during the Great Depression era in the 1930s. Life changed dramatically from the thriving 1920s. Work was hard to find because of the bad economy, and everybody lived tough lives. It was even tougher for African Americans, women, and the elderly because they were all considered useless at the time. Everyone had no respect for them, and they were very low on the social pyramid. Due to their low status and respect, these people were very lonely and wanted companionship of others. Steinbeck depicts these problems through the lives of Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy, who are social pariahs on the ranch because of their physical conditions, and therefore, they live a very sad and lonely life.…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 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
  • Good Essays

    Lennie and his dream on the ranch would never happen. He started to believe he’d have a chance to share the closeness of George and Lennie. The audience can probably assume that Slim doesn The men encountered throughout the story were puzzled as to why two men would travel together. Most of them traveled alone, and didn’t care about anyone else.…

    • 507 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    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.…

    • 307 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory 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
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice And Men

    • 642 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Steinbeck's book "Of Mice and Men", he illustrates the isolation 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 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, this makes it clear that all the men on the ranch are lonely, with particular people lonelier than others. For example Crooks, who suffers from extreme loneliness because he is black and he is living in a ranch and the surrounding area which is very racist. He lives by himself, because the other men do not like him. He does not take part in any of the social activities in the ranch and is left out completely. Even though Curley's wife is mentioned frequently, we never know what her name is. This just shows how people do not care for others, leading to isolation.…

    • 642 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck uses the theme of loneliness throughout the entirety of the novel. When people feel lonely their way of life is different than that of someone's who isn't lonely or them if they were not lonely. They may act differently than they would if they weren't experiencing loneliness, they may even change their way of life. The effects of loneliness on people are displayed in the novel Of Mice and Men through the characters of Curley's Wife, Candy, and Crooks.…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good 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

    Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is set in the midst of the 1930s during the Great Depression. The novella follows Lennie and George at their new jobs on a ranch in Soledad, California. Lennie is quickly shown to have a slight mental disability yet George puts up with him to avoid loneliness. Crooks, an outsider on the ranch, even confides in Lennie as no one else pays him any mind. Also, Curley’s wife, who was considered a nuisance by the other laborers, admitted to Lennie and Candy about how unhappy she is staying at the ranch. They all have done things outside their comfort zone to combat loneliness. The constant need for companionship causes many characters go to extremes, which is greatly shown in George, Crooks and Curley’s wife.…

    • 543 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

    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