Isolation And Identity In 'Of Mice And Men'

Celeste Charlet
Period 5
Of Mice and Men Essay
November 20, 2014
The Link Between Isolation and Identity

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck takes place in the 1930s during a time in which many individuals were devastated by the turmoil that the Great Depression aroused. Many people lost themselves in the sacrifices they were forced to make and struggled to find a place to belong. Steinbeck uses three crucial characters in the novel to convey the theme that loneliness is connected to losing one’s identity. Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to demonstrate that one can lose their identity through lost dreams, which can lead to loneliness. During the scene when Curley’s wife is confessing her true feelings about her life to Lennie, she says: “Seems

Curley’s wife wishes she had accomplished more in her lifetime, and now she is unhappy with the way her life has realistically turned out. In her opinion, nobody values her and therefore she has lost her identity. She wants to be known as a person who made something of themselves, but she is not the person she wants to be. Curley’s wife is also lonely, and the fact that she feels as if no one cares about her only adds to her feelings of isolation she has on the ranch. When Curley’s wife explains to Lennie about her dream to be in the movies, she claims that her mother stole her letters that would have allowed her to get her career started: “Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself...So I married Curley...I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella” (89). Curley’s wife exhibits lost dreams leading to lost identity, having changed her life to escape her restraints only to end

Crooks talks to Lennie about the discrimination he experiences on the ranch: “S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black...A guy needs somebody-to be near him” (72). Crooks points out that he is not as fortunate as Lennie to have companionship because the other men reject him due to his skin color. Because of this, he is alone in the world. His identity is lost to everyone because no one takes the time to be near him or get to know him. He is counted as meaningless, and according to the others his identity is nothing but an unwanted black man. To be so unappreciated and have no reliable friends causes Crooks to be isolated both physically and mentally. When Crooks talks to Lennie about his life, he reflects on how he is viewed on the ranch: “If I say something, why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it...This is just a nigger talkin’, an’ a busted-back nigger. So it don’t mean nothing, see?” (71). Crooks feels as if his identity is nothing but a crooked old nigger to the guys, which makes him feel inadequate. He claims that everything he says is just wasted words because he is black. Without anybody crediting or even listening to what he has to say, he is friendless. Another way for one to encounter loneliness can be feeling