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At some point in one’s life there is not only contentment or grief, but a state of loneliness. Loneliness is a part of human life, although some suffer from isolation more than others. Being lonely can lead to depression or create a different persona in oneself. Struggling through isolation can eventually kill one’s soul, expecting no hope or ending up in dangerous situations. The novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck portrays the theme of loneliness especially through two characters. Crooks and Curley’s wife experience the state of isolation as they crave for a friend or someone they can talk with. Steinbeck urges readers to feel pathos when analyzing Crooks and Curley’s wife through the nature of their isolation, their actions and lives, and the serious outcomes that follow.
Crooks and Curley’s wife are isolated because of many factors such as uncivil segregation, sexism, restrictions, and their past. Readers come across many times in the book where the men on the ranch call Crooks “nigger”. This shows he is inferior to white people and not respected. Even Curley’s wife blackmails him because he is black when he told her to get out of his room. Being the only black man on the ranch, Crooks is discriminated because on his skin color. He doesn’t like the way people treat him, yet he is so hopeless because he knows he can’t do anything about it. Also, Crooks is not allowed to participate in any of the games that the ranch workers play. Because of this, he has no friends and is always secluded from everybody. In the same way, men call Curley’s wife a “tart” and “bitch” behind her back because she is flirtatious with the men. Curley’s wife is lonely because she is the only woman. She is desperate to find someone to talk to on t...
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...r flirtatious attitude is also another result of her loneliness. She acts coy so she can have a friend or someone to talk to. Crook and Curley’s wife end up in serious outcomes because of their lonesomeness.
Through this novella, we analyze the factors that lead to the isolation of Crooks and Curley’s wife, their lives while isolated, and the negative results because of isolation. We, as readers, feel empathy and pity for these two characters as they struggle with acute solitude. Both Crook and Curley’s wife are affected by a human’s main enemy –loneliness. Similarly, humans have different phases of life when they feel alone and have no one. Sometimes, this feeling kills one’s emotions and his mind gets depressed. Or, a different person develops inside him because of isolation. Loneliness is a phase of human life which haunts the mind and soul of every human.
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.
Curley’s wife is probably the most loathed on the ranch. Because of the way she looks and acts, people think she is easy, or a "tart". " ‘Jesus, what a tramp,’ he said. ‘So that’s what Curley picks for a wife.’ " said George, p.35. She just wants someone to talk to.
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 state information about Curley’s Wife, Candy and Crooks’ loneliness.
Loneliness is the sadness resulting from being forsaken or abandoned. John Steinbeck brought up the theme of loneliness in many characters in Of Mice and Men. Crooks, Curley?s wife, and Candy expressed the theme of loneliness in many different forms throughout the story. Early in the novella George said, life working as ranch hands is about the loneliness of living, for these people finding friendship seems to be impossible. Crooks expressed feelings of loneliness throughout Of Mice and Men.
“’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 not to talk to nobody?’” (Page 87) This quote is said by Curley’s wife when all the men went to town, including her husband. It shows that she spends all her time alone, in her house as the men work in the fields. She is also not allowed to talk to anyone but her husband who spends all of this time in the fields, so she feels like she is living alone all her life. This forces her to talk to anybody she finds. This shows her case of loneliness, and Crooks almost has the same situation.
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.
In Crooks’ case, he is isolated because of his race. When Crooks talks to Lennie about why he is excluded from the bunkhouse, he responds with, “Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black” (Steinbeck, 68). Crooks feels that the other men on the ranch exclude him. Another example of this is when Curley's wife says to Crooks, “Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny” (Steinbeck, 81). Curley's wife is being
Candy, Crook’s and Curley’s wife all were lonely and they dealt with it in unique way to make themselves feeling lonely. I think one of the most important lessons in the novel is friendship and having a social interaction with other human beings are very important and we all should be grateful, because it keeps us far way from loneliness. I remember a time when I was lonely I couldn’t stand it. When my mom and the family went out to the store for a while to go shopping. I felt I was going to explode, it didn’t feel like just a couple of minutes it felt like days. From the second they walked in the door I was greeting the, they thought I was eccentric. They kept “asking are you okay?” That was just about an hour I don’t want see if it was for a week.
Loneliness is the central theme in the novel Of Mice and Men. Many of the characters show signs of being lonely, some more than others. Loneliness haunts Crooks deep inside. Crooks accepts things the way they are though. Crooks does not talk to the other men and they do not talk to him. This causes the greatest amount of loneliness in Crooks out of all the characters. Rejection can cause most people to become crazy, as it
An example of how the men are discriminative towards Crooks is that he is forced to live in a shack away from the bunkhouse and also Crooks says that "They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say "I stink" and "I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse." An example of when Curley's Wife is critical towards Crooks is when she looks into his room to see what Lennie and Crooks are doing and then she states, shaking her head, that they left the weak ones behind. Also, she threatens to have Crooks hanged because a black man should never talk to a white woman the way he just had. As a result of all of these discriminatory acts against him, Crooks feels unwanted and lonely because of his color and placement on the farm.
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.
Racial tension has played such a big part in American history that it appears as themes for even the most famous novels. In Of Mice and Men, the character of "Crooks" is the biggest symbol of racial discrimination throughout the entire novel. Crooks is a worker on the ranch, just like the main characters Lennie and George, but Crooks is an African-American man. Since there is a difference in race between Crooks and the other workers on the ranch, Crooks has to live in smaller, filthier quarters than the other ranchhands. An article written by eNovels.com goes more in depth about the racial discrimination that Crooks faces in the novel. The article explains an event in the book, where Curly's wife just walks right in to Crooks' room because she thinks she is higher in status than him. The source quotes a line by Crooks that says, "You got no rights comin' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all," in which Curley's wife replies, "Well, you keep your place then. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny," (Steinbeck 17). The source also points out that Crooks and Lennie are both social outcasts. Crooks is because of his race, and Lennie is because of his awkward personality and mental handicap ("How Does Steinbeck Show Racial Discrimination with Crooks in Of Mice and Men?"). Steinbeck shows the audience the discrimination Americans
Using the psychological and gender strategies in analyzing “A Jury for Her Peers” and “A Rose for Emily”, I plan to reveal the impact that loneliness has on one’s mental state. Various psychological as well as gender strategies could be used in the understanding of the impacts of loneliness on people from across the genders. With an application of a more cognitive strategy, there is the establishment of an understanding of the impacts of loneliness on both men and women as well as some of the psychological impacts that are associated with this. The state of loneliness affects one in a different number of ways. Others could critically argue for or against loneliness and as such employ the various schools of thoughts in illumination of the psychological
What causes people to be lonely? In the book Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck Curley's wife is very lonely. She becomes lonely due to social isolation, caused by her overprotective, selfish husband. Curley’s wife also becomes lonely due to being the only female at the ranch. Curley’s wife copes with loneliness by seeking attention, which can lead to problems for the individual and others.