Of Mice And Men Symbolism Loneliness

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. George might have Lennie by his side, but George also feels loneliness. Now, Lennie is often a companion to George, but because of Lennie’s dependency on George, he is a burden to George. In the novel, Steinbeck symbolizes loneliness by making George frequently play solitaire. Solitaire, a card game you play by yourself, is even often played by the ranch workers which are “the loneliest guys in the world”. And not only that, “solitaire” is derived from the word “solitude”, state of isolation/by yourself; alone. In the text, it states “Almost automatically George shuffled the cards
It symbolized loneliness because it shows how Candy’s only real companion is now gone and he doesn’t have no one to rely on. In the text, it states “The old man squirmed uncomfortably. "Well- hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him." He said proudly, "You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen.". This line shows how his relationship with his dog was so long and meaningful that letting him go would be too much. Also, he might be thinking about who would he be friends now since his old friend is going to go soon. Maybe that’s why he decides to have a friendship with George and