Humans rely on social interaction, attention, and physical contact to survive and develop healthily. It has been proven that these things are crucial for mental and physical development. Without these things, we become isolated, lonely, and depressed. Loneliness is a theme communicated in Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men. Examples of loneliness can be seen in every character we are introduced to. The first example can be seen in Crooks in multiple different ways. First, the obvious, is his skin color. He is the only black man at the ranch and doesn’t interact with the white men much so he is forced to spend his time alone. Due to this, he becomes suspicious of any kindness shown to him. "You got no right to come in my room. This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me," when Lennie came to talk to Crooks he reacted very rude at first, but once he realized Lennie was sincerely being kind and wanted to talk he eased up a bit. He changed his tone and invited …show more content…
Throughout the novel there are many times George and Lennie are questioned for traveling together. When George and Lennie first arrive at their job, the boss thinks George must be staying with Lennie so he can take his paycheck. They have a conversation in which he gets accused of this, “I say what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?... I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.” This statement shows that he finds it weird that they’re traveling together instead of alone. He assumes there’s some hidden motive behind it other than just looking out for each other. Later in the story George and Slim are talking. Slim states, “Ain’t many guys travel around together. I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.” When Slim says this, it shows that not many people stuck together at the time so it was seen as weird when they
why Lennie and George Travel together and is not very understanding. Although you never find
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses stereotypes and discrimination to convey a message of how the characters feel. A lot of the stereotypes and clichés are just common beliefs of the times, but a few are situational. To quote a quite distinguished reader, "Characters are ‘trapped’- either by what others think of them, or by their situation." A lot of the character’s feelings about themselves and what others think of them will lead to loneliness.
In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck depicts the essential loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930s. He illustrates how people are driven to find companionship. There were so many moments of loneliness and sadness throughout the novel, including many deaths. Following the deaths, they were very unexpected making the novel more intense and latch onto it more.
There are many cases in which Lennie’s child-like personality proves to be a burden. In the second chapter, George tells Slim the real reason why he and Lennie left Weed. “Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is,
As the story continues on and the pair arrive at their job, the character chart begins to branch as we are introduced to Slim, another worker on the farm. After learning of the two’s past together, he openly expresses, “Ain’t many guys travel around together... I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other” (Steinbeck 35). There is a unique value to George and Lennie’s relationship which the world lacks. Rather than combining their might, people would rather watch their own back with one set of eyes than having a second set to keep watch. There is mistrust between people and the idea of backstabbing and swindling is very present due to the economic decline and the loss of wealth for all social classes. Due to Lennie’s mental decline, however and the fact that if it were not for George, Lennie would not be alive, there is a strong bond apparent. To be separated from one another would mean becoming the rest of the world, sad and lonely. Neither of the two would like to bring sorrow to one another or let each other go through
Mother Theresa once said, "Loneliness is a man's worst poverty." Without friends and companions, people begin to suffer from loneliness and solitude (Dusenbury 38). Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life and cannot be avoided, as shown prevalent through each of the characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Each and every character in this novel exhibits loneliness. Lennie was isolated for being mentally handicapped, Candy was isolated for being old and disabled, Crooks was for being black, Curley's wife for being a woman, and George for having to care for Lennie and being unable to socialize with others because of Lennie's consistency of getting into trouble from town to town.
In terms of emotional stability, there is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness leads to low self-esteem and deprivation. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife all exhibit some form of loneliness. They are driven towards the curiosity of George and Lennie's friendship because they do not have that support in their life. Through his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates that often times, a victim of isolation will have a never-ending search to fulfill a friendship.
Through his novel, Steinbeck shows how loneliness can cause people to turn hostile, and constantly want to fight because they have no one to really talk to, they also act desperately due to their loneliness, and do things they normally wouldn’t. Loneliness can have terrible effects on people’s behavior, but it can be fixed. All that is necessary is a kind and patient friend willing to bridge the gap and bring the lonely person out of their misery, giving them someone to talk to and to confide in. If those people had someone there for them, they would no longer feel like screaming, or snapping at anyone who tries to talk to them, and they would go back to being happier, more content people.
Whether or not the men have a stable friendship with others determines some of their actions. George and Lennie’s friendship is very strong, so they base off their actions on the other persons. The have been staying together for many years. The two moving around and living together is great for Lennie, because due to
This essay will compare Marx’s understanding of the relationship between laborers and capitalists and Wollstonecraft’s understanding of the relationship between women and men. Both Marx and Wollstonecraft’s conception of these groups of people show a large gap between their treatment and status in society. Marx argues that capitalism is not created by nature and the unequal relationship between laborers and capitalists is not humane. In other words, it is actually the cause of social and economic problems during that time period. On a similar note, Wollstonecraft believes that the oppressive relationship between men and women is also unnatural. The standards for men and women are placed by society, not by biological facts. Society and how people
George and Lennie are basically thrown together, as most relationships like that tend to have many conflict points in them. Although George is making his own decision to keep Lennie around, you can gather he feels he has no other option. Lennie tends to forget, which tends to make George question their entire companionship. When the new boss comes to meet the pair, it takes a turn for the south. Though Lennie only slipped up once by repeating George’s compliment, the boss still found it a little odd the “big man” isn’t much of a talker; which makes him suspicious, therefore putting George and Lennie on his watch list.
The Isolation and Loneliness of Mice and Men Characters. By: Melaina Distad "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.” Sometimes people might feel like they have no one to talk to, making them feel isolated. In the book Of Mice and Men there are three characters that fit into the category of isolation and loneliness.
The reason George stays with Lennie is because Lennie has a mind of a child and without someone to watch over him he will get himself into trouble. Lennie helps George with his emotions. George easily gets angry at Lennie, but Lennie doesn't care because he knows that George loves him as family. George and Lennie always travel together mostly because they need each other. If they didn't have each other they would both be alone and have problems they couldn't fix.
Being friendless/ lonely can be really depressing and this could impact the way you see life, or how you see yourself. The people who are lonely aren’t responsible for it. In the novel, Of Mice And Men, Steinbeck’s character Crooks shows what really being lonely looks like. Crooks is not lonely because he chooses to, he is lonely because he is African American, and nobody wants to be his friend. This book was written in 1937, so racism played a role in not having many friends, or being judged a lot.
George didn’t like the idea at first, but then he and Lennie got close like brothers. George cares for Lennie, but Lennie also has care for George. They are really close and for them to be there for eachother that means they really care for one