The Implications of Lonliness in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Is there a level of understanding that characters have in the development of this story. The author John Steinbeck was born in February 27, 1902 in the Salinas Valley. He was the only boy of four children. He had a middle class family that lived in a small community. The Salinas Valley would later be the location of many of the short stories and books he published. Both of his parents believed in showing their children culture and often went to San Francisco to see theatre. His family also had a lot of options of books to read at home. Steinbeck went to Stanford University there he majored in English, but he didn’t get a degree. Steinbeck was wedded three times in his life the last time was to a woman named Elaine Scott and that lasted until the death of Steinbeck. He died in 1968. The common emotion felt by most of the characters in Of Mice and Men is loneliness. Being lonely is something none of the men wants to happen and the men being lonely are extremely symbolic. The men don’t want to be by themselves. Neither do they want to be left behind by society. Steinbeck wanted to show how life was during the Great Depression. Steinbeck showed how people remained affected by the misery and what people had to do to make it through the tough times. He showed how people had to make decisions not just for themselves but for the well-being of others.

Loneliness happens often in this book with almost all of the characters. Steinbeck created this book to show what was going on during the great depression. You couldn’t go where ever you wanted because money was in fact an issue. Lucky for the people on the ranch they were fed because of all the work they put in during the day. Specific characters that were lonely were Candy and Curley’s wif...

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In conclusion, being lonely is something none of the men wants to happen and the men being lonely is symbolic because that shows how the times were during the Great Depression. The men don’t want to be by themselves nor do they want to be left behind by the people. Steinbeck wanted to show how existence was during the time period. Steinbeck showed how people remained affected by the depression and what people had to do to make it through the tough times. He demonstrated how people had to make choices not just for themselves but for the well-being of others. This novel might have been different if it was made from a historical point of view because then it would have more facts about the struggles during the Great Depression. Imagine what would have happened if Steinbeck left Lennie alive in this story or what happened with George after he killed Lennie.