Sample Loneliness Essay

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GCSE-OF Mice and Men Sample question “George’s voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before.” George and Lennie are camping by the river on the night before their new job at the ranch. They spend the last day of freedom together discussing how one day they’ll be their own boss and live a comfortable, happy lifestyle. This part of the novel starts with Lennie pleading that George will tell him about their dream that they both share. Steinbeck describes George’s voice as rhythmical, this may be indicating that he has told the dream so many times that it’s printed on him as though it’s been memorised. Lennie is happy and almost comforted when he hears the dream; he really believes that it could come true one day. There are several clearly identified themes in the novel; the loyalty and friendship which exist between Lennie and George, and the hostile environment of America during the American depression. But the main theme is loneliness. Steinbeck gets the reader thinking that the story may be related to loneliness. The first line reads “A few miles south of Soledad...” This is very clever, the way that Steinbeck opens the novel and chooses the place “Soledad” as this means loneliness. This could be foreshadowing what’s to come in the novel. George mentions that guys who work on the ranch are “...the loneliest guys in the world” this is significant as these men will never be able to save enough money to buy their own place to settle down and start a family. But some would say that George and Lennie are in this trapped life as well- however they think of themselves as different from the ranch hands. He emphasizes that the dream makes them special; they are different from other wandering migrants who have no family and no home. They have each other, and some day they will have a farm of their own where they
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