America in the 1930s was a world full of migrant workers and isolated individuals. In the novel we meet two characters that represent perfectly the theme of loneliness: Crooks and Curley’s wife. Crooks is the coloured stable-buck. He is isolated from the others because of his skin colour, “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house”, he feels like an outsider. The racial discrimination from the 1930s in America highly affects him, “ they play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black.
This fear of being lonely after being fired ultimately leads him to join George and Lennie’s dream of owning a piece of land. Eg: Crooks is a negro. Black men are not treated equal as white men at the age, he is sometimes being called ‘nigger’ (p20) by other ranch hands. His boss also gives him hell when he’s mad’(p21). Ex: White men have prejudice against Crooks simply because he has a different colour.
Everyone on the ranch called Curleys Wife a ''tart'' because she flirts and the ranch men said ''Shes got the eyes''. Nobody on the ranch understood Curley's Wife and seen that Curley made her life very unpleasant, the only reason Curley's Wife flirted with other men was because Curley made her feel so isolated and alone. She had no friends or anyone to talk to on the ranch and Curley treated her as more of a possesion than his
1 Explore how Steinbeck develops the theme of loneliness in Of mice and Men. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck expresses the theme of loneliness through key characters throughout the novel. Steinbeck leaves the message that loneliness is an everpresent problem for people in that time frame and ultimately, people of the present day. In the novel, some of the key characters this message is shown through is Candy, Curleys wife, Lennie and Crooks. 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.
Another character is Curley's wife who is very lonely. Steinbeck shows lonliness by showing her only women on the ranch. She is lonely because at that time author is writing ,women were used to stay at home and not allowed to go out. She always flirts with the male workers of the ranch to seek attention.She always try to talk to somebody but no one is ready to talk to her. For evidence she said to Lennie,"I never get to talk to nobody.
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.
They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me..."(60) Candy's relationship with his dog was much like George's relationship with Lennie. Candy cared for his dog and other people did not appreciate it. Another character in Steinbeck’s book that shows this particular theme is Curley’s wife. She is the only female on the ranch, so this immediately draws a line in between her and the men of the ranch.
Loneliness Loneliness, a mental and physical state of mind, affects many of the ranch workers differently by isolation from society that changes how a character thinks and behaves towards others, from “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. The characters experience a lot of hatred and separation due to their current era which includes racism, that totally isolates the whites from the colored, and sexism, which Curley’s wife goes through when she gets near grown men. Crooks, who works with the ranch horses, lives by himself because of segregation, and since he is the only colored person there, he feels loneliness, which makes him paranoid about any interactions he has with humans. Being lonely makes Crooks mean, he puts Lennie in misery, telling
English Essay - Of Mice and Men In this essay i will write about how Steinbeck uses the recurring theme of loneliness throughout the novel 'Of Mice and Men ' . I shall write about the different characters in the novel and how they have this one trait in common , Candy , Crooks ,Curley's wife and George are all effected by loneliness and is shown as a destructive force . I will also write about how the setting represents loneliness by the language that Steinbeck uses to create effect . In the novel we find out that Crooks is very lonely and isolated because he is different than other people. He is ignored by everyone on the ranch because he is black , this makes his character bitter and mean"Books ain't no good .
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