Preview

The Role Of Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1392 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Role Of Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
In Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, the characters are trenchantly described as “Lonely Dreamers.” Since there was a stock crash in 1929 everyone got economically depressed. Lennie and George are two men who go to work on a ranch. They encounter many complications. Crooks one of the ranchers wanted to be equal to the others. Candy is a poor old swamper who is depressed of friends and Curley’s wife wants to be a film star but can’t, so they all suffer and therefore dream and are lonely.

George Milton is a lonely dreamer who has a friend named Lennie Small who is very immature and George is an outcast between the ranchers. The company of Lennie makes George feel lonely and make a picture in his mind about a dream-come-true ranch. George thinks that they (Lennie and George) are the loneliest
…show more content…
They got no family. They don’t belong no place.

(Steinbeck 31-32)

Here loneliness is expressed through George, talking about the unexisting family. George has no quality conversations with someone of his own age, because Lennie is very immature. George desires a family and someone to talk to who understands.

George Milton dream a lot. He always keeps on complaining that he had to look after Lennie but if he didn’t he could go an make fifty bucks by working in another job. He could then use the money and go buy something he likes, or go to a whore house. George was definitely dreaming because he wasn’t going to leave Lennie alone and please his own will, he tells Lennie what he feels:

“An’ when the end of the month came I would take my fifty bucks and go to a….cat house…”

(Steinbeck 145: 2000 Ed)

George was not allowed to leave Lennie, runaway and get money, it is impossible because George promised Aunt Clara and he would feel guilty to leave Lennie who doesn’t know how to handle things. George was in a very hard

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Throughout the book, “Of Mice and Men” George is Lennie’s everything! From dusk to dawn he is Lennie’s caretaker, friend, and he also works in place of himself and Lennie, too! He doesn’t have the easiest job in the world, either. He is faced with many challenges throughout the book. I do believe that towards the end George was finally getting enough, and he was getting tired of watching Lennie struggle. It got the best of him in a way.…

    • 534 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    On their way to the farm in Salinas, California, George described this dream to Lennie. They had stopped to rest in a field when George said, “‘O.K. Someday—we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and—‘” (13). George continued to describe their dream when he said, “’We’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the winter, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work, and we’ll build up a fire in the stove and set around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof—‘” (14). This dream was important to George, because he wanted to be free instead of being controlled by other people. Lennie was excited about this dream also, because he would get to pet rabbits all day and he loved to pet soft things. Although their dream was amazing, they unfortunately could not fulfill it due to many reasons. One reason their dream did not come true was because they got fired from most of their jobs due to Lennie’s mental retardation. For example, during their last job, Lennie saw a girl who was wearing a dress that looked soft, so he touched it without her permission. The woman yelled and two guys were sent out to find Lennie…

    • 1309 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Paria1

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Since the death of Lennie's Aunt Clara, George took it upon himself to take responsibility of him and his special needs by finding him jobs, feeding him, and making sure he is safe. Their mutual dependence on one another is what keeps George and Lennie together. Lennie stays with George because he has no other option. His only family,…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    At first glance George and Lennie had a great relationship but as the story progresses, George discovers he must move on to a better life. “ ‘God a’mighty, if I [George] was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want…’ “(11). At the beginning of the story George knew what Lennie had done in their previous town Weed, but he didn’t notice all the events leading up to another mistake that was even worst than the last. Due to the fact that Lennie doesn’t know wrong from right George had to keep fixing his mistakes, which was hurting George and his dreams. It wasn’t until after Lennie killed Curley’s Wife that George realized his dreams were not going anywhere while Lennie was still around. So he knew that it was in the best interest for both of them if they went their separate ways. Although George didn’t have to kill Lennie in order for him to succeed, George felt like that was the only way he could have peace with himself and the death of Lennie. In the end George knew that Lennie needed him in order to succeed in life but Lennie was holding him back so George got…

    • 611 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the show Supernatural, Dean has to kill same because when Dean and Sam’s dad dies, Sam starts to become bad because it’s in his blood. He tells dean that if he can’t control Sam, he will kill him. This is similar to George in the novel Of Mice and Men. George has to kill Lennie, but Lennie is like a brother to him. George and Dean are similar because they both have to kill someone they grew up with because they’re making things worse for themselves.…

    • 561 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Even though Lennie doesn't always obey George, he is willing to give up what he wants to do in order for George and him to stay together. Lennie does this because he truly cares about George.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    George takes care of him on the notion he will be able to teach Lennie the ways of life and in the end he will be fine and they will start a farm. Many times Lennie proves that his personality is unchanging and he has great trouble learning. He forgets constantly what gets him in trouble such as killing animals with his monstrous hands or touching the girl in the red dress. As George realizes the state of mind is in he begins to become upset with Lennie yet sympathetic because he knew ironically Lennie wouldn't completely understand or even remember being lectured. With the realization that Lennie was much dumber than he had known not being able to remember most things George began to see the relationship dissolve to a father-son type of relationship. Georges important quote "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. . . . With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowin' in our jack jus' because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us." can be seen as the hope that kept George with Lennie but by the end of the novel it is just a habitually story George tells Lennie to make him feel…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The quote chosen to depict loneliness in the novella is intended to show that as long as somebody is there with you, everything will be okay. Some may say that they can deal with being alone, but that would be defying human nature. Everybody, no matter how old, big or small, or no matter the colour of their skin, is always in need of reassurance from another human being. The fact that George having Lennie and vice versa shows that even though they constantly are disagreeing or getting on each others nerves, they have one another to rely on.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    George and Lennie are partly an exception in this loneliness. Lennie, due to his mental capability, has never felt loneliness. This is mainly because George has always been with him. George has also not felt lonely before because he has Lennie for companionship. “Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place…” (p.15). “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar-room blowin’ in our jack jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” “But not us! An’ why? Because… because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” (p.15 – 16).…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mice and Men

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After George realizes that Lennie is going to be killed because he had killed Curley's wife he begins to think of what his life without Lennie will be like. He says to Lenny “an’ when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks an’ go to a … cat house…” George by saying this, he predicts the meaningful life he would have without Lennie. The fact that George puts up with Lennie even though he causes him problems shows that he also needs Lennie to be his friend.…

    • 719 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Of Mice and Men Essay

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages

    George and Lennie’s bond is displayed most explicitly in their dream to own their own land and to be totally self-reliant, having no one to tell them what to do. When George talks about the dream it makes Lennie happy and excited. Lennie dreams of tending to rabbits; George uses this almost as an incentive to keep Lennie out of trouble. “But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits.” Their dream gives them something to aspire towards and keeps them motivated during difficult times.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There's the theme of the American Dream, and the reader's feel sympathy for George because he keeps telling Lennie about the dream so much he believes it himself now. It's such a small thing that makes him so happy, and it's his only hope so the reader feels sorry for George and how hard his life is.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    of mice and men

    • 1966 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Steinbeck relies heavily on the stark contrast between reality and fantasy to present the characters' dreams for a better life within of mice and men. Two major themes in Of mice and Men - foreshadowed by the reference to Burns' mouse within the title - are loneliness and dreams. These two conflicting themes interlock: it is apparent that people who are lonely have the greatest need of dreams to help them through. This is particularly evident within the cases of George and Lennie and Curley's wife. Through Steinbeck's use of characterisation, the reader is able to empathise with the characters in their dreams for a better life but still however the realise the futility of these dreams within the harsh society of the 1930s.…

    • 1966 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    George and Lennie first talk about the dream in chapter 1 when go to sleep by the Salinas river. George comments that ranchers are the “loneliest guys in the world”. Before that, Lennie and George were running away from the town of weed due to one of Lennie’s accidents. George says…

    • 156 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Of Mice and Men

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the beginning of the novel, George is looking after and taking care of Lennie because their friendship gives them a reason to live. George talks to Lennie about how guys that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world because they have no one to talk to, not them because they have each other. One quote that George says is, “Guys like us that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys I the world. They got no family, they don’t belong no place. We aren’t like them we got somebody to talk to that actually gives a damn about us” (13-14).This is saying that most of the guys in ranches are lonely because all they do is work and care for themselves. Not Lennie and George because they have each other to look after and care for because they are like family. Without George, Lennie wouldn’t have been able to get a job because of Lennie’s disabilities. Next, George is assuring Lennie that everything will be okay in the end, because Lennie gets down pretty easily so George has to keep reminding Lennie about what both of them are going to do in the future. George tells Lennie, “We live off the lan. You know the story Lennie. We’ll have a big vegetable garden patch and a rabbit hunch and chickens”(14). George is trying to tell Lennie that they will be fine and that they won’t be separated. George is telling Lennie what they are going to do in the future because George has to take care of Lennie. Every time Lennie gets…

    • 987 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays