"A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody. Don’t matter no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick." A major theme in Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men is loneliness. The characters Crooks, Candy and Curley’s wife each suffer from this although the severity of their seclusion varied. The old swapper, Candy was victimized by isolation as a result of two main factors, one being his disability and the other being his age. For example, throughout the book we find the farmhands out bucking the barley while Candy is left behind to sweep and clean the ranch. He lost his hand after getting it caught in a piece of machinery and as a result he is forced to stay behind. This being one of the major factors that leads to his loneliness. Furthermore, Candy’s age adds to his feeling of uselessness. Because he thinks that he is old he puts himself in a state of mind that handicaps him more than his missing hand ever will. He looks down on himself as an old worthless man that’s wasting away his last few years. Not only is it the way that others think of him but also the way he thinks of himself that forces him to find solitude. The most evident case of loneliness is Curley’s wife. No matter how hard she tried she couldn’t fit in. For example, when she tried numerous times to talk to George and Lenny she was either ignored or told to leave. Because of her reputation for being a flirt none of the farmhands wanted to talk to her. It was the threat of getting in trouble with Curley that caused many workers to avoid her. In addition, because of Curley’s insecure feelings he neglected her and forced her to seek attention anyway she could, even it meant flirting. She was ignored by both the farmhands and her own husband and because of this she was being forced into loneliness, the one thing she fought so hard against. Crooks is a black man that experiences isolation in terms of racism. For example, he is forced to live alone in the barn. Because the setting of this book takes place during the 1930’s discrimination sadly still existed. The farmhands feel that since he is black he isn’t worthy of living with the rest of them.
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.
George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.
The movie of Of Mice and Men had many differences while still giving the same message that the book was portrayed to have. One of the major differences was that Candy never came into the room when Lennie and Crooks were talking to each other. This was major because Crooks never found out that the plan was true about the little house. In the book after he heard Candy talk about it he wanted to get in on the deal. Also the movie it never showed Lennie have his illusions of his Aunt Carla and the rabbits when he was waiting by the pond.
The story Of Mice and Men took place during the 1930’s. That time period was very different from today. Race and gender were very important characteristics that determined whether a person had the opportunity to make money. The 1930’s were also a time where people started questioning life and the American culture. Many people like John Steinbeck thought that life was very unfair and questioned whether if life was even worth living. In Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck demonstrates that mans dream is destined to be destroyed by a cruel reality.
In conclusion, all of these characters from “Of Mice and Men” are lonely in their own ways. Candy is old and he lost his only friend, his dog. Crooks is segregated from the society because he is black and not allowed to be with the whites. Also last but not least, Curley’s wife is lonely because she is a woman and she was born with that. In our society, right now, women have a lot of rights, from getting jobs to voting.
This aspect is reflected by use of the time period’s race standards, as revealed in the following quote. Crooks whined in sorrow, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody.” (Steinbeck 73). This quote suggests that Crooks’ exposure of discrimination has forced his isolation, preventing him from a healthy amount of human interaction and possibly driving mental illness. The indifference to women back then also donates to the effects of isolation and loneliness in the novel, as seen through Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife yells in exasperation, “Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody?” (Steinbeck 87). This quote illustrates Curley’s wife’s frustration and anger of being shunned by the other people on the ranch, and the lack of her actual name, only being referred to as “Curley’s wife”, may also reveal her as being considered Curley’s property rather than spouse. In the novel, the characteristic of inevitability of age contributes to the effects of isolation and need for companionship. After Candy’s dog is shot, it’s revealed that Candy faces age discrimination. Candy comments in a monotone voice: “Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunkhouses they’ll put me on the county,” (Steinbeck 60). This example shows that Candy is aware of how useless he is in the eyes of the other men on the ranch due to his age, and will face adversity of being
"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.
Disappointment is someone being sad or mad about something they have done or failed to do. Disappointment can be caused by other people’s actions. In the book “Of Mice And Men” by John Steinbeck, the characters of Crooks, Candy, and Curly’s wife all suffer from disappointment of life. Crooks suffer from disappointment from how nobody wants to play or talk to him just because he is black. Also Curly’s Wife suffers because women don’t have that much of rights so she gets treated badly. Candy gets also treated badly because he is old and only has one hand to use so he can’t do that much work. All of the people in the book get treated badly because the book “Of Mice and Men” is made during the time period that the great depression was so there wasn’t that much of rights towards women and black people.
In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck brings out the themes of Lonliness and companionship, and strengths and weaknesses through the actions, and quotations of the characters. Irony and foreshadowing play a large roll on how the story ends. Lennie and his habit of killing things not on purpose, but he is a victim of his own strength. George trying to pretend that his feelings for Lennie mean nothing. The entire novel is repetitive in themes and expressed views.
Warren French writes, “The world just hasn’t been made right, so that dreams are the only things that can keep men going.” Agree or disagree with this statement.
The daily struggle of the working class, fear of loneliness and the reality of putting all your energy into plans that fail are the different themes relating to John Steinbeck's novel, "Of Mice and Men". The characters depicted by the author are individuals who are constantly facing one obstacle after another. The book illustrates different conflicts such as man versus society, man versus man, man versus himself and idealism versus reality. The book's backdrop is set in the Salinas, California during the depression. The two main characters include two men, George and Lennie. Supportive characters include a few ranch hands, Candy, Crooks, Curly, Slim and Carlson.
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.
images he leaves the reader with is George and Slim walking off as Curly says “ Now
The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two ranch hands, George and Lennie. George is a small, smart-witted man, while Lennie is a large, mentally- handicapped man. They are trying to raise enough money to buy their own ranch, by working as ranch hands. During the setting of the story, they are at a ranch whose owner’s name is Curley. It is in this setting that the novel reveals that the main theme is death and loss.
Of Mice and Men is a novel written by John Steinbeck. It is set in California during the great depression. The story follows two ranch hands who travel together and are very poor. Throughout the novel we witness many different philosophical references. Many different types of characters from this novel are reused in today’s society. Steinbeck also writes eloquently about the many different emotions, aspirations, and dreams of man.