¨Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.¨-Mother Teresa. Seclusion is painful. There is nobody to open up to, nobody to help bear the weight of stressors, and nobody to empathise with. Almost everybody has experienced seclusion during their lifetime. While loneliness is less apparent in everyday life, it is a common motif in books. I recently read of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The book revolves around the motif of isolation. Two characters specifically: Crooks and Curleyś wife were strongly affected by their alienation Those who are lonely are the most desperate to be accepted.
I moved to Oregon in the middle of the the school semester of 2009. I was the odd one out. Being the ‘new kid’, it was difficult to make friends, and I was frequently ignored and brushed aside. As this continued, my outgoing persona deteriorated, and I became more inward and started acting like a world-class jerk. My reaction to isolation was much like that of Crooks.
Crooks was the black ‘stable buck’ on the Salinas ranch. During his time, blacks were
…show more content…
Both Candy and I didn’t outwardly express our feelings of loneliness and did attempt to break the between ourselves and others. Curley’s wife on the other hand tried to force herself onto others in hopes of drawing attention. Fearing competition, Curley forces her into solitude. He ordered the ranchers to stay away from her. This backfired. Her need for company compelled her to flirt with the ranch hands. Although the repercussions of her behaviors were obvious, she continued to flirt as a desperate call for attention. She goes as far as to bully the ranchers into striking a conversation. For example, when Lennie, Crooks and Candy were conversing, Curley’s wife interrupted their conversation. She attempted to use her position to coerce them into talking to her. She threatens them stating she would have Crooks killed and Candy