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Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Of Mice and Men Loneliness Essay The theme of loneliness and alienation is demonstrated through many of the characters in the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Loneliness is the feeling of sadness of not having any friends or company, while alienation is the act of being left out of a group one feels like they should belong in. Some characters in the novel share this feeling of loneliness and alienation including Carlson and Crooks. Multiple factors go into the loneliness of people like the time period, prejudices, and being a migrant worker. This essay will evaluate why these characters have the feeling of loneliness and or alienation. Carlsen is a migrant worker who exhibits traits of being lonely and alienated because of his job. When Carlsen is faced with the problem of candy’s smelly dog. Instead of talking …show more content…

“If you want me to, I’ll put the old devil out of his misery right now.” Carlsen offers to kill the dog instead of finding another way because he does not understand the relationship that Candy and the dog have built. This is due to the fact that Carlsen has not had a relationship compared to the one they have. Likewise, when Lennie was killed by George and Carlson comforts him, Carlson is confused. “Now what the hell’ya suppose is eatin’ them two guys?” Carlson says this because he does not understand the friendship between George and Lennie. Since Carlson is a migrant worker, like many other migrant workers, was alone and had no friends. Workers would leave their family during the great depression in hopes of finding work. They would work at a ranch for a while then leave. This then causes the fact that they don’t have any permanent friendships. Therefore, the life of a Migrant worker like Carlsons can very easily become very lonely. Crooks is another character in the novel that experiences themes of loneliness and alienation because of his race. Crooks is a stable buck at the ranch. He is given his own room

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He ain’t no good to you Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself. Why’n’t you shoot him, Candy?’” (Steinbeck 44) Carlson doesn’t understand why Candy keeps the dog because he doesn’t have any worth, and he isn’t useful.

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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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Loneliness was a big thing in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, especially with the characters George, Curley 's wife, and Crooks. In the book, Crooks showed he was lonely, Curley 's wife actually admitted she was lonely, and in George 's actions he was lonely. Crooks didn’t have anyone who was equal to him, George didn’t have anyone he related too, and Curley’s wife just couldn’t talk to anyone. They were all lonely in different ways. If you see a lonely person, make an effort to talk to them, no matter if they’re a different skin, if they are a different gender, or if you don’t even relate to them.

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After Carlson shot Candy’s dog, Candy began to regretted his decision when he says “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George.” (Steinbeck, 61). Candy understood that his dog had to be put down because it was getting old and was in constant pain. Candy believed that because it was his dog he should have been the one put his dog down instead of letting someone else do it for him because it was his responsibility to put him out of his suffering. Not only this but, when George shot Lennie.

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Time and time again, George reminds Lennie that he could do so much better without having to take care of him consistently. George doesn’t have to take care of Lennie but he chooses to and tries to keep Lennie out of trouble. George says, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family.

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Crooks was friendless and had no one to talk to. He has his own bunk in a separate room away from the bunk house where the others lived and by being alone he could leave things anywhere he wanted. Crooks is suffering from racial discrimination because he is the only black man on the ranch and is not allowed in the bunkhouse with the other men because of his color. The author also uses Candy to show loneliness in the novel. Candy becomes lonely after his old dog that he loved very much was shot because he was old.

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533 Words | 3 Pages

The 3 characters that express the theme of loneliness in the novella are Curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy. Have you ever thought loneliness could lead to isolation? John Steinback writes in The book Mice Of Men Themes that focus mostly on isolation and loneliness because in his book it focuses on the time when the stock market crashed and during that time people had to find jobs and make money and it was hard. So it makes a lot of sense why the theme of loneliness and isolation is in this book.

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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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Crooks was isolated and separated from the other ranch members due to his skin colour. He hides his loneliness by reading books because he cannot go out with the other men to socialise at the end of the day. ‘Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody – to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.

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"I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick" (Steinbeck, 73) said Crooks. During the Great Depression, many migrant workers experienced this first hand. In John Steinbeck's book Of Mice and Men, many characters also experience this feeling. Of Mice and Men tells the story of George and Lennie, two migrant workers who travel to Soledad to work on a new farm. In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, the idea that loneliness brings out the worst in people is shown through the characters of Crooks, Curley's wife, and Candy.

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Feeling completely and emotionally separated from others and, at times, from one's own true feelings is a feeling of alienation in one's world (Alienation). This feeling of loneliness and isolation is an ongoing theme throughout every character in the novella, Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck introduces this feeling using diction and attitude towards the characters explaining how George, a current migrant worker, embodies the feeling of loneliness no matter how many acquaintances he may have. Loneliness today is still a human battle. It is many times felt when others are not treated the same or even overlooked in relationships or while working and providing for others.

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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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First, loneliness is the sadness caused by having no friends or company, and friendship is a state of mutual trust and support between people, they are polar opposites, yet a person may acclaim to have both. For example today a person may have a friend, or many, but still will face loneliness in their life in one way or another. This is shown in Of Mice and Men periodically throughout the novel, knowing this the reader is challenged with such themes, the enticing beauty of friendship between George and Lennie, and the gloomy dreaded idea of loneliness shown by Curley’s wife, Candy, Crooks, and again Lennie. Among these characters the reader may also feel a connection between themselves and the characters, even though the world now and during the publication of Of Mice and Men has changed a lot. The world has reformed, and developed exponentially so, however friendship and loneliness is still a facet of everyday

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Loneliness is something everyone experiences at some point in your life. People get treated poorly due to their differences that causes one to be lonely. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about Lennie and George, two farm workers who migrated into California during the great depression who one day want to buy a farm of their own but do not have enough money at this time. There are three great characters who portray loneliness. Curley’s wife was lonely.

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