Of Mice and Men is a novella written by John Steinbeck in the 1930’s. It possesses many prominent themes that are evident throughout the whole book. One distinct theme is loneliness. John Steinbeck uses many conventions to convey this theme to the reader including characterization, context, foreshadowing and resolution. Through the use of these conventions, readers developed attitude and opinions, which change with modern society and the reader’s context. The theme of loneliness is best portrayed through characterisation, and is evident in almost all of the characters in the novel. The gloomiest examples are Crooks and Curley’s wife. Cooks is forced to live in solitude because of his skin colour, and being the only Negro man on the reach he does not have any company. He is not allowed into the bunkhouse, and the other ranch hands do not want to associate with him, forcing him to spend his time alone. Crooks’ only chance is to connect with the other men during the day while they are working, but because of his deformed back, he is confined to the stable all day, instead of bucking wheat with the other men. He battles his loneliness by consuming himself in books and work, but even he knows they are no substitute for human company. Crooks make this apparent through his dialogue during his conversation with Lennie. “S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy cause you was black. How’d you like that? S’pose you had to sit out here an’ read books . . . Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody – to be near him.” This quote proves that crooks is aware that his books are not substituting human company. Curley’s wife is an extremely sad example of loneliness been characterised in the novel. T... ... middle of paper ... ...hough, as he shoots Lennie in the resolution, it could be interpreted as George deliberately laying out his solitary plan and choosing to be alone. The laying out of Georges solitary hand foreshadows his decision to travel and work alone. A reader in 2014 is positioned to feel sympathetic towards the characters. We can all relate to the theme, as loneliness is something everyone will experience at some time in their lives. Although, the readers reaction might be different if they were living in a different time and place. A reader in the 1930’s might feel pitiful of the men, but generally accept their loneliness as a normal component in the lives of migrant workers, whereas a reader today might feel terribly empathetic towards them as work and living conditions are different in modern society, and we are not used to loneliness being a usual part of everyday life.
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.
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.
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.
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.
John Steinbeck explores human experience in the novella ‘Of Mice and Men’ in friendship, loneliness and marginalisation. He does this through the characters as explained thought the paragraphs below.
All in all, through the use of the characters in Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck is able to highlight how isolation that is forced on individuals by society ultimately leads to one’s suffering. The overall message of the novel is that no single individual should be mistreated because of a mental issue, his or her race, his or her gender, or the fact that one may have a physical injury. It is everyone’s human right to be treated equally and respectfully. No one should ever feel alienated from his or her surroundings. Loneliness is something that no one can avoid. As the story comes to an end, the story brings to light different causes of isolation, particularly discrimination and preconceptions.
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.
Factors that can fuel loneliness are abundant: depression, trauma, social rejection, loss, low self-esteem, etc. The aspect of human connection and interaction is a psychological requirement for all people, even to those who push others away. These elements of isolation are presented through three methods in a 1938 novel of friendship. John Steinbeck uses indirect characterization, discrimination, and conflict to demonstrate the effects of loneliness and need for companionship in his novel Of Mice and Men.
"Were born alone we live alone die alone. Only through love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that were not alone” Orson Welles. In this novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses on the loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930’s. One of the most important things in the life is to have a friend, without friends people will suffer from loneliness like in this novel, not everyone in the novel has the same connection and special friendship like George and Lennie’s. Of Mice and Men is the story about lonely men who travel from ranch to ranch not really communicating with other ranch hands. Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife all were lonely and dealt with their loneliness in different ways.
talkin' to a bunch of bindle stiffs -- a nigger an' a dum-dum and a
The great and famous author john Steinbeck once said, “All great and precious things are lonely.” In the Steinbeck book Of Mice and Men, many of the characters show their loneliness in many different ways. Candy, Curley's wife, and Crooks all show perfect examples of how they are lonely. The characters in of mice and men show that loneliness is a problem that must be overcome in order to live a happy, fulfilled life.. all three of these characters know what is feels like to be lonely.
Well known author Gretchen Rubin once said, “Keep in mind that to avoid loneliness, many people need both a social circle and an intimate attachment. Having just one of two may still leave you feeling lonely.” In the novel Of Mice And Men written during the Great Depression by author John Steinbeck loneliness is one of the main themes throughout the story. In this essay I will be writing about how loneliness affects three of the characters, George, Crooks, and Curley's unnamed wife.
In his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck illustrates a type of loneness that can only be found on the ranch life style in California. He shows how many lead a loneness, and a rehash lifestyle, but while some seek an companion to trek through the land with. The Boss, is the type of man that see many come and go, but also see some stay true and faithful, such as Slim or Candy. He never seen leaving his house to meet with the workers, or his son for that matter. Curley’s wife, she is known to being “looked over” by many men, and is constantly seeking conversation with others, mainly the workers, or is found looking for her husband, Curly.
Curley’s wife feels extremely isolated which is why she acts flirtatiously to other men which ends up leaving her more isolated because the men avoid her so they won’t get beaten up. She’s lonely because she has no one else to relate to and she isolates herself further because she makes cruel remarks to others. Curley’s wife longs for company but when she tries to flirt with a man she exploits their weaknesses. When she was talking with Crooks she reminded him that he was a social inferior and an outcast instead of being friendly with him which made him not talk to her anymore furthering her isolation. “I get lonely, she said. You can talk to people but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like to not talk to nobody” (Steinbeck 43). This shows just how lonely Curley’s wife is she can’t talk to anybody but her husband and her husband doesn’t even really like her so they don’t ever really talk, she essentially only has herself to keep her company. Curley’s wife was so lonely that she wanted acceptance from Lennie “Take Curley. His hair is jus’ like wire. But mine is soft and fine. ‘Course I brush it a lot. That makes it fine. Here-feel right here” (Steinbeck 45). She was so desperate for attention that she let Lennie touch her hair because she was alone and she wanted his approval. Curley’s wife only wanted a friendship so that she could talk to someone about her problems, had she had a friend she wouldn’t have felt so isolated and
Curley’s wife thought that she had an opportunity to go to Hollywood and become a big movie star, but she never received the invitation to come that the other actor had promised, so she had to settle with marrying Curley so that she had food on the table. Finally, when Curley’s wife dies, Steinbeck writes that her meanness, discontent, ache for attention and all of her other negative qualities seem to leave her face (92). This seems to imply that there was much more to her than what was on the surface or what others perceived her as being. Due to the men’s assumptions about Curley’s wife, we never get to fully understand who she is or why she decided to do the things that she did. We only partially get to see her true feelings and personality, a lonely girl whose dreams were taken away from her and was forced to settle for second