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The Theme Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

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Isolation in “Of mice and men” “Of mice and men” is a classic novella set in the 1930's and written by John steinbeck. The novella is set in the United States during the Great Depression and the dust bowl, and introduces us to two characters who are friends as protagonists who dream of having a rook together and living independently. However, as the story unfolds, various circumstances complicate George and Lennie's ambitions and other issues are revealed. The novella shows us certain themes that can become controversial or "taboo", but it doesn’t do so in the form of an opinion, but tries to portray it and give us the perspective and context of the place, the time and the society at that time. I think the novella is interesting because it …show more content…

While we are introduced to the characters and we know their background, we can understand their attitudes and behaviors and understand a little of their past or present, and see how in the society in which they currently live they are being excluded, marginalized or discriminated against. The first example of this marginalization is Crooks, the only man of color on the ranch, who presents a notorious exclusion or discrimination because of his race, but in addition to the races, people of other gender were also excluded or put aside, as is Curley's wife who is the only woman on the farm, who was never given a name, was marginalized and was called promiscuous because of her lack of companionship. Candy is another character who feels lonely and helpless and this is due to the lack of human connection, which is common for the social era they were living in at the time (Great Depression), and is something that the previous two characters share, a deep and internal loneliness, a sad reality that is highlighted and portrays how miserable life was for certain characters on that ranch. "I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin' …show more content…

Lennie, being mentally handicapped, committed actions that were embarrassing or got George in trouble, but they were never done with malice, and George knew it, so he tried to remedy or take care of the situations that Lennie put him in, since he always took care of Lennie “All the time he done bad things, but he never done one of ‘em mean”. “I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot ‘im in the

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637 Words | 3 Pages

One obstacle is gender equality, the ranch is a “male-dominant” society where women are seen as untrustworthy. The fact that Curly’s wife is the bosses wife is the true cause of her alienation. However, the simple fact that she is a female separates her from interactions with others as seen when the men refer to her as having “the eye” (28). Here the men refer to everything they think women are – a distraction and temptation for men, instead of actual human beings. Candy is also oppressed in a social inequality as he is afraid that when he is too old to work, he will be thrown out of the “ash heap”, a victim of a society that discriminates against the disabled and has no value for age or experience.

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1501 Words | 7 Pages

I shall be writing about the theme of loneliness in the book of mice and men. There are a lot of themes in the story but I choose loneliness. Many characters for example Candy and George give examples of loneliness. I would also write about the effect of loneliness had on them.

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1062 Words | 5 Pages

Some of the characters in the book have been described as more isolated and lonely than the other character, with the ones in particular ; Crooks, Candy and Curley’s Wife. Crooks is lonely because he is black and has a crooked back which is physically isolating him, Candy is lonely because he is old and only has one hand, Curley’s Wife is lonely because she is the only woman on the ranch. All the people living on the ranch are lonely to some extent. This is proven when Steinbeck describes the bunkhouse where all the workers sleep. " Over each bunk there was nailed an apple box with the opening forward so that it made two shelves for personal belongings of the occupant of the bunk."

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880 Words | 4 Pages

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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922 Words | 4 Pages

Overall, since Curley’s wife has been isolated from the rest of the ranch, we can see how isolation negatively affects people. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the isolation of Crooks, George, and Curley’s Wife illustrates that isolation negatively affects people. Due to Crooks being isolated for being black, George feeling isolated for thinking people like him are not cared about, and Curley’s wife being isolated for her “promiscuity”, we can see the negative effects that isolation has on people. Overall, isolation has

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329 Words | 2 Pages

The theme of loneliness is developed in chapter four in Of Mice and Men by explaining the situations that the characters are in with great detail. Unquestionably, loneliness is shown in the chapter when the author shows how Crooks lives his life. When Lennie first enters Crooks’ room, it seems like Crooks doesn’t want Lennie to be there. Crooks says, “You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room.

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1369 Words | 6 Pages

Steinbeck depicts various forms of discrimination, including racism, ableism, and sexism, which were prevalent in a lot of America’s history. The character of Curley's wife highlights the sexism prevalent in the ranch environment. She is portrayed as a symbol of unfulfilled dreams and unfulfilled potential. She is denied agency and is treated as an object. She seeks connection and attention from the other men on the ranch.

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703 Words | 3 Pages

The reality of isolation throughout Of Mice and Men A black man with a crooked back walks back to the stables after a long day of work and heads into his room, he is segregated from everyone else who lives in the main barracks, his name is Crooks and he lives a lonely segregated life from the other workers. Another man, this one white has one hand and is named Candy, he slumps slowly off his bunk after losing his best friend, his dog that he raised since he was a pup, Candy knows he will not be able to see him again. These 2 men share one conflict in common, they live a life of loneliness and feel isolated from others. In John Steinbeck’s short novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck displays the hard and lonely life of working on a ranch during

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1378 Words | 6 Pages

George and Lennie constantly talk about their dream about owning a farm and they almost came close to it, but a series of unfortunate events occurred and that’s where theme of loneliness come into play. Steinbeck portrays that loneliness is caused by both social barriers and personal choice by exemplifying dialogues and the actions of Curley 's wife, Crooks, and George. Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife as an example to show that loneliness is not only caused by choice but also by social barriers. Curley’s wife is kept in isolation because she is a woman and Curley wants to keep her in the house fearing that she will cheat on him because she flirts with other men. She’s the only woman on the ranch, so she goes out and looks for attention because of her loneliness and doesn’t get any attention at home.

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175 Words | 1 Pages

The liberal arts education that Ouachita has tried to embody in to its education system is one the aims to unite a wide range of educational topics in hopes that the students will not only accomplish their career goals, but also live with a sense of purpose, integrity, and a willingness to serve. They believe that students who are educated in the liberal arts tradition possesses knowledge, and discernment. They desire that the knowledge they give us is not only rich, but useful in practice; they hope that it imprints scholarly disciplines needed in the real world. They also believes that is allows self-reflection. If you can see something in a new light, you can see what issues arise in your own life.

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Curley's wife is isolated because of her relationship to Curley, and Candy is lonely because of his old age and old dog. Nowadays people can be isolated because of the same kind of social barriers or by their own personal choice. Personal decisions and social barriers can both contribute to

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796 Words | 4 Pages

One’s self has experienced loneliness from choice or forced into isolation. The novel ¨Of Mice and Men¨ written by John Steinbeck, took place during the Great Depression, near Soledad, California. The protagonist, George and the antagonist, Lennie are mid aged, white men who are working on a ranch with other mid aged, white men. Along with ones who aren’t as focused at the time, such as Crooks, the negro or black, Curley’s wife, the woman and, Candy, the old and weak man were treated differently from all the white, strong males in the novel due to the setting the novel. This making distance in relationships in Of Mice and Men, isolating these characters into loneliness.

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People Affected by Loneliness Loneliness can make anyone affected by it very depressing and sad to see. It is seen in Of Mice and Men in many characters that are prominent in the story. The main ones are Crooks (the black stable hand), Candy (the old worker with his old dog), and Curley’s wife (who is ignored so that they do not get into trouble). Each of these characters have had lasting events that led them here.

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778 Words | 4 Pages

This research is going to be about shakespeare’s soliloquy and literary work. Hamlet from shakespeare has many famous soliloquy lines that has meanings to it. Many of his lines consist of  syllable such as, iambic, trochaic, and the spondaic. In the plays the actors and actresses mostly speak in verse, which has rules of its own. Poetry shares many quality with music.

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605 Words | 3 Pages

Although described as a rather large man, Lennie’s role between the two men is very childlike. Lennie is treated like a child by George because Lennie does not have the maturity or mental capability to make decisions for himself. For example, George must continuously remind Lennie of the spot he must come to if in trouble because Lennie cannot focus long enough to process this information. Lennie is also fairly unintelligent and blindly loyal to George. This loyalty is seen when George tells Lennie to jump into a river, and Lennie obeys even though he is unable to swim.

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