OMAM Essay
Life can be unfair sometimes. Most people get to have a good life going for them. Then there are the people in “OMAM”, who are ranchers that travel alone and never have somebody to talk to. These three characters are all lonely in their own way. The first one of these characters is Crooks. Crooks is probably the most lonely because he isn’t wanted in the bunk with the rest of the ranchers so he doesn’t talk to many people. His room is in the harness room in a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn. A lot of his belongings symbolize his loneliness. Some of these items consist of clocks, magazines, etc. The next character that showed loneliness was Curley’s wife. Curly’s wife had a bad childhood. Marrying Curley was
“Nobody’d listen to us” (81) exclaims Crooks when talking about being ignored. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the characters Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy experiencing loneliness and isolation while living on the ranch. These characters attempt to socialize, succeeding and failing. Loneliness and isolation of the characters results in yelling, bullying, and even a broken neck.
The Psychology Dictionary defines loneliness as “a sometimes long lasting feeling having no alternative to turn to in times of distress and depression. Generally classes as a period of heightened cognitive discomfort and uneasiness from being oneself“ (Psychology Dictionary1). Nathaniel Hawthorne’s works such as “Rappaccini's Daughter,”“Ethan Brand,” and “Young Goodman Brown” have characters, that embody the definition of loneliness. It is clear these short stories have lonely characters that have hit rock bottom. Not only are the characters in these stories lonely, but they are insane as well. In each of short stories, Hawthorne shows that the state of being lonely causes the characters to become insane.
According to me, the definition of loneliness is a feeling that naturally occurs when there is no communication between you and someone else, or if you do not like to talk to anyone. This sometimes causes people to create rage (mentally, and physically). This can also sometimes cause death, for yourself or someone else. So in this book, what John Steinbeck is trying to say about loneliness is that, the people are lonely because of their physical features and this involves Candy, Curley’s Wife and Crooks. They all are lonely in their own ways, but have the same problem.
In my essay I will discuss the theme of loneliness in the novel “Of Mice And Men.” The essay will consist of information based on the novel towards minor characters such as Curley’s Wife, Candy and Crooks. This essay will provide information about Curley’s Wife, Candy and Crooks’ loneliness. Curley’s Wife was probably one of the loneliest characters of all. She never talked to anyone and she never really liked Curley all that much.
The city of Omelas is the most magical, idyllic place anyone’s imagination could possibly conjure. The people live happily, with everything they want and need, and most importantly without pain, evil, without monarchy, slavery, the stock exchange, the advertisement, the secret police and the bomb. Yet, the people are not simple minded, but rather are “mature, intelligent, passionate adults whose lives [are] not wretched” and “their children [are], in fact, happy”.
In the novel Of Mice And Men the loneliest person that barely gets introduce and mentioned once is Crooks. He is mentioned in last part of the book on pg. 69. They detail everything in his bunk and how he has a collection of shoes. He is a very quiet person the only time he speaks is when he needs to, also when there’s a problem like when he saw Lennie touching slims pups. He is like a very honest and respective person he causes no trouble and he does his job without disturbing no one. It seems like Crooks never ask for help he does everything on his own. Crooks is a educated person by noticing all the books in his bunk.
did to Crooks. Other characters on the ranch show signs of loneliness also. But what makes the others different is the fact that Crooks does not have anyone to talk with, the others atleast have one person to talk to. Crook’s actions along with not having any friends show why he must be the lonelinest character.
Historically, the black American solution to racially imposed loneliness and homelessness was to embrace the structure of family. White characters in the novel appear without families, for whatever reason. However, black Americans were compelled to come together as a people despised by others, to shelter and protect, even to the point of the creation of extended families, much as George assumes a protective all four. Significantly, Crooks does not receive an invitation to join George, Lenny, and Candy on the farm, even though he broaches the subject. Racial and ethnic minorities in America in the 1930s understood the importance of this strategy for survival because otherwise they would not have survived. Crooks gets described by Curley’s wife as “weak” because he is crippled and a Negro, two conditions which Steinbeck conflates into being synonymous in the novel. He functions in the role of a victim-savant. Acting as an insightful thinker and clarifying the meaning of loneliness for the reader, he remains an “outsider,” someone for whom the reader feels more pity than respect.246 By remaining on this ranch, experiencing unfair treatment, Crooks chooses his own racial victimization each and every day.246
Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a book that can be analyzed and broken down into a vast majority of themes. One of the predominant themes found in this book is loneliness. Many characters in this book are affected by loneliness and they all demonstrate it in one way or another throughout the book. Examples of these characters are Curley’s Wife, Crooks, and Candy.
The novel is set during the Great Depression, which was “a time of great economic turmoil and disaster” (American History), in Soledad, California. Before the characters are fully introduced, there is a sense of isolation already because the name of the town literally translates to loneliness in Spanish (Study Spanish). Most of the characters experience loneliness. The reader quickly learns that Lennie is a lonely character when George reminds Lennie: "guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place" (Steinbeck 15). As the novel continues, the reader quickly learns that the workers are not the only ones who are lonely; Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife also confess their loneliness. Candy experiences loneliness due to his disability and his age. Candy lost his hand after an accident involving machinery, which ultimately forces him to stay behind. His age also causes Candy to feel a sense of loneliness because he is...
... But to take real action in trying to solve the problems, is a bigger and harder step not very many citizens of the world today are willing to take. Losing the happiness that one gets in exchange for injustice in the world is an action that is unthinkable to humankind. The right ethical decision has to be made to entirely resolve the issue, but making that right ethical decision is impossible with the other factors of life, such as personal happiness. In “The One Who Walks Away From Omelas” the reader is taught the importance of making the right ethical decision and can relate these morals to their own community.
In doing this it creates this idea around Omelas as this happy, peaceful utopian society that seems wonderful to live in. There are no cars or advanced technology like central heating or washing machines but the people in Omelas are happy and live in comfort and they don’t base this happiness on technology or possessions like today's society. This is because they life on the principle of what the narrator says in par. 2 “Happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary” but even though they people of Omelas follow this ideology, they still live a complex life like we do in our society. “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” challenges our country's economic style of government from capitalism to communism economics. This is shown in the “economy is not based on competition - so no stock markets or advertisements” (James's, 93) for products that they make. This challenges our economic style of government because this is the total opposite of how our economy works, in a capitalist economy, anyone can start a business and with the right hard work they can become as successful as they
Crooks. loneliness is caused because he is black, at the time the story took place there was racism. Since Crooks is black, he wasn?t able to socialize with the white men. When Steinbeck describes all of Crooks? possessions, it shows that Crooks has been at the ranch a long time and that his possessions are all the he cares about.
In the touching and gripping tale of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, he explains many themes throughout the books. One of the major themes is loneliness, which is shown throughout many different characters, for example, Curley’s wife, the stable buck (Crooks), and Lennie.
The second lonely outcast is Curley?s wife. The other ranch hands stay away from her because she is a woman and because she is the wife of the boss? son. Also, even though her husband is very jealous, she is so lonely that she tries to get attention from the ranch hands, which makes Curley even angrier and more jealous. She is like the outcast of the outcasts. One night, when everyone else is away from the ranch, Lennie and Candy are in Crooks? room. Even though it is just the three ?. . . weak ones here? (Steinbeck,84), when Curley?s wife is lonely and wants to join them, they won?t let her: ?Maybe you better go along to your own house now.