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Seclusion In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Seclusion haunts the characters in Of Mice and Men. Crooks yearns for a companion. Although Candy is surrounded by relationships, he aches from isolation. Curley’s wife desires amity instead of loneliness. Numerous characters in Of Mice and Men-- Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife-- are isolated. Crooks confines himself in solitude. Crooks, a colored man, was situated along the horse stables, in a shack, by the commander. For his skin color complexion, Crooks suffers from discrimination, leading to isolation. Declaring his loneliness, Crooks proclaims, “ … there ain’t a colored man on this ranch an’ there’s jus’ one family in Soledad… If I say something, Why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it” (Steinbeck 70). Crooks believes utilizing advice from …show more content…

Curley promotes her desolation, demanding her to wait in silence at their dwelling. Curley’s wife rebels, searching for company from the laborers. Judging Curley’s fuse, the ranchers do not tamper with his property. Seeking a conversation from Lennie, Curley’s wife questions, “Wha’s the matter with me? Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody? What 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.” Lennie suggests, “Well , George says you’ll get us in a mess.” Curley’s wife responds with, “Aw, nuts! What kinda harm am I doin’ to you? Seems like they ain’t none of them cares how I gotta live… I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella… Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes…” Curley’s wife describes her childhood, “I never got that letter. I always thought my ol’ lady stole it. Well, I wasn’t gonna stay no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself, an’ she says no. So I married Curley…” (Steinbeck 88). Curley’s wife blames Curley and her guardian for annihilating her fantasy of fame, isolating her. Curley’s wife yearns for acceptance from numerous laborers to decrease her loneliness. Curley’s wife aches from

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“‘Well, you been askin’ me too often, I’m gettin’ God damn sick of it. If you can’t look after your own Goddamn wife, what you expect me to do about it? You lay offa me” (Steinbeck 62). When Curley cannot find his wife, he becomes quarrelsome and confrontational, putting others in danger. Due to Curley’s wife not staying by her husband’s side, the other ranchers’ duties as well as the lives are put on the line, considering Curley’s amount of power on the farm and his well-known wrestling career.

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While in the barn with Lennie, Curley’s wife gloats, “‘He says he was gonna put me in the movies. Says I was a natural’” (88). Curley’s wife needs endless attention and a luxury life to keep her satisfied. The thought for her to be famous and have others love her is just what Curley’s wife wants. She continues her story by stating, “‘I don’t like Curley.

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During the great depression not many people had it easy and Curley’s Wife was one of those people who didn’t have so easy especially because she was a woman and at the time they didn’t have many rights. Curley’s Wife is the most misunderstood character because of her background, her seemingly unloving husband, and troubling times during the great depression. To begin, Curley’s Wife has hard times and is misunderstood because she takes her emotions out on innocent people. One example of when Curley’s wife took her anger out on an innocent person is when she yelled at Crooks.

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(78) Curley’s wife marrying to Curley, her being treated poorly, her being stuck on a ranch, and her being stuck in her little house all day were the factors that contributed to the loss of her dream. This loss of her dream makes Curley’s wife think about the life she could experience if she can go to a show. This also gives her a generally pessimistic view of the

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They do not realize the loneliness Curley’s wife endures because of the lack of women on the farm. The author use of diction makes the reader further recognize the sadistic side in human

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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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Within the novel Crooks deals with loneliness, because he is segregated by his skin color. “S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black... A guy goes nuts when he ain’t got nobody” (72). Crooks is black, and in

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Loneliness and isolation is an ongoing theme throughout the novel Of Mice and Men, experienced by several characters to different degrees. Some characters are more isolated and lonely than others, yet every character in the story goes through this theme during one point in the story. There are various reasons why each character is lonely or isolated. In general, all the ranch workers feel some sort of loneliness because they move alone from ranch to ranch and do not have real connections with others, Curley’s wife experiences this theme because she is the only woman on the ranch and nobody wants to interact with her because Curley is very protective and hostile of her. Thirdly, Candy struggles through being lonely and isolated after Carlson shot his dog and because Candy does not work with the others since he is a swamper.

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The Refuge of Loneliness “If you think love will drive you mad, try loneliness.” (Xavier). Although love may blind an individual, loneliness will transform them into weaker versions of themselves, in which they take disputatious actions. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, the effects of being disregarded by others is exemplified through Curley’s Wife’s actions.

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We sympathize with Curley’s wife insist on telling her story, she speaks the words with sadness and we see her longing for her life to have been different. The reader is made to feel pity towards Curley’s wife knowing her opportunities were taken from her ‘If I’d went, I wouldn’t be livin’ like this, you bet’. Our pity for her is heightened when she admits that she was unhappy with Curley. ‘“I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.”

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“I never got that letter she said. “I always thought my ol’ lady stole it. Well, I wasn’t gonna stay in no place where I couldn’t get nowhere or make something of myself, an’ where they stole your letters. I ask her if she stole it, too, an’ she says no. So I married Curley.”

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When Curley was looking for his wife, he noticed Lennie was laughing and said: Then Curley’s rage exploded. “Come on, ya big bastard. Get up on your feet.

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Curley’s wife and Candy’s dog are the only two characters in the novel that don’t have names, through this parallel, Steinbeck brings to light the fact that women were treated no better than animals in this time. The other characters think of Curley’s wife as nothing but “jailbait” (Steinbeck 32) and isolate her because of this. Often one of the most detrimental effects of oppression on an individual is the isolation that comes with it. Humans are naturally social creatures, when isolated they grow resentful and angry, and often this anger is misplaced. Curley’s wife, for example, uses what status she does have in society to say to Crooks

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Steinbeck contrasts Curley’s wife’s marriage with Georges and Lennie’s friendship to show the causes of Curleys wife’s isolation. George and Lennie made plans of a future together, they cared for each other and made sacrifices for the each other. Curleys wife doesn’t even like Curley. She tells Lennie “I don’t like Curley, He ain’t a nice fellow.” In a strong supportive relationship at the very least you need to like the other person.

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quotation represents the isolation and solitude that she went through in her life. This also shows the readers that Curley’s wife was his possession and she did whatever he pleased. This quotation also, links back to the historical context in the 1930s, when women had no rights and were classed as 2nd class citizens, the 1930s were a very dark place for women, as men overpowered them with their there patriarchal dominant

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