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How Does Steinbeck Present The Theme Of Loneliness

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“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty”(Mother Teresa). This quote best illustrates the theme throughout the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The characters in this novel are constantly being placed in and out of farms in the early 1930’s. The author embellishes how the characters are trying to find a way out of their stage of loneliness; this is proven when they are forced into finding friendships. There are three characters that illustrate the theme in the novel Of Mice and Men, these people are Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife. These characters all show the same trait of loneliness, but in different perspectives. The first example of a character who is lonely is an old handyman, who is left with only one hand from the outcome of a 7wwwwwprevious accident, is left alone with his dog. In the beginning his dog was a impressive sheep herder, but over time he ages, causing him to have a bad odor. Carlson insisted to Candy that the dog needed to be put out of his misery, so Carlson shot the dog. As a result of this incident Candy feels that once he gets old and useless he will be demanded to leave the farm. He expresses his feelings when he says, “ When …show more content…

Lastly, Curley 's wife who wonders around the farm with flirtation towards the other men; while acting like she is trying to find her husband, Curly. She has an encounter with Lennie, Candy, and Crook in the stable, and admits to her feeling of displeasure with her life and her marriage to Curley. When she says “ I get lonely [...] You talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curly”, this proves her unhappiness that leads to her flirtation (Steinbeck 87). Later in the novel, she explains her dream to Lennie compared to the life she is living now. She explains it by expressing her feelings of how the men treat her by saying, “ Seems like they ain 't none of them cares how I gotta live“ (Steinbeck 88). Curley’s wife’s unhappiness has lead to her

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As the only women on the ranch, this causes Curley's wife to be the minority to all of the men on the farm. This causes her to become very lonely and isolated since she is the only women. In the texts Curley's wife says, “‘I get lonely,’... ‘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 anybody?’”

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person can act physically, doesn 't mean a person can get lonely at times. Being a migrant worker can be hard at times, but being in an environment where everyone looks down on you can be even harder. These examples above, are many reassurances that Lennie often gets lonely without George by his side. Although Curlys wife is married, and and has a life with curley, doesn 't mean she can get lonely at times.

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Because Curley’s wife is closely connected to the boss, her engagements towards the men on the ranch will only push her further away from them. Also, when Curley’s wife appears, her loneliness pours out of her with resentment. She describes her isolation at the ranch by stating, “I get lonely...you can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley” (87). This shows that shes just a lonely young and naive girl, who uses her sexuality to get noticed on the

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While reading this book a few things were noticed like the number of characters who were experiencing loneliness. Although none of the characters really know each other they still have one thing in common and that’s their need of companionship. In my essay I’ll be explaining how each one needs a companion. The characters Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks all exemplify loneliness and isolation.

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In the same scenario, when Lennie won’t talk to Curley’s wife because he is told not to, Curley’s wife feels frustrated because she feels she doesn’t “Got a right to talk to nobody” (87). Curley's wife's gender affects her consistently throughout the story. Also, her relationship status affects her immensely. Her unhealthy and overprotective relationship makes her feel stuck and alone. She feels it's unfair how she can’t talk to people.

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Loneliness and Alienation in “Of Mice and Men” In John Steinbeck’s novel, “Of Mice and Men”, many characters were plagued with loneliness and alienation, and most characters were in need of acceptance. The harsh time period of the Great Depression affected three characters in, “Of Mice and Men” greatly. Three characters that are plagued by loneliness and alienation and are in need of acceptance the most include George Milton; the protagonist of the novel, Crooks; the negro stable buck with a crooked back, and Curley’s wife; a young woman who just wants somebody to talk to. In this essay, you will learn why George, Crooks, and Curley’s wife were the loneliest and why other characters were not plagued with loneliness and alienation as much as these three characters. George Milton is the protagonist of the novel.

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On the other hand Curley’s wife is always desiring attention due to her isolation: “I get lonely… How’d you like not to talk to anybody”(Steinbeck 87). This is one of the many times Curley’s wife has tried to talk to someone. She has tried to have a conversation with Lennie before but George tells him not to talk to her. Lennie could not resist and talked to her. Her constant desire for attention ultimately leads to her death.

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We all may have had the feeling of loneliness and isolation, wanting companionship feeling abandonment. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, there are men living on a ranch having their own reasons for loneliness or being isolated. The three characters Crooks, George, and Lennie crusade dealing with own ways of loneliness and isolation. Crooks has no one that likes him because he’s black, Lennie struggles mentally and George struggles with always having to care for him. They all can’t decide whether it is that they want to be alone or not.

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Lonely Characters in Of Mice And Men Imagine a world where people didn’t really care what one said to another, and neither cared enough to ask each other questions. A place where everyone existed in silence, but were together at the same time. As portrayed in the novel, Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, in which Steinbeck’s idea of loneliness is isolation in silences. The author teaches the reader that friendship is mostly about conversation, and magnifies the effects of isolation through the eyes of Crooks, Curley’s wife and Candy.

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Lastly Crooks goes through this theme because he has to stay in a room next to the barn and is isolated from the others because he is black. Steinbeck uses different factors to portray the loneliness and isolation within characters such as physical or mental, which then deliver various messages to readers. Curley’s wife struggles through loneliness and isolation because she is the only woman on the ranch. Curley’s wife is

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A key aspect of any novel or story is the way the characters interact and feel towards everything. In John Steinbeck’s, “Of Mice and Men”, the characters tend to give off the effect of loneliness and the feeling of isolation throughout the novel. The main characters that give off the effect of loneliness and the feeling of isolation are Curley’s wife, Crooks, and George. They’ve been truly alone, if not in mind then in body.

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People Affected by Loneliness Loneliness can make anyone affected by it very depressing and sad to see. It is seen in Of Mice and Men in many characters that are prominent in the story. The main ones are Crooks (the black stable hand), Candy (the old worker with his old dog), and Curley’s wife (who is ignored so that they do not get into trouble). Each of these characters have had lasting events that led them here.

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698 Words | 3 Pages

In the story Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses the dog to represent loneliness of Candy. The men in the bunkhouse where complaining about how bad the dog stunk so Carl said let me do it he won’t even feel a thing. Curly says, “ I had him since he was a pup though”(Steinbeck #44). Steinbeck is trying to show that because the dog has been with Curly all this time he is going to be lonely once Carlson kills him. Curley won’t have a person or a dog to wake up to and talk to or attend to the dog.

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Candy then goes on about how he “…could of hoed in the garden and washed dishes for them guys” (96) In this scene, Steinbeck exposes that Curley’s wife actually possessed more power in death rather than in life. In other words, her death revoked the dreams of many characters , including herself. Now candy, Lennie, and George will never have their ideal piece of farm land and Curley’s wife will pursue her dreams of becoming an actress. Unfortunately, Curley’s wife

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The couple fails to admit to each other that they are not in love for fear of losing their power and status as individuals. Curley’s marriage is revealed to be a sham through his wife’s conversation with Lennie, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I oughtn 't to. I don’ like Curley.” (pg. 89 Steinbeck)

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