28 percent of teens ask themselves, “I wonder why I exist” (www.gallyp.com Linda Lyons). Many characters in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck feel the same way teens do. The book tells a story about many migrant workers during the 1930’s who worked on the same farm and it told a story about their lives and interactions.The 1930’s were a very hard time for most Americans that would include the workers on the farm. Despite being surrounded by others, Crooks, Curley’s Wife, and Candy actions, lack of trust, and belief in society’s prejudices keep them in a state of loneliness. To start, many of the character’s actions show their loneliness throughout the story. Crooks for example shows how lonely he is through his interactions with Lennie …show more content…
Her actions show that she is very lonely. An example of this is the clothes she wears. The clothes are very provocative and they are attention seeking outfits. This is because Curley, (her husband) is always working and he doesn’t give her any attention. Curley’s Wife also tries to “hook up” with all of the men that work on the farm because she feels like she has no one to talk to, isolation. Another reason Curley’s Wife is lonely is because of society's prejudices towards women. Curley’s Wife is clearly a female and back in the 1930’s women were not as equal or accepted as men were they didn't have the same opportunities as men. She doesn’t have real name, which shows how much respect she is given on the farm, so throughout the whole book she is just referred to ask Curley’s Wife. The other men sometimes will not talk to her or treat her right because of her gender which then intern makes her feel useless. This leads into the last example, lack of trust. Curley’s Wife does not trust anyone on the farm. This forces to her reach out to anyone that would listen and give her some attention because she feels like she can’t tell her husband how she feels because he will get angry. Also, she is very lonely and she says it on (87 Steinbeck), just prior to her death; "I get lonely," she said, “You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curly. Else he gets mad. How'd you like not to talk to …show more content…
Through the differences of age, gender, or color many characters in the book Of Mice and Men by: John Steinbeck live a life of loneliness. Many people today, some 80 years later still deal with all of the prejudices and need of trust and the ‘worker’ the healthy people need to start to accept and help the lonely because we do not know how they feel and we need to start to fix the problem of loneliness. No one wants to feel unaccepted or
She needed people to talk to, like the others do. “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’ll tell ya a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick.” (Steinbeck, 72-73). Crooks has shown us that he truly needs someone however he can’t because he is different. This goes for Curley's wife as well. Those who are different are lonely because no one wants to get involved with them. When she is lonely, Curley's wife goes to talk to people but they never accept request. “I get lonely, you can talk to people but I can't talk to nobody but curly. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody?” (Steinbeck, 87). Curley's wife explains that she is lonely. However, no one really notices it. She knows that she is claimed by someone she does not love. She only wants someone else to talk to him. Have her being viewed the way she was, was unlikely to happen. Being the woman on the ranch was awfully hard to live happy. She knew that they won't talk to her, so depression became a factor.
John Steinbeck, an American novelist, is well-known for his familiar themes of depression and loneliness. He uses these themes throughout a majority of his novels. These themes come from his childhood and growing up during the stock market crash. A reader can see his depiction of his childhood era. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the prominent themes of loneliness, the need for relationships, and the loss of dreams in the 1930s through the novels’ character.
John Steinbeck explores human experience in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ in friendship, loneliness and marginalisation. He does this through the characters as explained thought the paragraphs below.
In my essay I will discuss the theme of loneliness in the novel “Of Mice And Men.” The essay will consist of information based on the novel towards minor characters such as Curley’s Wife, Candy and Crooks. This essay will state information about Curley’s Wife, Candy and Crooks’ loneliness.
One main theme in Of Mice And Men is loneliness. George and Lennie have have just sat down to eat their dinner, when Lennie asks George to talk about their life in the future. George complies, and also describes their current situation. Steinbeck writes, “ Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They don't got no family. They don't belong no place.” (Steinbeck 13). George is speaking of the life of people in the 1930’s. Loneliness is a common trait amongst people, especially migrant workers. They have no family to travel with, and no friends. The only true friends George and Lennie have are each other. Crooks is another
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.
Throughout the novel, Curley’s wife interacts with the characters in a flirtatious manner that is intended to grab attention, thus making the others distrustful of her. It’s fascinating to note that the way others treat her determines how she treats them back; for example, Lennie is the only man to regard her positively, calling her “purdy” (Steinbeck 32), so she behaves empathically towards him, whereas Candy refers to her as a “bitch” (Steinbeck 84) and she’s rather vile towards him. This point is further supported
Curley's wife is seen as a cheap possession, a toy that belongs to Curley. A possession that he gets to control. His lack of love, respect and attention results to her death in the end. By all the men she’s seen as a tramp, they think that she’s out cause trouble. But the truth is she’s desperately lonely. She just wants someone to talk to. She’s missed out on a wonderful life that could have been hers, and that hurts her.
“I never seen no piece of jail-bait worse than her” (George) what is the reader supposed to think about Curley’s wife?
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.
In other words, she is being stripped of her self worth. However in reality, she was a crucial character in the story, who also faced mental and physical disputes contributing to the theme of loneliness. Curley and his wife took part in a standard unbalanced relationship. Even though she appears to be well off and powerful, she is actually under Curley’s conditions: To never leave the house. “Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in awhile?
In the touching and gripping tale of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, he explains many themes throughout the books. One of the major themes is loneliness, which is shown throughout many different characters, for example, Curley’s wife, the stable buck (Crooks), and Lennie.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses stereotypes and discrimination to convey a message of how the characters feel. A lot of the stereotypes and clichés are just common beliefs of the times, but a few are situational. To quote a quite distinguished reader, "Characters are ‘trapped’- either by what others think of them, or by their situation." A lot of the character’s feelings about themselves and what others think of them will lead to loneliness.
In a way, the opposite of George and Lennie’s connection is the relationship between Curley and his wife. Curley is a very arrogant, jealous, and controlling man, while his wife - who remains unnamed throughout the novel - is gorgeous and flirtatious. She is a trophy wife for Curley, who is otherwise much more wealthy than all the other characters in Of Mice and Men because he is the son of the owner of the farm, and he treats her like one. Their relationship obviously lacks the mutual respect, love, and proper attention that marriages need to survive.
In Of Mice & Men, the character Curley’s Wife is depicted as flirtatious, promiscuous, and insensitive. However, her husband Curley sees her as only a possession. Most of the workers at the ranch see her as a tart, whereas Slim, the peaceful and god-like figure out of all the men, see her as lonely. This answer will tell us to which extent, is Curley’s wife a victim, whether towards her flirtatious behaviour, or to everyone’s representation of her.