Loneliness is a multiplex emotion that comes from isolation. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck writes about two migrant workers, George and Lennie, who find work on a Saline Valley ranch. On the ranch, George and Lennie met three prominent characters, Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife. The way characters are presented to others verse how people actually are, helps readers see Steinbeck’s greater message. Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife isolation helps deliver Steinbeck’s message of broken dreams to the reader. Due to being the only African American in the novel, Crooks became isolated from the other characters which caused him to become anti-social. Crooks expressed to Lennie in Chapter 3, “...You got George. You know he’s goin’ to come back. S’pose you have nobody...couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ’cause you was black (Steinbeck 68).” The stem of Crooks’ isolation comes from his dad, who knew the racial boundary between whites and blacks. Crooks’ …show more content…
Carlson judges Candy and his dog’s relationship and say's, “...He ain’t no good to you, Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself..No, I couldn’t do that. I had ‘im too long (Steinbeck 44-45).” Candy’s isolation is different from any other character in the novel. Candy is a silent character when it comes to how he feels. Carlson and the other ranchers thought Candy’s dog was nothing but space to feel, but to Candy the dog symbolize him. Candy was a strong worker even with the lost of his hand, which led to him not being able to work alongside the other ranchers. Soon Candy grew old and weak such as the dog did. Whenever, the ranchers talked about the dog, Candy sat there in silence, and when the dog was shot, he was silent. Keeping your feelings to yourself only makes a situation
Factors that can fuel loneliness are abundant: depression, trauma, social rejection, loss, low self-esteem, etc. The aspect of human connection and interaction is a psychological requirement for all people, even to those who push others away. These elements of isolation are presented through three methods in a 1938 novel of friendship. John Steinbeck uses indirect characterization, discrimination, and conflict to demonstrate the effects of loneliness and need for companionship in his novel Of Mice and Men.
This is the piece of speech, when Candy is trying to persuade George to let him in on the ranch their going to get. The language Steinbeck uses here, makes Candy seem overly eager to get in with George and Lennie. Mainly because, he’s dog dies so now he doesn’t have anybody, and he feels he might get canned. So as soon as he hears the opportunity to break away from being lonely, he jumps at it. I feel extremely sorry for Candy because he has nobody to turn to. He really does try to find friendship in people, but sometimes tries to hard.
John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men contains the haunting theme of isolation that captures the "abused" little man of 1920’s America. Throughout the novel, it is shown that loneliness and isolation has a greater affect on us than may seem. Steinbeck's characters experience different forms of isolation based on the specific prejudice contained within themselves. This theme is shown in Crooks and his isolation due to his race, Candy due to his age, and Curley's wife due to her quality as "jail bait."
In Of Mice and Men, the author, Steinbeck, explores the theme of isolation. The whole book has a pessimistic and gloomy tone to it. Steinbeck has hinted at us the theme of isolation from full built evidence to subtle details (such as placing the city of the book in Soledad, California, a Spanish word for solitude). He argues that isolation forms when people become selfish and egocentric and worry about themselves all the time.
We all know that every one becomes lonely once in a while. But in Steinbeck's novella "Of Mice and Men” it shows the loneliness of ranch life in the early 1930's. It also shows how people are trying to find friendship with other ranchers in order to escape from loneliness. Imagine if you had nobody to talk to. Loneliness is the basic message here in this story.
In the masterful story Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck there is a looming theme of loneliness. This theme is told to you through the words and actions of the characters in the story . This story is told through two characters Lennie and George. The setting is 1930’s America. The story involves traveling ranch workers that live only for the one purpose to get paid and waste their money on a few drinks and some pleasure. These men are consumed with loneliness. The care for nothing but themselves. They are very unlike George and Lennie who have each other and a dream. Lennie is a big man with the brain of a child. Lennie never meant to hurt anybody but managed to get himself and his only true friend George into trouble. George is a small smart man who has known Lennie all his life and knows to well that Lennie could not survive on his own lets him travel with him as a favor too Lennie’s aunt
The implementation of isolation within the lives of John Steinbeck's characters in his novel Of Mice and Men allows him to discuss the effect isolation has on an individual's life. Through the characters of Lennie, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife, Steinbeck is able to fully illustrate how isolation influences one's attitude towards life. Lennie, Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife all live a life led by isolation. Isolation interacts differently with each character, but ultimately negatively influences each of them. Although each of the characters in Of Mice and Men experience solitude, neither of them do so by choice. Steinbeck is able to demonstrate how the concept of loneliness is essential to the unfortunate but inevitable conclusion of the novel.
Many authors of fiction attempt to convey to the reader their opinions on certain topics, or themes, throughout the course of their stories. Through his novella Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck expresses his opinions on the powerful and the powerless, unity and isolation, and dreams and reality.
In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts the essential loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930s. He illustrates how people are driven to find companionship. There were so many moments of loneliness and sadness throughout the novel, including many deaths. Following the deaths, they were very unexpected making the novel more intense and latch onto it more.
Steinbeck expresses the theme of loneliness in the character of Candy. Candy is lonely because his is missing half an arm. Candy?s disability separates him from society, an example of Curley being set aside is when everybody else goes to town he is left in the barn with Crooks, Lennie, and Curley?s wife. Candy?s only friendship was with his old, smelly dog. Candy?s dog was a symbol of himself (old, and useless). When Carlson kills Candy?s dog he kills Candy on the inside as well.
“A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. ‘I tell ya’ he cried. ‘I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” (Page 72-73) As you can see, Crooks also spends most of his time alone because he is black. He is not allowed to enter the bunk house nor go to town with the guys. He is not allowed to enter the bunk house, he is not allowed to go to town with the guys and nobody likes him because he is black. This shows that he has no friendship and his whole life is filled with loneliness. His case is different from Lennie’s.
Racial discrimination has been around for a long time, judging people for the color of their skin. Crooks is affected by this because he is black. Blacks in that time were thought as lesser than the white people. The racial discrimination affects Crooks' life in only negative ways. He is plagued by loneliness because of the color of his skin. His lack of company drives him crazy. Only when Lennie comes in to his room does he feel less lonely. He talked of his loneliness using a hypothetical scenario of George leaving Lennie. Crooks' responds to this discrimination by staying in his barn and being secluded. He doesn't want anyone to be in there but deep down he does so he can have some company. He isn't wanted in the bunk house or to play cards with the others because he is black. This effected the story by letting people walk all over him, letting them think they can do whatever they want, and ultimately making the people think they have a lot of power when really they do not.
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.
"Were born alone we live alone die alone. Only through love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that were not alone” Orson Welles. In this novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses on the loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930’s. One of the most important things in the life is to have a friend, without friends people will suffer from loneliness like in this novel, not everyone in the novel has the same connection and special friendship like George and Lennie’s. Of Mice and Men is the story about lonely men who travel from ranch to ranch not really communicating with other ranch hands. Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife all were lonely and dealt with their loneliness in different ways.
Crooks is forced into isolation and loneliness because of the colour of his skin. As Crooks himself says to Lennie "S'pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse and play rummy `cause you was black... a guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody". This is the reason he is so desperate for Lennie to stay and talk to him, and is so overjoyed after spending years of near complete isolation to find that Lennie will talk to him despite his race.