Theme Of Loneliness Of Mice And Men

"Of Mice and Men" is a novella, composed in the 1930s by John Steinbeck. Set outside Soledad in Southern California and written during the time of 'The Great Depression', this novel reflects Steinbeck's life as an itinerant worker and ranch hand. The text tells the story of two migrant drifters by the names of George and Lennie, who are looking for work and have a dream of owning a house with animals and crops. This period in American History saw large unemployment, poverty and the destruction of American people who both lived and owned ranches; consequently, many farmers migrated to California in hopes of finding work to live. These contextual concerns are explored in the themes of loneliness, the impossibility of the American Dream and the

This is furthered through the name of the city where the text is set – Soledad, which is Spanish for “solitude” resonates with this theme of loneliness. The characters are rendered helpless by their isolation, and yet, even at their weakest, they ironically sought to destroy those who are weaker than those who are even weaker then they. Due to his colour and physical disability, Crooks, whose nickname stems from his crooked back, is forced to live on the fringes of society and is restricted from entering the white men’s bunkhouse or even joining them in a friendly game of cards. This is exemplified through the emotive language inherent in “If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an’ then it would be all right. But I jus’ don’t know’ which reflects his vulnerability through colloquial language. This is furthered through the representation of the boss of the ranch, who is symbolic of the racial discrimination present at that time “he give the stable buck hell”, referring to the injustice suffered by Crookes. Crookes’ scepticism is based on his own experiences with the American Dream, where he grew up in a racially segregated society, reflecting the discrimination present in Steinbeck’s

Steinbeck idealises male friendship, suggesting it was the ideal way to overcome the loneliness faced by the characters. Lennie and George, who come closest to achieving this ideal of brotherhood through their dependence on each other, are forced to separate. It is ironic that Lennie’s physical size and strength prove powerless, deeming him totally defenceless. Steinbeck symbolically highlights the predatory nature of the world through the foreshadowing of Lennie’s death. The irony demonstrated in the quote "George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes,” demonstrates how the idealized male friendship wore away and the sense of belonging to each other disintegrated. Steinbeck highlights the tragic fate of Lennie & Curley’s wife through a heron consuming a water snake, expressed metaphorically “a water snake glided smoothly up the pool, twisting its periscope head from side to side; it swam the length of the pool and came to the legs of a motionless heron that stood in the shallows” represents the manner in which Lennie’s life and ultimate death is alluded to in the snake’s movements before being taken by the heron. Thus Steinbeck exemplifies the failure associated with the idealized male