Of Mice and Men is filled with characters such as this, which are unable to find a way out of their lonely lives. The loneliness in this story builds and builds and never is allowed to escape. By never allowing its escape, Steinbeck effectively forms a solid backing for the characters and events in his novel. Lennie's loneliness chiefly stems from the fact that he is both mentally undeveloped and very big and strong. His retardation sometimes causes others at the ranch to shun him; even to the point of thinking he is "cuckoo."
Jack Wilkins October 8th, 2013 3rd Period Jack Wilkins October 8th, 2013 3rd Period John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men tells the tragic tale of George and Lennie, two companions forced to drift from job to job in order to make a living. Arriving at a new farm full of characters embodying loneliness, the pair dreams of escape from the vicious cycle of isolation that accompanies life as a migrant worker before they ultimately succumb to Naturalism’s cruel fate themselves. Lennie and George keep each other going, both of them providing the fuel for the other. The two also give hope to the characters around them; their dreams for “defiance of the cycle” inspires others to attempt escape from the chains of Naturalism themselves. But, even as the relationship of George and Lennie is beautiful and rare, it is also heartbreaking, for the contrast between the pair’s aspirations and the final result of their struggle sharply illustrates the tragedy of Naturalism.
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 get’s too lonely an’ he gets sick” (69). Crooks’ illustrates that his lack of companionship manifests itself physically and emotionally. The only alleviation of these symptoms for Crooks occurs when he offers to work on Candy, George, and Lennie’s farm (Steinbeck 76). Similarly, Curley’s wife seeks out other people as a way to cope with her loneliness.
Candy is lonely because of his old age although it is somewhat helped by the fact he has a dog but as we know, he is left high and dry after the residents of the bunkhouse choose to eradicate it for it was in pain and also smelling. Curleys wife throughout is negatively portrayed to the reader by the workers on the ranch and therefore is not left with anyone on her side, ultimately, making her lonely despite having a husband. The fact that Lennie is so incapable of getting along with people who he doesn’t already know well, this leaves him almost completely reliable on George in the book. Last but not least, Crooks is left without companionship on the ranch for various reasons. In the novel, the ranch is a huge symbolism of loneliness.
They don’t belong no place.” Migrant workers would commonly spend many months on the road, traveling from town to town, farm to farm in a bid to find employment, which mostly resulted in men moving and working alone. Loneliness is exemplified in a collection of characters throughout the book; for instance, when Candy’s only companion, his dog, is killed, it depresses him immensely. Candy has nothing else to love or care for, and this demonstrates loneliness in it’s most desolate form. This theme is represented perfectly in the two main characters; Lennie and George. Lennie, a child-like adult who is rejected from society, relies heavily on his confidant George for guardianship and company.
Firstly, dreams serve as a vital escape mechanism for the characters, to help them cope whilst living through the American Depression, where life is lonely and difficult. They are the foundations of what makes life worth living. George and Lennie’s dream means different things to both of them. ; Lennie is mainly concentrated on his childlike aspiration to ‘tend the rabbits’ due to his love of petting soft things, while the crux of the dream for George is to have ‘our own place where we belonged’ because he is desperate to work for himself and have people around him to which he belongs. George tells Lennie ‘You know all of it’, which shows the huge importance of their dream, that even forgetful Lennie has memorised it - they use their dreams as an escape from the harsh reality of life on the ranch.
Loneliness is a significant figure on most of the characters lives as it was on most of the American people during the Great Depression. Curley’s wife is lonely because of the absence of her husband and she deals with this by flirting with the other men on the ranch, which contributes to Curley’s increased aggressiveness and jealousy. The companionship of George and Lennie is a result of loneliness. George has threatened to leave Lennie and continue to try and fulfil his dream alone but it he never seems to follow through. Even when Lennie offers to go off into the caves on the other side of the lake in Section 1 , George quickly realises the prospect of being alone at such a difficult time and he convinces Lennie to stay with him.
Lennie is mentally weak, George can’t reach his dream, and Curley resents being a smallish man and has napoleon complex. Weakness is simply a reality for everyone who lives on the ranch. On a ranch full of strong men, weakness is not really accepted, and people get criticized because of it. Because characters often know their weaknesses, they’re quick to try to cover for them, which spell confrontation. It’s a like bullying, characters weaknesses makes them feel insecure about themselves, so they fight and judge others to avoid having their flaws seen by
In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck demonstrates the negative impact of loneliness through Crooks, Curley’s Wife, and George and Lennie. Steinbeck demonstrates the negative impact of loneliness through a character called ‘Crooks’. “S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t enter the bunk house cause you was black…S’pose you had to sit out and read books…a guy needs somebody to be near him…a guy goes nuts if he has nobody…” (72). Crook’s cannot live on without being around somebody, he
All the characters suffer with unhappiness in their lives because none of them can escape the misery of being on their own. While starting the novel we are told by George ‘Guys like us that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.’ By this George means if they didn’t have each other, than he and Lennie would be all alone. While the novel continues to the first introduction of the ranch, everyone seems lonely. Crooks experiences the most isolation because the society is extremely racist. He