Portrayal Of Alienation For Of Mice And Men

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Portrayal of Alienation Many characters in Of Mice and Men were portrayed as isolated from the rest of the people on the ranch. The alienation that the characters experienced in this novel had different effects on the other characters surrounding them. For example, Curley's wife, one of the main characters who suffered isolation was pictured as a flirtatious lady when in reality she was looking for some company. As Crooks states, "A guy needs somebody to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick,", when talking about himself, Lennie, and George (Steinbeck 72-73). The alienation that was portrayed through the characters was only portrayed because each character had to undergo different circumstances. An example of this can be observed through learning about the different characters; Curley's wife was the only woman on the ranch, Crooks was the only black man on the ranch, and George was the only one who had to care for a mentally challenged man. Curley's wife was treated with injustice due to the fact that she was the only female on the ranch and because she had no one to converse with. Curley's wife has no female friends to share with so naturally she would want to go talk to the men on the ranch. Most often she would go talk to someone who she really did not need to talk to. An example of one of these instances would be when she enters Crooks house and starts talking to Lennie, Candy, and Crooks (77). She is portrayed as a 'tart' (28) and as a flirtatious lady who is going to cause the men trouble (32). Her alienation stems from not having anyone to converse with other than her husband Curley. Also her efforts at conversing with the other males of the ranch went poorly as she was many a time rejected. For example when she tried to talk to George he shrugs her off as much as he can (32). Since she does

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