Of Mice And Men Loneliness Analysis

From the beginning of the novel, you’re brought through a depressing environment where these men are hardly living their lives searching for jobs to survive during the great depression. Steinbeck through several characters shows that the American dream is only that, a dream. Stuck in the loop of capitalism working with a dream to keep you going. John Steinbeck shows loneliness through racism, sexism, and Ageism.

For example, with all the men in town, Crooks says, “S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that? 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. Books ain’t not good a

She’s rude and hostile towards him because, like Crooks, Candy, Lennie and most of the characters in Of Mice and Men, she’s alone. Curley's wife doesn’t even have a name in the novel, making her appear unimportant on the ranch, simply there for Curley's pleasure. For example, she says on page 43, “Ain't I got a right to talk to nobody? Whatta they think I am, anyways? You're a nice guy. I don't know why I can't talk to you. I ain't doin' no harm to you." The Author is showing how racism and sexism during this time were not completely different, black people weren't the only people being discriminated in America. Being described as “Purty” by Lennie and Curley’s wife knows that she’s gorgeous and uses her sexuality and looks to make these men fear in their lives. Being forgotten and used by Curley makes her hard and guarded, leading to her death by. During this time women were seen as property. For example, Curley’s wife on page 43 says, “I tell you I ain't used to livin like this I coulda made somethin’ of myself.” His wife is talking about her childhood dream to become an actress. she’s told as a child that she can’t because she’s too young. She marries Curley who does exactly what she was trying to escape. These examples are important because Steinbeck is showing through her that, loneliness isn’t from the actual state of being alone but the isolation these characters are making each other

The author shows social discrimination against the old and the disabled. Candy before the novel is disabled by a ranch accident making it difficult for him to work like the mother men. Candy has an old dog, possibly more worn down than him. For candy, his dog represents himself. For example, when the men in the bunkhouse suggest they put the dog down Candy says, “No, I couldn’t do that. I had ‘I’m too long.” In Candy’s eyes if they see his dog as no good, so is he. He believes all hope for him is gone because he’s just an old man with one hand, eventually, he’ll get to the age where he won’t be able to work, not even sweeping the cabins. For example when Candy says, “you seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here is width somebody’s shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that I have no place to go an I can’t get no more jobs.” These examples are important because, the author is showing that Candy fears that once they realize he’s just as useless as his dog, he’ll have