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."
It was very hard to get a job during that time. Men had to travel by themselves to find work for themselves. These men were known as itinerant works. They had no fixed address, they belonged nowhere and they usually had no company – “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys I the world.” In this novel, the loneliness makes the characters change the way they behave. “A guy goes mad if he got no one to talk to.” The two protagonists, George Milton and Lennie Smalls, travel together to find work; when they do, they have to leave because of an ‘incident’ caused by Lennie.
He is ignored by everyone on the ranch because he is black , this makes his character bitter and mean"Books ain't no good . A guy need somebody to be near him . "Crooks mainly keeps his distance between himself and the other men at the ranch to ensure he doesn't cause any problems . When Lennie approaches him in his bunk house his first reaction to him is fuelled by envy by his and Georges friendship .Crooks teases Lennie and makes out that George wont be coming back for him *quote*. He only does this to Lennie to show him what it like for him having nobody there and how he needs a companion , like Lennie and George ."
When members of society are discriminated, they start to develop feelings of loneliness which affect their self-esteem and general self worth. Crooks, the African American was discriminated due to his race which caused him to be seen as a lonely, bitter, quiet individual, the insecurity that possessed Curley’s wife caused her to be seen as a superficial, flirtatious female character but readers learnt that loneliness caused this persona and Candy who had only one companionship experienced solitude due to the loss of his dog and because of being an elder, disabled worker. Often in our society, we are discriminated due to our physical characteristics, race and genders; this makes us vulnerable to the feeling of loneliness. To overcome this, we need to seek companionship in someone who will make us feel accepted and
He has no understanding over the situation, and drinks just because he's thirsty. George quickly chastises him, explaining how the water could be "bad" and make Lennie "sick ". This shows that George cares for Lennie, as he is worried about him getting sick. As we've already seen, George tries to take care of Lennie. In their relationship, George is in control like a parent, while Lennie is just like a little kid.
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.
“Of Mice And Men” By John Steinbeck Question: Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a depressing book, do you agree? The novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck was written during the time of the American depression. This was in the 1930s, when America had a very difficult economy, and many men had no jobs. Many men were forced to travel in order to find work, on ranches. George and Lennie were two migrant workers who were travelling together and looking after one another.
George stays with Lennie, I believe, out of a sense of duty and an overwhelming loneliness. George promised Lennie's aunt that he would look after Lennie, and now he has become so used to being with Lennie that he does not know any other way. Lennie, despite the frustration George feels in taking care of him, is George's only friend. From Lennie's perspective, George is the most important person in his life, his guardian and only friend. Every time he does anything that he knows is wrong, his first thought is of George's disapproval.
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
How does Steinbeck portray loneliness and isolation in the novel? In the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows loneliness through racism, relationships and equality. Also, the author illustrates isolation through different characters. In my opinion, Crooks is the loneliest character because he is the only black man on the ranch and his room is separated away from everyone else. Also, Crooks is ordered around by everyone because in the 1930s, black people were not as important as white people so a lot of racist language was used against Crooks.