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Essay about loneliness an american malady
Essay about loneliness an american malady
Loneliness and its effect on society
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Most Americans go throughout their lives in search of one thing, companionship. Americans believe that by having a companion, they will live a much happier life. By having a companion, Americans consider themselves better “socially” just by their companion. Overcoming loneliness is a major theme in American literature and Americans will risk their reputation and wealth in order to attain it.
In order to overcome loneliness, Americans will search for a companion. Americans need someone to support them. Without someone supporting them, Americans face loneliness and are not motivated to keep going. There are many advantages to having a companion to support you. Companions not only help you financially, but emotionally too. They inspire you and give advice when needed. The story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a good literary example of Americans need for companionship (Telgen,8). Lennie finds joy, security, and comfort in his relationship with George (Telgen,8). In the story Lennie Small and George Milton are lifelong companions who share a common dream(Telgen,8). All Americans have different individual dreams, but they share the common dream of companionship. Americans search for a companion who shares the same dream as them for the future.
Loneliness is a reoccurring theme in many works of American Literature. Of mice and Men also has a major theme of loneliness in its story. During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, when the story took place, especially reflected Americans need for companionship. One of the main characters known as George said “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, 13-14). The friendship between George and L...
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...involved with illegal dealings (Hacht,8). Americans who desire a companion who is richer than them may try various get rich quick schemes. As shown in The Great Gatsby, wealth cannot always promise a companion in the end. Wealth and power may help gain their attention, but does not promise their companionship.
Loneliness’ reoccurring theme in America motivates Americans to risk their reputation and wealth in order to overcome loneliness. Loneliness is seen everywhere, and Americans will do everything they can to escape it. Many Americans do achieve the American dream, because it is a realistic one. Many do not even realize the American dream, yet they achieve it anyways. Wanting companionship is natural for Americans, and they will not let anything stand in their way of achieving it.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner, 2004.
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.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a novel about loneliness and the American Dream. This book takes place during the Great Depression. It was very difficult for people to survive during this time period. A lot of people hardly survived let alone had the necessities they needed to keep relationships healthy. Of Mice of Men has a common theme of disappointment. All the characters struggle with their unaccomplished dreams. The migrant workers, stable buck, swamper, and the other men on the ranch had an unsettled disappointment of where they were at in their lives. George and Lennie, two newcomers to the ranch, aren’t like the other guys. They have each other and they are the not loneliest people in the world. Lennie has a dream though he wants to own a farm with plenty of crops and animals one day. The only problem is his blind curiosity of people and things around him. George wasn’t justified for killing Lennie because Lennie was innocent and never got the chance to find out what he did wrong.
The story ‘Of Mice and Men’ is set in a period of time known as the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a time where the stock market crashed leaving hundreds of thousands of people homeless or striving exceptionally hard to keep their roof from falling in. The characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’ face many dilemmas, for instance Curley’s wife doesn’t get much attention from her husband and seeks it out from the other ranch members and Crooks can’t live a day without being singled out because of his race/colour. Both these problems relate to what I believe is the biggest problem in this book, loneliness.
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.
I have been analysing the novella ‘Of Mice and men’ by John Steinbeck, which was published in 1937. Steinbeck wrote the novel based on his own experiences as a bindle stiff in the 1920’s, around the same time when the great Wall Street crash happened, causing an immense depression in America. Throughout the novel he uses a recurring theme of loneliness in his writing, which may have reflected his own experiences at this time. This is evident in his writing by the way he describes the characters, setting and language in the novel.
Mother Theresa (1910 – 1997) once said, ‘‘Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.’’ Without friends and companions, people begin to suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life and cannot be avoided, as shown prevalent through particular characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Most of the characters in this novel exhibit loneliness and the only thing that keeps them alive are their dreams. Although they are all on the ranch together, they are lonely because of who they are and their history. The author further reinforces this theme through subtle methods by situating the story near the town of Soledad, which means ‘solitude or loneliness’ in Spanish. This helps to support the theme of a man's isolation and need for companionship.
In the novel Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck plays with the fundamental human aspect of loneliness; specifically in the American 1930s, how do his characters try to ‘fix’ their loneliness? Within the story, two characters remain unnamed, The Boss who owns the ranch and is the father to Curley and, the only woman to appear in the story, Curley 's wife. The fact that they remain unnamed is a statement on its own, but the statement different for both characters. In the case of the Boss, it shows a disconnect between the working class and the owners. He is unnamed, in never meeting his workers, while benefiting from their work. As to suggest that with sitting on a throne of gold will not fix all your issues, that material wealth does not equate to social wealth.
On one level The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald comments on the careless gaiety and moral decadence of the period in which it was set. It contains innumerable references to the contemporary scene. The wild extravagance of Gatsby's parties, the shallowness and aimlessness of the guests and the hint of Gatsby's involvement in crime all identify the period and the American setting. But as a piece of social commentary The Great Gatsby also describes the failure of the American dream, from the point of view that American political ideals conflict with the actual social conditions that exist. For whereas American democracy is based on the idea of equality among people, the truth is that social discrimination still exists and the divisions among the classes cannot be overcome. Myrtle's attempt to break into the group to which the Buchanans belong is doomed to fail. Taking advantage of her vivacity, her lively nature, she seeks to escape from her own class. She enters into an affair with Tom and takes on his way of living. But she only becomes vulgar and corrupt like the rich. She scorns people from her own class and loses all sense of morality. And for all her social ambition, Myrtle never succeeds in her attempt to find a place for herself in Tom's class. When it comes to a crisis, the rich stand together against all outsiders.
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In the competitive, ruthless, and unforgiving world of money and publicity, several individuals strive to make their mark on society. Factors such as greed, desire, and a hunger for attention often reveal one’s dark side when going about attaining a goal or a dream. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Jay Gatsby, a charismatic and successful individual from humble origins, spends a majority of his life striving to become part of the American aristocracy, or old money. Although one has to be born into old money, Gatsby lies to convince Daisy Buchanan, a member of the old money society, and Nick Carraway, the non-judgemental main character, that he comes from old money. Similarly, in Nick Paumgarten’s article from the New Yorker, The Most
A vignette called Beautiful and Cruel written by Sandra Cisnero is related to the importance of companionship because once a person realizes they can live a happy life without any company they will grow to do bigger and better things. “I am an ugly daughter. I am the one nobody comes for”. People get to live their life with freedom and how they choose their lifestyle while others have to follow a set plan that they do not get to
In life people are be alone by choice, no matter if it was flat out what the wanted or alone due to some kind of forced circumstance that grew out of a previous choice they made, but when it comes down to it loneliness is never truly desired. In the short stories A Painful Case and Eveline we see examples of each type of loneliness. In A Painful Case Mr. Duffy for the most part of his life chooses to be alone. In Eveline, Eveline seems to be lonely because she’s unable to leave her duties to her family. In both stories the main characters display their desire to have someone near but when they’re finally given the chance it’s inevitably taken away from them, and then they’re driven back into the entrapment of loneliness.
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