Theme Of Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, is one that is stands out above the rest and is most assigned on high school reading lists due to its structure and the issues that it raises. John Steinbeck relies greatly on dialogue, rather than descriptions from the context. He also incorporates a use of foreshadowing and reoccurring images. Just as important is the way he connects the themes of loneliness and friendship and gives significance to such characters. An example of this would be Lennie and Crooks, who are evidently different from their companions. Through the use of foreshadowing, flashbacks, symbolism, setting and dialogue, Steinbeck is able to focus on a pair of lonely wanderers and highlight a noted theme of isolation and loneliness

and the desire for something more.
Of Mice and Men is also important because it uncovers the way in which events can plot against the recognition of one’s dreams.

It presents a group of flawed individuals and sets them up against a set of circumstances that they are unable to overcome or, are unable to comprehend, just as in the case of Lennie.
Throughout John Steinbeck’s career, he held a certain sympathy and compassion for the average person’s struggle for independence. This was something that commonly surfaced as a reoccurring theme in his works. Set in California’s Salinas Valley, Of Mice and Men, portrays the life of the common migrant worker a worker’s search for independence. Similar to the characters in Steinbeck’s other novel, The Grapes of Wrath, all that George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men long for is a piece of land to call their own.
In Of Mice and Men, the characters’ dream of land represents a longing for independence and dignity, or otherwise, the American Dream. George and Lennie exhibit a regular person’s struggle to achieve this dream. This longing for the “American Dream” is one of the central themes that pushes the novel’s characters and

actions.
From looking at the title one can already make assumptions. The characters are ill-fated from the start because of Lennie’s fatal flaw, in which he is developmentally disabled, making George and Lennie’s dream harder to grasp. Lennie has an innocence to him which leads George to believe that their dream might be obtainable: “George said softly, ’I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.’” (94)
Lennie is one who keeps the dream alive. He does not question its inevitable attainment, he just simply continues to believe in it. Without the innocence of Lennie and his constant belief, George would be like all the other ranchers, throwing his money away on whiskey and women, constantly drifting from one job to another. Steinbeck uses diction at its finest here, in which it stays true to its characters. The way words are spelled out and the way he makes the characters speak, really brings them to life and makes you feel almost connected to these characters.
George and Lennie are placed side by side a group of unusual misfits, to show that they not only need each other but to make a point that it is hard for humans to live in isolation without facing consequences.

Steinbeck uses characters like Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife to exhibit the isolation of the human condition. Every one of these characters is drawn to George and Lennie as well as their vision. These characters want to share in that dream as well. Their dreams have been consistently destroyed by the coldness of the world; and as a result, feed off of George and Lennie’s dream. Crooks, Candy, George, and Curley’s wife all have the capability to reach this dream, but they lack what Lennie has which is the innocent belief, in order to make it come true. It is these character’s personal experience and persona that keeps them from reaching the

dream.