Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

835 Words2 Pages

Loneliness

What is it that makes people want to scream, or snap at anyone who tries to talk to them when they are lonely? How can prolonged loneliness change a person? In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, several characters face this problem. The story is about two men, living in Salinas Valley during the Great Depression. The two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, travel from ranch to ranch as migrant workers looking for work, after having to leave their previous job due to Lennie getting in trouble with the law. George has made many sacrifices for Lennie, but anything is better than the loneliness they see in other ranch workers. Steinbeck argues that when people are lonely, they become mean, and act in desperation.
Being lonely causes people to turn mean and cranky, those subject to loneliness are prone to treat others cruelly, and have the urge to fight constantly. George realizes this, and talks to Slim, another one of the ranch workers there, about why he and Lennie travel together, and how he does not want to end up all alone. He tells Slim about the ranch workers he has seen passing through various ranches, and says “‘I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain’t no good. They don’t have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin’ to fight all the time’”(41). The men that travel between ranches alone, have no one to confide in, or keep them company, so after a while they become so used to being alone, that they just snap at people, and think everyone is cruel, so there is no point in being nice. Since they have no one who is there for them, they end up picking fights with everyone, thinking the whole world is against them. This idea is demonstrated in the book by Crooks. Crooks...

... middle of paper ...

... time. She is desperate for company, so she ends up talking to the only people around. Candy, and Curley’s wife demonstrate how people act in desperation when they are lonely.
Through his novel, Steinbeck shows how loneliness can cause people to turn hostile, and constantly want to fight because they have no one to really talk to, they also act desperately due to their loneliness, and do things they normally wouldn’t. Loneliness can have terrible effects on people’s behavior, but it can be fixed. All that is necessary is a kind and patient friend willing to bridge the gap and bring the lonely person out of their misery, giving them someone to talk to and to confide in. If those people had someone there for them, they would no longer feel like screaming, or snapping at anyone who tries to talk to them, and they would go back to being happier, more content people.

Is Slim handicapped - of mice and men
955 Words | 2 Pages
Candy’s dog is very precious to him, not only because he had been with him ever since he was a pup but also because he could see himself in the dogs place after a very short period of time. He was getting old and would be of no use soon. Just like the dog, everyone would be eager to get rid of him. He had lost his hand at the ranch. He is disabled, both, physically and mentally.
Read More
Why are characters lonely in Of Mice and Men?
703 Words | 2 Pages
Can loneliness ever bring death into people’s lives? The answer to that question is yes, it can and it does. Infact, loneliness is what often causes people to commit suicide. In the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, many characters are often lonely. But that loneliness is caused by something, something that is common to everyone in their lifetime, maybe even you! According to me, the definition of loneliness is a feeling that naturally occurs when there is no communication between you and someone else, or if you do not like to talk to anyone. This sometimes causes people to create rage (mentally, and physically). This can also sometimes cause death, of yourself or someone else. So in this book, what John Steinbeck is trying to say about loneliness is that, the people are lonely because of their physical features and this involves Candy, Curley’s Wife and Crooks. They all are lonely in their own ways, but have the same problem.
Read More
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1081 Words | 3 Pages
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck Hopes and Dreams Help People to Survive, Even if they can Never. Become Real How is this true for George and Lennie/ the characters in ‘Of Mice and the.. Men’. An important theme in ‘Of Mice and Men’ is that of hope and dreams. The main dream is that of George and Lennie to own a smallholding and work self-sufficiently.
Read More
Of Mice And Men: Lonliness
1449 Words | 3 Pages
In terms of emotional stability, there is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness leads to low self-esteem and deprivation. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife all exhibit some form of loneliness. They are driven towards the curiosity of George and Lennie's friendship because they do not have that support in their life. Through his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates that often times, a victim of isolation will have a never-ending search to fulfill a friendship.
Read More
Effects Of Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men
881 Words | 2 Pages
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.
Read More
John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
678 Words | 2 Pages
Man needs companionship and has difficulty maintaining it because no humans think the exact same or have the exact same beliefs. To maintain a companion you must have things in common, you must be able to disagree with a sort of respectful understanding, and finally you must care legitimately about that person. These three requirements to preserve a companionship are at times arduous to keep true. Some people do not have the time, concern, or the ability to sustain a veritable friendship with a companion or companions.
Read More
Friendship in Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"
774 Words | 2 Pages
"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.
Read More
Selfishness Explored in The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath
1118 Words | 3 Pages
Loneliness results from selfish choices. In The Grapes of Wrath, Muley Graves chooses selfishness when his entire family moves to California in hopes to find a better life, knowing that they will soon starve if they remain in Oklahoma, but Muley chooses to stay behind. When Casy hears this, he tells Muley, “You should of went too. You shouldn’t of broke up the fambly” (Steinbeck, 1967). In response, Muley simply states, “I couldn’. Somepin jus’ wouldn’ let me” (Steinbeck, 1967). The land has bestowed years of memories upon Muley, but now, the land is killing him and *** dividing him and his family because of his incapability of letting go. * Like Muley’s preoccupation with his land, Daisy becomes an obsession for Gatsby. He * grips their memories together so tightly that they limit his opportunities to live a fulfilling life. Both ** men end up lonely because of their single-mindedness. For Muley, he is left alone in Oklahoma with the Joad’s dogs while he watches his friends and family drive off into the dist...
Read More
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
584 Words | 2 Pages
In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the feminist lens is represented in many different ways throughout the novel, including actions and comments different characters make. Most of these events are surrounded by the character Curley’s Wife. Curley’s wife is a character who is known for her not being trusted by any of the workers on the ranch, and for fooling around with other men besides her husband, Curley. For instance, when Curley’s Wife is talking to another character, Slim. “…’Hi Slim,’ she said. Slim’s voice came through the door. ‘Hi, good-looking.”(Steinbeck, 31) Curley’s Wife is not allowed to flirt or even communicate with other men at the ranch, but she likes to break the rules and have a conversation with other people because she feels that she has never had any freedom since she married Curley. Curley’s Wife is mistreated at the ranch because everyone is afraid to trust and contact her.
Read More
College Admissions Essay: Inescapable Loneliness
507 Words | 2 Pages
Loneliness is a terrifying feeling that never escapes our lives. When I was younger, my largest fear in life was that I would make no friends and would be lonely. As I grew older, the fear shifted to dying alone. Now that I take steps back to look at this I realized everything I have missed, everything I have misunderstood. I am finally strong enough to understand that loneliness is inescapable, it lives with you all through your life. Life is a lonely place, where even if you are lucky enough to have people around you, all you have to look forward to is losing them either through going separate ways or death.
Read More
Of Mice and Men, 3 Characters with Loneliness
406 Words | 1 Pages
Loneliness is the sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned. John Steinbeck brought up the theme of loneliness in many characters in Of Mice and Men. Crooks, Curley?s wife, and Candy expressed the theme of loneliness in many different forms throughout the story. Early in the novella George said, life working as ranch hands is on the loneliness lives to live, for these people finding friendship seems to be impossible.
Read More
The Loneliness Of mice and Men
401 Words | 1 Pages
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.
Read More
Mr. Duffy
540 Words | 2 Pages
In life people are be alone by choice, no matter if it was flat out what the wanted or alone due to some kind of forced circumstance that grew out of a previous choice they made, but when it comes down to it loneliness is never truly desired. In the short stories A Painful Case and Eveline we see examples of each type of loneliness. In A Painful Case Mr. Duffy for the most part of his life chooses to be alone. In Eveline, Eveline seems to be lonely because she’s unable to leave her duties to her family. In both stories the main characters display their desire to have someone near but when they’re finally given the chance it’s inevitably taken away from them, and then they’re driven back into the entrapment of loneliness.
Read More
John Lennon and Paul McCartney's Eleanor Rigby
391 Words | 1 Pages
Loneliness is a reoccurring theme in all types of literature. “Eleanor Rigby,'; by John Lennon and Paul McCartney is a fine example of the theme of loneliness in poetry. The two characters in "Eleanor Rigby" are compared by their loneliness through the extensive use of symbols.
Read More
Loneliness and Acceptance
1993 Words | 4 Pages
...e or friendship. We are taught that we don't have an identity if we are alone. Which is why we treat loneliness as a disease, one to be avoided at any cost. Loneliness is viewed as an inadequacy of our personalities. Though all of us are taught to be independent, our independence is superficial. We can cook, clean, and do our laundry but we can't seem to take care of our emotions independently. We are taught that we need to share all our emotions. And I believe that however hard we search we can never get the kind of understanding that we are looking for. We are taught to be uncomfortable in our own world. Society conditions us to believe that we are inadequately equipped to be alone and content. And that alone always means lonely.
Read More

Open Document

Wait a second!

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Is Slim handicapped - of mice and men

Why are characters lonely in Of Mice and Men?