Everyone gets lonely now and then for reason maybe even unknown to ourselves. In the story "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, 3 characters face being lonesome throughout the book. Candy, Crooks and Curley's Wife are the ones facing this problem. Candy feels like he's not useful and he's a burden to other and Crooks says he's being discriminated against for be black. Whereas Curley's wife feels lonely because she IS alone with nothing to but sit in her house and has no one to talk to and gains sympathy based off that.
Even the clock, still a few minutes off noon..", time is going by slow for Ellen as she awaits for Paul to return to the house. Ellen becomes angry at Paul when she asks Paul to move out of the house "there was a dark resentment in her voice now..." so they can be away from the dust storm. Also Ellen wants to move because she thinks that it hard for their baby to breathe because of the dust in the air. The feeling of isolation creeps up on Ellen when Paul is not there and she knows that the nearest neighbors are far away and her house would be very hard to reach in the dust storm that she is experiencing. Another reason that Ellen feels isolated is of lack of communication with others this causes her to break down and eventually run away with the baby to try to get away from the storm "I'm so caged- if I could only break away and run".
Crooks retaliates with this: “Cause I’m black, they play cards in there but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, all of you stink to me” (Steinbeck 68). This is Crooks’ attempt in showing that he desperately wants to join in, to be accepted, but because of his color he can’t and he feels the only way he can make himself better is to cut himself off further, it is a vicious cycle. When Crooks realizes that Lennie means no harm, and will not leave him alone, he invites him to “Come on in and set a while” (Steinbeck 69).
The theme of racism is expressed throughout the book by the black character, Crooks. The way the characters treat Crooks in the book shows the racism of the characters and how they act around Crooks. One instance is when Lennie decides to go visit Crooks because his light is on. Crooks acts extremely bitter towards Lennie by saying “You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room.
Lennie seems to be very strong, but in reality he is the weakest character in the novel “Of Mice And Men”, because of the lack of his mentality ability and the missing characteristic to think for himself and make his own decisions. The strong characters are attacking the weaker characters in this book, and the Forstner 3 weaker are attacking the weakest. Are good example of this would be when Carlson compels Candy to let him shoot his dog against his will. “I'll put the old devil out of his misery now,” (Steinbeck, 47). Or when crooks teased Lennie “jus' s'pose he don't come back,” (Steinbeck, 72).
The story by Richard Wright “Big Black Good Man” communicates a prejudice theme which is told through “Olaf”, the eyes of an old white protagonist. Olaf, who is frightened and insulted by the look of a sailor, is determined to refuse a room “solely on the basis of his size and color” (303). As humans, many people generally react negatively to people who are different then themselves. Negative impressions of a person can control attitudes and actions, which is reveled in this story by the white porter, which expresses different kinds of prejudice. The thought that Olaf would deny the black sailor a room, even though the hotel he works at “admits everyone and every color” (303) shows one action of the prejudice theme expressed in this the story.
· At first, he turns Lennie away, hoping to prove a point that if he, as a black man, is not allowed in white men’s houses, then whites are not allowed in his, but his desire for company ultimately wins out and he invites Lennie to sit with him. · Perhaps what Crooks wants more than anything else is a sense of belonging—to enjoy simple pleasures such as the right to enter the bunkhouse or to play cards with the other men. · The name Crooks connotates a villain, someone horrible who is not wanted in society. · His pride is shown when he defends Lennie against Curley’s wife, but when she lashed out at him, he knows he must back down or face the consequences. · Inside he knows he is equal to every other man on the ranch as he is obsessed with his rights , but if he expressed these thoughts he would probably be forced out of the farm, or even worse possibly as black people were not excepted and many people were prejudice in america in the 1930's.
After reading the novel Of Mice and Men social powerlessness is a common problem in the novel and exists in many different societies. In the novel some of the characters that display powerlessness are Lenny, Crooks, and Curley’s wife. They all exhibit the most sense of powerlessness. In many ways these characters relate although they don’t share close relationships in the book. In the paragraphs below are more into why each of these characters shows powerlessness.
A normal Puerto Rican women stays home to clean, cook, and watch their children and since this is not what Esmeralda’s mother was doing so the other women showed hatred towards Esmeralda’s family. “Gone was the bland acceptance of people minding their own business, replaced by a visible, angry resentment that became gossip, and taunts and name-calling in the school yard” (122). Even Esmeralda’s friends turned on her. They looked at her as if she was cursed. Although many people resented Esmeralda and her family they moved past it and focused on what is right for their family.
What is loneliness? Loneliness is when you have nobody there for you when you feel like it’s only you in the world and you keep everything inside you. Of Mice and Men, a novel by John Steinbeck, relates to loneliness because of the character Crooks. Crooks is discriminated against everyday. Everyone stays away from him because he’s black.