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How Does Steinbeck Show Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

830 Words4 Pages

Christian Hernandez
Mrs. Yapsuga
English 9 CP
29 March 2023
Of Mice and Men Essay
Imagine a world in which you have nobody but yourself. You do not even have support from any form of centralized government. Your only goal is to survive and make money in any way you can. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck many examples of separation, isolation, and rejection are present. One of the main themes in Of Mice and Men is loneliness. During this time, The Great Depression was going on and it was difficult to find jobs and make a living. There is only one companionship that occurs in the novel which is between George Milton and Lennie Smalls. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the three characters that show loneliness is Candy, …show more content…

Candy shows loneliness in several ways throughout the novel specifically with George and Lennie mostly in their room. He is a disabled and old swamper on the ranch who was very attached to his dog which he later loses. Candy reveals his aloneness when he says, “I’d make a will an’ leave my place to you guys in case I kick off ‘fore you do”(Steinbeck 57). This speaks levels on how Candy feels about how he wishes for a companion and someone to be there for him. It also tells us how he is very close to giving up on life because of this. When George and Lennie leave the room Candy is once again alone and the text reveals that “The old man got to his feet and looked after them, His voice was shaking”(Steinbeck 59). Candy’s emptiness is revealed because of how he relies on George and Lennie and when they leave he is filled with nothing but sadness. George and Lennie’s companionship fills this space that was left empty when his dog was killed by Carlson. Thus, all Candy needs to fulfill his emptiness is a companion like George and Lennie as he tells …show more content…

Crooks is a black character on the ranch and is shown as an isolated character compared to everyone as he stays in a different place. He is also not allowed to participate in any of the activities on the ranch like horseshoe throwing because of him being black and disabled. In the barn crooks say to Lennie, “A guy goes nuts if ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you”(Steinbeck 71). Contrary to Candy, Crooks is only alone with Lennie when he tells us this, proving that he’s lonely because he knows what he is missing to fill this space in his heart. Crooks also tells Lennie “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their head.”(Steinbeck 77). Crook’s lack of companionship makes this situation difficult as he is isolated from everyone who comes by and works at the ranch and yet still nobody wants to listen to him. Hence, Crook talks about his loneliness in the conversation with George and

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During Crooks and Lennie's conversation, Lennie says that George is with the other ranch workers in town tonight. Crooks says, "'I said s'pose George went into town tonight and you never heard from him no more'" (Steinbeck 71). As Crooks gets to know Lennie, he notices that he talks very highly of George. Lennie mentions that George and the other ranch workers left the ranch to go into town, as Crooks did not know because he's isolated from everyone on the ranch, and wouldn't know if they went to town. Crooks messes with Lennie, saying that George'll never come back, which upsets Lennie.

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“A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. I tell you a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick”. said Crooks (Steinbeck 72-73). One thing this quote shows us is that Crooks feel as if he is going mad because of his loneliness. He shows the need for companionship through the characterization of Lennie “If you don’ want me, I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave.”

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Luke McFarlane and Evelyn Rygielski Mr. Rothey Honors College Prep English 9 - 7/8 20 January 2023 Final OMAM Lit Analysis John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a classic by any standard, tying together literary elements such as motifs and symbols to capture the hardship brought on by the Great Depression. Steinbeck achieves this level of clarity regarding the Great Depression by focusing on a farm in California with a variety of complex characters, each with their own aspirations and goals. Of these literary elements and complex characters, Steinbeck presents isolation as a cycle that persists with circumstance and behavior, broken only by true friendship, through the characters of Lennie, George, Crooks, and Curley’s wife.

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Steinbeck displays through the dialogue and characterizations that these characters experience isolation because of both social barriers and personal choice. Crooks being an African-American on the ranch, full of whites, struggles racially which causes his withdrawal from the society. Crooks explains to Lennie his when he’s accompanied by him “ A guy goes nuts if he ain 't got nobody. Don 't make no difference who the guy is long’s

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He is isolated from everyone and no one sees him except Slim; Crook admits that it gets lonely. Lennie is left out because of his mental disability. He is left at the bunkhouse when all the others went to gamble. Even George leaves him out and tells him out of anger how he would be better off without Lennie. Candy is with Lennie at home, but was left for a different reason.

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Crooks deals with his loneliness in several ways. One way is seen clearly when he describes his life to Lennie by saying “S’pose you didn’t have nobody. (...) I tell ya a guy gets too lonely ‘an he gets sick” (78). Crooks is very perceptive, aware that he is viewed differently by others.

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Loneliness can be as dangerous as smoking a cigarette. The book “Of Mice and Men” written by John Steinbeck is based around the time period of the Great Depression. Two men named Lennie and George are looking for a job while on the run because due to a previous encounter that went badly between Lennie and a woman. They go into to hiding for a few days but eventually settle upon a farm, where they become employed. However, this was not the resolution to the story, Lennie and George encounter many struggles along the way revolving around loneliness and acceptance.

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The purpose is to reveal that Candy is lonely because he is old and has no relatives. For example, when Lennie was talking to George about his dream, he says, “I aint got no relatives nor nothing” (Steinbeck 59). That reveals that he is old, and he knows he doesn't have any relatives left alive; it also reveals that all he has is the men that work on the farm. Another example is when Candy said he can put money toward George and Lennie’s dream he says, “I’ll make a will and leave my share to you guys, in case I get kicked off” (Steinbeck

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The guys and the boss distance themselves from Crooks leaving him extremely lonely and isolated at times “ ‘A guy needs somebody-to be near him.’ He whined, ‘A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody’ ” (Steinbeck 72). This quote is an example of Crook's social powerlessness in the novella. Crooks has nobody to talk to or empathize with because he is so secluded from the rest of the guys on the ranch socially.

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Candy is one of the lonely characters. Candy is an old swamper who only has one companion, an old dog that he’s had since birth.

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Everyone experiences loneliness at some point in their life, but prolonged isolation changes the way a lonely person interacts with others. In John Steinbeck's novella, Of Mice and Men, three characters are discriminated against throughout the story because they are not young, white men. While Candy and Curley's Wife try to compensate for their lack of companionship by pushing themselves onto other people, Crooks puts up his walls and isolates himself more. Candy is a ranch worker on the farm before he lost a hand in a work accident. He now works as a swamper, but the rest of the workers still exclude him because of his old age.

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Now, he has friendships that will keep him safe and cares more about keeping them than keeping his job. Loneliness was a big issue with Candy, but because of this idea of a new and better place with Lennie and George. With them, he now has courage and is no longer

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The quote says that a guy needs someone, and that reflects how Crooks is feeling: he feels that he needs someone. This connects to the theme of loneliness and how it can dramatically impact your life. When you have someone you don't have to be alone and read all night. Crooks has experienced extreme loneliness because he doesn't have any friends. When Crooks is talking to Lennie about if George supposedly, left he is saying what happened to him and one reason why he is so lonely; the other reason being because he is black and it is the early

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(Steinbeck 80). Crooks is talking to Lennie about if George were to never comeback and support Lennie. He says this because then he would be like Crooks as he does not have anybody to interact with socially. Another example of Crooks being lonely is in the same conversation with Lennie, “ S 'pose you had to sit out here an ' read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books.

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Crooks is a black man who isn’t allowed to be in the house with all the men. The men won’t allow him to come in because of his color. Crooks is lonely and he doesn’t bother the men. One night Lennie came in and was talking to Crooks and telling them about the farm that they were going to get. For once Crooks thought well maybe I won’t be lonely I could go with them and don’t have worry about none of them.

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