So many people are lonely in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, because; unfortunately, that is a part of the society we live and it was a part of the society in Steinbeck’s book. So many people shut themselves out and become so self-absorbed they don’t even notice those around them. For example, Candy is a lonely old man who has been working on that ranch, and many others most of his life. Now he doesn’t have anything to call his own, he has the clothes on his back and his dog, but that is about it. Candy has taken care of that dog, ever since he was a young puppy. That dog is family to him, but Old Dog has gotten to the point where is quality of life is very poor so Carlson goes and shoots Old Dog. This is one of the prime examples of loneliness …show more content…
He has learned that he is not welcome anywhere, just because of his skin color. In his eyes, it is bad enough that he is African American but the fact that he messed his back up so bad, he is now discriminated for both reasons. He does read books, though but just like in his quote ‘“S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunkhouse and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that? S'pose you had to sit out here an' read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody to be near him." He whined, "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."’ (Steinbeck) Books can only do so much for someone, reading the same books over and over again for days, weeks, maybe even months would be agonizingly painful. Because deep down, it is known that playing cards with other men is impossible for Crooks due to his skin color. The thing that makes it worse, is he knows it. Crooks knows he will always be in a sense hated and that makes him eternally lonely. He has become shut off from the rest of the world because the rest of the world does not accept him as the man he …show more content…
However, the characters in the story do not move on from it, they are, in a sense, always lonely. There are glimmers of hope for each of them to overcome that loneliness. For Curley, it is when he got to pick on Lennie, without having him fight back. For Curley’s wife, it is when Curley is the one who sits there and listens to her rant about how lonely she is. For Candy, it is when George and Lennie except him into their little group and they all begin planning out their future. For Crooks, it is when Lennie wants to talk to him, not even noticing the color of his skin. But, just when it seems like they will overcome this obstacle that has been tormenting these characters for so long, something or someone comes and knocks them back down all over again. Having this constant state of loneliness surround you, on the daily basis will soon take its
Steinbeck describes Candy right after the men hear the shot that kills the dog. Candy's loneliness over the loss of his dog is short lived as he becomes part of George's and Lennie's plan to get their own farm. In fact, Candy makes the dream seem almost possible because he has saved $300 which he will contribute to the price of the property George can buy. The three men believe that one day they will up and leave the ranch and go live on their own "little piece of land." In the end, however, Candy is plunged back into despair and loneliness after he discovers Lennie has killed Curley's wife. The dream is shattered. He poignantly communicates his feelings over the loss at the end of chapter five: “You done it, di’n’t you? I s’pose you’re glad. Ever’body knowed you’d mess things up. You wasn’t no good. You ain’t no good now, you lousy tart.” He sniveled, and his voice shook. “I could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys.” He paused, and then went on in a singsong. And he repeated the old words: “If they was a circus or a baseball game .
But once you know she is gone you will miss her deeply but it will be better for her and all her pain will go away. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, one of the important characters, George, faces a similar struggling situation with his best friend Lennie. Lennie murders the wife of another important character, Curley. George has to make an important decision that will affect the rest of both He wanted to put him out of misery instead of watching him be in pain.
This book, or novel should I say, is about loneliness, which is why every character in it faces this; in some way or the other, in different and various circumstances. Loneliness is a sign or is handicap ness as well. Crook, the Negro stable buck, longs for justice and camaraderie. Candy was not lonely but was made when Carlson, the impassive freak, killed his dog because he was old and worth nothing. Lennie and George were lucky in this matter. These two were all ways there for each other. They would keep each other out of loneliness. Curley’s wife is very flirtatious. Wonder why? Her marriage to Curley, for her, was just a compromise that she had to do. Now it’s as if her life is not hers anymore. She is in search of friendship. We don’t get to know about her main reason behind flirting so much until late in the book. She is lonely and has been ditched by many men earlier. She has been used by them and now she wants to develop a serious relationship. Everyone in this book have different reasons and tribulations for their loneliness.
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.
Candy is the other character that is lonely. Not because of the the men not talking to him of anything like that. Because, when Carlson shot his old dog, Candy felt alone. Candy had that pup since he was a kid.
Lennie's loneliness stems from his constancy of being yelled at by George. Lennie didn't like to be around George when he was yelling at him. Lennie and George were friends, but George yelled at him just to try to keep him out of trouble. Lennie tried to make friends other than George, but it never seemed to work out. He even tried to make friends with Crooks, when no one else would ever talk to him. This shows that Lennie really needs a friend that can understand him (Moore 603).
For Candy, he was lonely because he felt like he was the only one of the other ranch workers that is getting more useless everyday and feels uncertain of his future on the ranch. For Crooks, it was being segregated from the rest of the workers that made him lonely. And for Curley’s wife, it was the inability to talk to anyone else other than her husband. For George, the hope of such companionship dies with Lennie, and true to his original estimation, he will go through life alone.
Loneliness and Companionship are one of the many themes that are conveyed in the novel Of Mice and Men, By John Steinbeck. Many of the characters admit to suffering from loneliness within the texts. George sets the tone for these confessions early in the novel when he reminds Lennie that the life of living on a ranch is among the loneliest of lives. However Lennie, who is mentally disabled holds the idea that living on a farm very high. "Tending the rabbits" is what Lennie calls it. Often when Lennie is seaking encouragement he askes George to tell him how its going to be. Men like George who migrate from farm to farm rarely have anyone to look to for companionship and protection. George obviously cares a lot for lennie, but is too stubborn to admit to it. The feeling of being shipped from place to place leaves George feeling alone and abandoned.
The great and famous author john Steinbeck once said, “All great and precious things are lonely.” In the Steinbeck book Of Mice and Men, many of the characters show their loneliness in many different ways. Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks all show perfect examples of how they are lonely. The characters in of mice and men show that loneliness is a problem that must be overcome in order to live a happy, fulfilled life.. all three of these characters know what is feels like to be lonely.
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.
Even though they aren’t in the novel much it’s kind of showing if you get too overall lonely then you just disappear. George and Lennie are the main dose of how being close to someone can change your view on things. This whole book talks about being lonely but with George and Lennie it’s different.
In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men loneliness runs alongside friendship as a major theme. Although ranch life in 1930s America is lonely for migrants worker and many other people, George and Lennie, two of "the loneliest guys in the world” (Steinbeck 13), at least have each other. For African-Americans like Crooks, women like Curley's wife, or the old men like Candy, life is far more lonely. The person who expresses his loneliness most openly and deeply is Crooks the Black stable-hand, a victim of racial prejudice.
Loneliness is having a lack of friendship/companionship. Throughout the story Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the theme loneliness. The story takes place in the town of Soledad which means solitude in spanish, which foreshadows the problem of loneliness in the story. Loneliness is clearly evident in many of the characters in the book. Loneliness is mainly shown through three characters; Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife.
There are many characters where lonliness is evident throughout parts or all of their life. But all of these characters who appear to be lonely only tend to play a minor role in the story. This is not to say that they are insignificant but they help to convey the feelings and emotions that surround the major characters rather than their own. Characters like Curley's wife and Crooks are unmistakably lonely, but they show how their lonliness is the opposite of the two main characters, George and Lennie. Crooks actually states that George and Lennie have got each other but he hasn't got anyone. Curley's wife portrays the same message but under different circumstances. There are really no other main characters besides George and Lennie. From reading the novel and watching the film it is clearly evident in most cases that all of the support characters appear to be lonely. Therefore lonliness is quite a strong and influential theme in the story but it only features as a bakground theme and is not always present at critical stages.
Candy, Crook’s and Curley’s wife all were lonely and they dealt with it in unique way to make themselves feeling lonely. I think one of the most important lessons in the novel is friendship and having a social interaction with other human beings are very important and we all should be grateful, because it keeps us far way from loneliness. I remember a time when I was lonely I couldn’t stand it. When my mom and the family went out to the store for a while to go shopping. I felt I was going to explode, it didn’t feel like just a couple of minutes it felt like days. From the second they walked in the door I was greeting the, they thought I was eccentric. They kept “asking are you okay?” That was just about an hour I don’t want see if it was for a week.