How Does Steinbeck Present The Theme Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

Steinbeck’s of Mice and Men is a novella portraying the lives of two men - George and Lennie - two itinerant workers living amidst the Great Depression in 1930s America. The story takes place on a ranch in Soledad California with George and Lennie joining the ranch together. The novella is riddled with themes of oppression and loneliness and explores companionship between the two main characters George and Lennie in an isolated world with the purpose of living for the “American Dream”.

Steinbeck's portrayal of people marginalised due to skin colour, gender, or disabilities reflect the book's explicit lonely setting by growing resentful and cruel. Curley's wife is a good example of this. As a woman in the 1930s, gender roles and other societal

This constant migration between workers made it almost impossible to create friendships and bonds with other people causing them to become bitter and harshly isolated, and would stick to oneself. In the very first chapter, it is peacefully opened with a description. “The golden foothill“ and “rabbits sat as quietly as little grey, sculptured stones”. By attributing emotion to the trees and the river, Steinbeck uses a common pathetic fallacy method to convey a sense of tranquillity between the two. It emphasises the bond with one another by surrounding the setting with positive imagery. Afterwards, George and Lennie are introduced as itinerant workers. They find themselves at s ranch in Soledad and are distrusted as soon as they enter. due to the rarity of seeing two itinerant employees coupled together. The boss of the ranch stops by George and Lennie's bunk for questioning. He is concerned that George is taking advantage of Lennie because he's "slow." implying Lennie’s developmental disability which is autism. This ties back to George feeling as though he is bound to Lennie, almost like a caretaker because of his disability saying “I could get along so easily… if I didn't have you on my tail”, and yet George still stays because he feels the obligation to, and knows as an itinerant worker it can be mentally draining doing constant hard labour and having no codependency. Slim furthers the notion of loneliness through his first impressions of Lennie and George's joint travels. He says "they just come in and get their bunk and work for a month, and then they quit and go out alone". This demonstrates the constant surprise at George and Lennie's connection, especially when expressed by a highly regarded worker like Slim, who emphasises the idea of loneliness because of his