Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

1284 Words3 Pages

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.

Crooks is isolated for being the only black cripple man on the ranch. Since this book is set during the Depression, Jim Crow laws are still in effect, whites and blacks had separate facilities for socialising and living. The full extent of Crooks's suffering is made clear when Crooks lashes out at Lennie. Viewing Lennie as a symbol of all the white men who had hurt him, Crooks strikes out in anger, saying "You got no right to come in my room...Nobody got any right in here but me." (Pg 67 & 68). In fact, Crooks protects himself by acting like a "proud, aloof man." (Pg 67) and his anger is just a disguise for the pain he experiences from constant isolation as “his face lighted with pleasure in Lennie’s torture." (Pg 71).

But when Crooks tells Lennie; "I can’t play because I'm black. They say I stink." (Pg 68), this illustrates that Crooks feels the pain of rejection more than he reveals. When Crooks says to Lennie "A guy ...

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...ick due to the constant isolation. Since Steinbeck associates Candy with his dog, I think he will die in a similar way. It is obvious that all the ranch workers will die a sad and lonely death, mainly because they had no true friends.

After reading this book, I believe true friendship is what gets you through the bad times and helps you enjoy the good times and that everybody needs a friend for companionship to prevent the suffering of loneliness and isolation.

‘‘A true friend is the greatest of all blessings…" Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613 – 1680).

Bibliography

Websites

www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize

Books

John Steinbeck (2001) Of Mice And Men,

ISBN: 978-0140292916

Martin Stephen (2002) York Notes on “Of Mice And Men”,

ISBN: 978-0582506220

DVD

Of Mice And Men (1992) John Malkovich, Gary Sinise

Directed by: Gary Sinise

of mice and men...theme of lonliness in the book
558 Words | 2 Pages
Crooks also feels a great deal of loneliness, as he is an outcast on the ranch. He lives in his own room where hardly anybody ever bothers him. He is never invited to play cards or do anything fun with the other guys. One day a curious Lenny asked, “Why ain’t you wanted?” Crooks replies “Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They think I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me” (pg. ). Crooks’ attitude towards this is shown when he saw Lennie playing with his puppy outside of Crooks’ quarters. Crooks states that “if me, as a black man, is not allowed in the white quarters, then white men are not allowed in mine” (pg. ). However this is merely a front as the more open side of Crooks is shown later on in the book.
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Racial Profiling in of Mice and Men by Steinbeck
544 Words | 2 Pages
Steinbeck clearly shows that Crooks never has any say on the ranch. No one cares about him. He’s just a “negro stable buck” (66). In this novella, No one ever talks to him except for candy. Lennie finally finds himself going into his room. While in there they speak about racial profiling. Crooks tell lennie that he’s the only African Americans on the ranch. He tells Lennie how he’s “alone out here at night” (73). He has nobody to talk to all he does is read books and think. The people on the ranch care less about his needs and wants, all they want him to do is to continue his work...
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Comparing Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men And The Freedom Writers
589 Words | 2 Pages
The Quote ‘’ Your truest friends are the ones who will stand by you in your darkest moments; because they are willing to be brave the shadows with you, and in your greatest moments they’re not afraid to let you shine’’. To me this quote means you know who your true friends are because through the trials tribulations and darkest points they will show you light and be by your side. When greatness strikes they will be there to cheer you on and be happy for your successes. I agree with this quote because a friend is someone who is supposed to be there for you even when everyone else isn’t, someone you tell everything to and trust because friendship is something sacred finding a good genuine friend is hard to fine but once you do the support that was mentioned in the quote is natural. The two parts of literature that connect to the quote would be of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck and The Freedom Writers by Erin Gruwell. The literary elements
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Trapped Characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
583 Words | 2 Pages
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.
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Desire for Companionship in John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"
1749 Words | 4 Pages
Crooks, the black stable buck, is isolated from the community of migrant workers because of his racial status. When Lennie goes into the barn to see his puppy, he and Crooks have a conversation. “'Why ain't you wanted?' Lennie asked. 'Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black'” (68). Lennie is too kind-hearted and intellectually slow to visualize the apparent racial boundary that sets Crooks aside from Lennie and the rest of the workers. Crooks is so isolated from the rest of the workers that he says he “can't” play cards, not that he isn't allowed to, which means that the racial boundary is like a wall Crooks cannot cross. Because he is black, Crooks believes that he cannot play cards with the white men. He can't get over the racial boundary, and believes he will be forever separated from the white men. In the beginning of chapter 4, Steinbeck describes Crooks' living space. “Crooks, the Negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the...
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Of Mice and Men, 3 Characters with Loneliness
406 Words | 1 Pages
Steinbeck expresses the theme of loneliness in the character of Candy. Candy is lonely because his is missing half an arm. Candy?s disability separates him from society, an example of Curley being set aside is when everybody else goes to town he is left in the barn with Crooks, Lennie, and Curley?s wife. Candy?s only friendship was with his old, smelly dog. Candy?s dog was a symbol of himself (old, and useless). When Carlson kills Candy?s dog he kills Candy on the inside as well.
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The Loneliness Of mice and Men
401 Words | 1 Pages
“A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. ‘I tell ya’ he cried. ‘I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” (Page 72-73) As you can see, Crooks also spends most of his time alone because he is black. He is not allowed to enter the bunk house nor go to town with the guys. He is not allowed to enter the bunk house, he is not allowed to go to town with the guys and nobody likes him because he is black. This shows that he has no friendship and his whole life is filled with loneliness. His case is different from Lennie’s.
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Discrimination in the Book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck
1457 Words | 3 Pages
The racial discrimination was one of the aspects of the discrimination in this story. Consequently, Crooks had to battle with various difficulties and conflicts, which prevented him from reaching his full potential. The ranch hands did not let Crooks live, eat, and play with them because his skin colour was different. It led to the conflict between him and Lennie. "Why ain't you wanted?" Lennie asked. "Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” (Steinbeck, 68). In this conversation between Lennie and African - American stable buck Crooks, Crooks explains why he could not accepted to play cards together with other ranch hands. The fact that other ranch hands discriminate Crooks because of his skin colour is one of the important examples that prove social belief that race was one factor to determine a person’s value in Depression era. Crooks was isolated. This isolation prevented Crooks ...
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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
1369 Words | 3 Pages
Life is not a bed of roses. People use this expression to stress the fact that there are and will be difficulties in life. John Steinbeck, in his novella Of Mice and Men, does not fall short of the same views. It takes place in the year 1937, a period associated with the Great Depression, and illustrates the hardships of the time, and more so those that laborers such as George and Lennie experience. Life proves to be full of disappointments for both men who are victims of harsh circumstances in more ways than one. The two have a dream to own a farm of their own but circumstance and fate robs them of their dream for a better life. This is a depiction of the lost American Dream during the Great Depression which lasts between 1929 up to the 1940s. The poem titled “This Is Not The Life” further depicts the hardships found in life. It clearly portrays the uncertainty and struggle associated with living during the Great Depression. Thus, both the novella and the poem explain that human dreams for a great future are subject to circumstance and fate, which most of the time collude against human success in life leaving only a trace of broken dreams, pain and misery.
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Loneliness in Of Mice of Men by John Stienbeck
926 Words | 2 Pages
Crooks is an African American stable-hand on the ranch, who because he is black is very isolated and lonely. He is the only black man on the ranch and is segregated from the others on multiple occasions. All Crooks wants is to be able to do daily activities with the other ranch workers, even simply a game of cards. However, since Crooks is black, he is not allowed into the bunkhouse, and is forced to live alone in the barn. He wants to feel like someone cares about him, "Don't make no difference who the guy is, long’s he's with you. I tell you, a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick." (80) Lennie finds Crooks one night in his room when he is playing with the new puppies on the ranch. After Crooks tries to play a joke on Lennie, Crooks realizes that Lennie is slow and thinks like a child, therefore can’t understand that he is just playing a joke on him. Crooks then invites Lennie to stay with him for a while, and forgets about his loneliness for one night. Crooks looks to Lennie for companionship; he sees that si...
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1111 Words | 3 Pages
“You Know what a friend is Reuven? A Greek philosopher said that two people who are friends are like two bodies with one soul” (pg 74)
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Of Mice and Men
1567 Words | 4 Pages
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In the novel Of Mice and Men, written during the Great Depression, loneliness is a very important theme. Albert Schweitzer said, “We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness.” Throughout the story loneliness has impacted the lives of many migrant workers during
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1374 Words | 3 Pages
To have someone that can support you through all of life’s transitions is the greatest feeling in the world. A friend that supports another friend in good times and bad is truly a friend, and “Thus when we find a friend who will not leave us in his fortune or desert us in our misfortune, but remains serious, stable and constant in either situation, we must consider him a rare friend indeed, and very nearly godlike,” (Cicero 123). Friends of this nature are rare and special because they see their own friend as worthy and equal to themselves. And another quote from Cicero that speaks of the nature of true friendship is, “Thus it seems to me that friendship arises more from our nature than from our needs, and that we choose our friends because of an inclination of our souls and a sense of love rather than because we think they might be useful to us,” (Cicero 111). This exemplifies true friendship because it is out of love that we choose our friends rather than the gain we get from befriending them. This kind of friendship leads to true friendship because it was created out of love or admiration for another. John and Bernard’s friendship in Brave New World, was created for Bernard’s benefit more than admiration for each other. Bernard likes that John’s exotic background boosts his own fame and amiability in the World State society. Bernard does not genuinely care for John, as shown in this dialogue between two when John refuses to meet with
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Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

of mice and men...theme of lonliness in the book

Racial Profiling in of Mice and Men by Steinbeck

Comparing Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men And The Freedom Writers

Trapped Characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

Desire for Companionship in John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men"

Of Mice and Men, 3 Characters with Loneliness

The Loneliness Of mice and Men

Discrimination in the Book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck