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Loneliness In John Steinbeck's The Grapes Of Wrath

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In the late 1930s, the stock market crashed and millions were left jobless and hungry. Almost half a million people left their homes and moved to California in hopes of finding jobs. Through photos, music, and articles, we are able to get a closer look at what life was really like during the 1930s. Looking through the photos, I noticed a look of despair and hopelessness in everyone. In many of the pictures, the most prominent feature I saw was a sense of loneliness. In the 1930s, many of the migrant workers would drift from job to job never making enough money to support or raise a family. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck depicts this loneliness with George telling Lennie, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. …show more content…

My attention was immediately directed towards her eyes, which were not looking directly at the camera but looking past the camera, possibly contemplating an unknown future for herself and her children. Her eyes seem to tell a story full of sorrow and …show more content…

According to summaries online, The Grapes of Wrath is a novel which a family is forced out of their farm during the Great Depression and decides to move to California because it’s rumored that there are plenty of jobs and space there. However, on their way there, another migrant warns them to go back to avoid the disappointment and loss that he had experienced. In spite of the warning, the family continues their journey and ending up California only to find no jobs and having experienced loss and disappointment. In addition, this song describes how California was illegally keeping migrants from coming in who didn’t have jobs or enough money. Guthrie uses the lines, “ the police at the port of entry say ‘You’re number fourteen thousand for today’... if you ain’t got the do re mi Why, you better go back to beautiful Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee.” Guthrie uses the ‘Do’ in ‘Do Re Mi’ as a play on words of “Dough”, meaning

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In John Steinbeck's book “Of mice and Men” , is set in the 1930 during the great depression. It follows two ranch hands George, and Lennie as they find a new job on a ranch after running away from the old job in Weeds. I am going to discuss the characters that are feeling Loneliness . The first character I will analyze is Crooks.

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Loneliness Loneliness. . . a feeling we have all experienced in some way. The theme however, of Of Mice And Men from beginning to end by Steinbeck is developed this way through the choices George and Lennie make throughout the book. At the beginning in chapter one, we see our first example of loneliness where george explains that his life would be much better without Lennie, then Lennie says “If you don’ want me i can go off in the hills an’ find a cave, i can go any time”(Steinbeck 12).

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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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When you see someone alone and away from others what goes through your mind? You may think they are antisocial or that they are just a loner, but have you ever stopped to think about what goes through their mind? Some people may enjoy being alone and try their best to shut others out, but what about those who get shut out by others. Loneliness comes in many forms. Someone who seems to throw themselves at people could just be searching for someone to catch them and understand them.

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The Great Depression was a tragic period in American history, and millions of Americans lost their jobs during this time. Women and African-Americans suffered the most, and they were often subjected to misery and isolation by society. As shown among the characters in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, loneliness festers underneath a shield of indifference and hostility in people who desire to belong. As an outcast from society, Crooks’ life of solitude causes him to be a bitter and spiteful man, reluctant to reveal his desperation for human company.

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In this novel there is many people that deal with loneliness and just one of those characters is, Crook. He is lonely on the ranch because he is the only crippled black man that lives on the ranch. He has to live in a barn by himself with the farm animals. He is not allowed in the bunkhouse with the other white people and also he is not allowed to play cards because he is african american and the other people on the ranch thinks he stinks. As a result he seeks to find companionship when it comes around.

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At some point in life everyone gets picked on because that one person or those people know they are in a weak state. John Steinbeck, author of Of Mice and Men, tells of loneliness, the disadvantage of a disability and humanity’s cruelty toward the weak and how these conflicts can cause problems in general and how common these problems are. All said and done, everyone has been lonely at least once in their life, Slim tells George that “hardly none of the ever travel together,” that seeing George travel together with Lennie is rare (39). And on Lennie’s side Crooks feels envious of Lennie’s friendship with George that “a guy goes nuts he ain’t got anybody” to talk to (72). Crooks feels loneliness because he has never had a friend just because of his skin color, Candy feels lonely because there no other workers his age to talk to, and his dog he had since it was a young pup had been taken away from him making him even more lonely, and Curley’s wife acts like a flirt around men because there are no other females for her talk to.

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“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family.” Loneliness plays an important part throughout the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck also wrote two other nobles on the subject of loneliness. This showing how much he cares about the topic.

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In the story “Of Mice and Men” loneliness is a major part of the story. At least once in the story, someone will become lonely. He illustrates that in order to escape loneliness, people are driven to find a friend. He uses names such as “Soledad”, the name of the ranch, which means loneliness, and the card game that is played by the characters “Solitaire” which means by one’s self. He makes it really clear that the people on the ranch are lonely.

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Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a compelling novel that tells the story of two friends, George and Lennie, who constantly seek work and farm job opportunities to eventually reach a convenient and stable lifestyle on the ranch. While George is your average farmworker who is calculated and enduring, Lennie is less survival oriented, and despite his untraditional and less intelligent behavior, is a talented and strong worker. Despite their differences, they look after each other and their friendship is strong. After running away from a terrible incident from a previous job in Weed, they find ranch work in Salinas and continue to try and earn enough money to buy their own place whilst meeting their new coworkers. Throughout this story, we are introduced to a few characters that are unordinary and hold

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723 Words | 3 Pages

“I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” (73) Of Mice and Men follows two men, Lennie and George, as they navigate the desolate society of the Great Depression as ranch hands looking for work. However, surviving the Depression is not their biggest problem, but staying together and staying out of trouble. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck illustrates the various ways humans cope with the feeling of loneliness.

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935 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout the novella ‘Of mice and men,’ the characters are able to be sympathized by the reader through various techniques that John Steinbeck uses. While some of the characters are not as likable, events and speeches from various characters help influence the readers understanding towards their motives and the pain and grief they experience. Steinbeck presents Crooks as one with a physical handicap and shows how he is discriminated against and forced to live on the periphery of the ranch life. In section 4 Crooks admits to the exact loneliness that George describes to Lennie at the beginning of the novella in the passage he displays vulnerability and desperation towards having no companion ‘He can’t turn to some other guy and ast him if

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486 Words | 2 Pages

Spending time alone is not the hard part, it is being lonely that eats you up on the inside. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, he expresses how the theme of isolation can evoke desperate attention and anger, through the characters’ different identities and backgrounds. Since the beginning, Curley’s wife, Crooks and Candy has been alienated and are outcasts due to their ethnicity, gender, or disability thus, causing them to search for friendship and companionship. In analyzing their behaviour and actions, including how they are treated by the other ranch workers, it is shown that isolation can bring out the worst in a person. It was a difficult time for women that lived in the 1930s, especially those who settled on a ranch filled

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Loneliness is a uniquely painful feeling that exudes an aura of emptiness, which plagues its victims. The loneliness epidemic is rising and surveys show 60% of Americans feel isolated in their everyday life (Yang). John Steinebeck’s, Of Mice and Men perfectly exhibits the causes and effects of loneliness, especially with the discrimination during the 30’s. Although the common empathetic heart of most humans they will see Lennie as the only victim with disadvantages, a grueling lifestyle and see Curley's wife as a vain whore only looking to stir up problems. Curley's wife constantly deals with the same feelings as Lennie, but because of the way Steinbecks portrays her gives us a negative denotation.

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Poverty was a big thing in the story in mice and men, same goes with the Great Depression no one knew what to do and couldn't control it or stop it. John Steinbeck’s novella, of Mice and Men, about isolation and loneliness, can affect life choices with all aspects of life social emotional, and professional. The characters in Mice and Men have different emotions and half of the characters feel isolated and lonely. "None of them guys is goin' on to leave that tenement.

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