Loneliness affects many of the characters, Steinbeck seems to show that it is natural and inevitable result of the kind of life they are forced to lead. John Steinbeck's novel, “Of Mice and Men”, is a story in which a dominating idea of inescapable loneliness prevails. "A guy needs somebody to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you.
Men and women seek hope in his or her lives in order to make something of themselves useful, but they cannot find it because of the fact that they are too isolated by his or her surroundings. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates Lennie’s friend, George, as a person who has a bit of hope, but is worried that his “partner” is going to ruins his life once again like at the time they were at Weed. George is often characterized as a person who has to take care of Lennie because he knows that the only person that could ever make things go wrong is Lennie. “Am I My Brother’s Keeper” specifically represents George because it shows that even though he has little hope on his side, he has to take of one’s life, and that is Lennie Small. When George has hope on his side, he says, “We’ll have a big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens.
The friendship that George and Lennie share forms the core of the novella, and although Steinbeck idealizes and perhaps exaggerates it, he never questions its sincerity. 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. He doesn’t defend himself from Curley because of George’s stern instruction for him to stay out of trouble, and when he mistakenly kills his puppy and then Curley’s wife, his only thought is how to quell George’s anger. He has a childlike faith that George will always be there for him, a faith that seems justified, given their long history together.
Humans are not meant to be lonely, we are social creatures that feed off others. We need contact, we need social interaction and most of all we need friendship. In the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck, Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife all suffer from discriminations and injustices which result in loneliness and isolation. They learnt to cope with their loneliness, and are able to do this through their pre-occupation with Lenny and George’s friendship, which in a sense, seemed envious. When you first meet candy in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck, you see Candy with his beloved dog.
For George and Lennie, it’s different because they’ve known each other all their life and are the only things keeping either of them from being lonely and what is my next theme isolation. Isolation- of Mice and Men gives off the notion or the feeling that everyone is isolated, but truth is everyone seems to get along and talk about how isolated they are. Isolation is more of a perception when reading the book then reality – the men are together and chatting while working the whole day. It’s the idea of having to move constantly, and to go on to the road again, make new friends, new enemies, that seems to be the annoyance. This seems to be enough though to make them feel isolated, even when there surrounded by people.
‘I ain’t mad. I never been mad an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing i want you to know.’ (pg.106, Of mice and Men. John Steinbeck. 1993) Its is evident that there was no choice for George but to do it himself than let any of the other strangers kill Lennie, he knew that there was no chance left for Lennie and it was for the best, because George was able to do it, that shows how deep his friendship goes and how much he cared about Lennie.
Lennie is incapable of making decisions by himself and relies and depends on George entirely and also looks to him as sort of a big brother. Lennie also sees that George is helpful for guidance and answers which relates to Lennie’s mental abilities. Lennie feels a sense of safeness and comfort when he is with George, whereas when Lennie is without George he sometimes feels awkward and misunderstood by others. George refers to Lennie as his cousin in the book, only to avoid questions being asked and hassle from the ranch owner. But the truth to the matter is that George promised Lennie’s Aunt Clara that he would take care of him when she passed away.
George’s Demand for Friendship Companionship and loneliness are things that everyone experience at least one time or another in their lifetime.In the novella Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinbeck demonstrates the necessity for companionship through the struggles of the characters. George’s life could’ve been improved without Lennie, but his longing for friendship, took on the burden of taking care of Lennie .For example, “I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want…An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble .You do bad things and get in trouble“(Steinbeck 11). George felt responsible for taking care of Lennie because, of his childlike state of mind. George knows that Lennie gets in trouble, but the fact that they have each other is worth the work.
Of mice and men shows a wonderful story of friendship, loyalty and kindness. But it also shows the bad things like how big a deal being black was or even being a girl in this time. In this era being poor made you less important from the rest. The men usually had to live in terrible conditions, separated from their families and loved ones if they had anyone left that is. Lennies and Georges situation is different from others because Lennie needs looking after and that’s what George does he cares for him.
Connor Irey AP English 9/20/11 Have you ever heard the saying opposites attract? Well, that's the case with George Milton and Lennie Small in John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. These two best friends are different in almost every way, which makes for quite an odd looking pair. However, George and Lennie also share key attributes that solidify their friendship. Therefore, it is not only their apparent differences, but also their not so visible similarities that bind these men together as best friends.