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Steinbeck's isolation and loneliness
Steinbeck's isolation and loneliness
Steinbeck's isolation and loneliness
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The Theme of Loneliness and Isolation In Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California in 1902. His most famous books were written in the 1930s to the 1940s, and are set in California. Many of the characters in his books are immigrants from Mexico or from other parts of the United States who went to California looking for work or a better life. This better life was called 'The American Dream'. The American Dream was associated mostly with people who thought they could get their own house, farm with animals on it living on their land. I will be writing an essay from Steinbeck's book, 'Of Mice and Men'. 'Of Mice and Men' is set in the farmland of the Salinas valley where John Steinbeck was born and which he knew all his life. The main theme that runs through this book is the theme of loneliness and isolation, focusing on the characters: George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, Curley and Curley's wife. George and Lennie, start work at a ranch in Northern California, having left their previous jobs in a hurry, following accusations of attempted rape against the larger of the two men, Lennie. George and lennie experience loneliness in a different way to the rest of the main characters, because George and lennie have each other but still manage to maintain the theme of loneliness through out the whole novel. George is a normal civilized man just like the other ranch hands, but lennie is different he is a grown man but with a child trapped inside him quote, 'I like beans with ketchup.' He has a disease called autism. Lennie is also different in his strength quote, 'why do you got to get killed?... ... middle of paper ... ...rley's wife is the most isolated character in the whole novel. Why I believe Crooks is the most loneliest and isolated character is because he is the only coloured man on the ranch, and coloured people weren't treated equally to non coloured people which also brings up Crooks problem of having to spend nights after nights alone in a small room with nobody but his own shadow. As he was separated from the rest of the ranchmen as he was looked down at but luckily he got to talk to three people who all played vital roles in the novel. Throughout the whole novel I learnt that loneliness was a big thing however amazingly the majority of the people who suffered from it the most in the novel tried to conceal it or overpower it but as we see close to the end the loneliness becomes too intense that dreadful events occur.
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.
throughout the novel. I feel that this story recognizes that there are endless problems to the
Victors’ ignorance is viewed again when he does not tell anyone that he has created this monster, and that he is the murderer of William. He does not tell of this creature until his own welfare is on the line. He could have stopped these evil deeds the mons...
In the novel, Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck used George and Lennie's relationship and the theme of hope to point out the loneliness in the novel. The novel starts off and is set in Soledad which means lonely. At the beginning they get a job working on a farm together. Lennie is a little retarded and has great physical strength that isn't too controllable. As they work from ranch to ranch, Lennie relies on George for guidance and help. Rather than wasting their earnings, they try to save it in the hope of buying a place of their own. While working at one ranch they meet a worker named Candy who tries to help them financially. Before their dream can be fulfilled, Lennie kills the wife of the boss's son. As the novel concludes George must kill Lennie for his own benefit. Later Lennie goes into town and abandons his dream by spending his money.
Seeing the look on the boys face made him chuckle. He knew he was falling for him, but sitting here and talking to him, made his feeling seem all the more real.
...and innocent people, and caused other innocent people (Justine) to suffer for nothing. Victor reasoned that if he had controlled his passion, his pursuit, none of the tragedies described in the book would have happened.
Throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men (by John Steinbeck), loneliness is the major underlying theme of the novel. You could almost say that the book has hormonal' up's and down's. Most of the characters are very lonely because they have no family. However, George and Lennie are the contradiction to this. George and Lennie's bond towards each other are so- strong that you can almost see it as you are reading the book. Candy the old crippled man wants to be part of George and Lennie's dream to own a farm and "live off the fatta the land". Curley and his dog are like the metaphor in the book for George and Lennie. Candy has to take care of his dog and George of Lennie. The other two characters in the novel that are apart of the overall theme of loneliness are crooks the crippled stable buck and Curley's wife the flirtatious city girl. Crook's fits in to the loneliness theme because he is black. During this time in history, there was very little racial empathy. So being black means that he is isolated from everyone else at the ranch. Speaking of isolation, curley's wife feels very isolated because her husband, Curley, doesn't trust her at all, however, because Curley is so strict and concerned about her flirting with other guys it almost fuels her desire to cause trouble.
From the novel, it can then be concluded that issues that may seem to have disappeared from the world still thrive no matter the period of time. There is still some sort of oppression that takes place even if not necessarily by one race over another. Slavery, racism and gender abuses are still very much a part of the modern world. No matter how they seem to be removed from the world, there is still a little part of them that thrives within the very fabric of society.
alone just to try make some money. This was a very bad period in the
Victor soon realizes that he is the only one that holds this type of power. No one else has discovered such science and the fact that he has, makes him better than everyone else. He is starting to realize the power that he is capable and what he will be able to do with such great power. "Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless ...
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.
“‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is… I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick,” (Steinbeck 73). In this statement, Crooks, a character in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, divulges what effect loneliness can have on a human being. In the novel, the two main characters escape to a ranch where they must face the conflict that seems to follow them. Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, Steinbeck brilliantly portrays the loneliness and suspicion that was common during the time. Much like in everyday life, we can see the way in which loneliness drives people to become isolated, crave companionship, and refuse to express emotion.
Make sure to provide quotes and references from the story to support your answer. (3 Marks)
The power of novels can allow readers to learn significant lessons about humanity and life experiences. Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men” set in Americas great depression of the 1930’s, explores the human need for company and the impact of loneliness. This is shown through the characters experiences of power and powerlessness on a barley ranch in California. Steinbeck shows his readers the need for compassion in times of cruelty, emphasised by the desperation of the era which the novel is set.
The physical distance that was put between the main character and people like Dr. Bledsoe and Mr. Norton allowed him to be free of the people