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Theme Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

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The Loneliness Of Others In the book “Of Mice And Men” there are many characters lonely. By the characters being lonely it can affect their dream’s in the future. Some characters are lonely because of the way they look or because they’re injured or simply because they have mental problems. Well the three characters that have been chosen to write about are Lennie, Crooks, and Candy. The first character is Lennie. The reason he is picked is for the simple fact he doesn’t have a lot of friends because of his mental problems. Also he is always left out of things or he gets picked on for being the big guy there. ‘“let the big guy talk.”’ said Curley (Steinbeck 25). This is showing us that Curley is starting with Lennie because he’s bigger …show more content…

He is chosen because people don’t get along with him due to his skin color and injury. “Poured a liquid in his hand and rubbed on his back” (Steinbeck 66). The reason he is doing that is because when he was younger he got kicked on his back by a hourse. “‘Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, all of you stink to me’” said Crooks (Steinbeck 68). The reason Crooks is saying this is because Lennie walked into his room without asking and Crooks doesn’t want him there. He is also saying this because the guys don’t accept him because of his skin color. “‘ I remember when I was a little kid on my old man’s chicken ranch. Had two brothers. They was always near me, always there. Used to sleep right in the same room, right in the same bed -all three. Had a strawberry patch. Had an alfalfa patch. Used to turn the chickens out in the alfalfa on a sunny morning. My brothers’d set on a fence rail an’ watch ‘em white chickens they was”’ said Crooks (Steinbeck 36). Crooks dream relays on when he was a child on a chicken ranch with his two brothers. You can tell by the fact him and his brothers were so close with each other with just what he

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383 Words | 2 Pages

Yet Lennie does not understand the difference in how he makes friends and how Crooks makes friends. Steinbeck expresses Crook’s indifference by stating, “Lennie smiled helplessly in attempt to make friends. Crooks said sharply, ‘You ain’t got no right

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1547 Words | 7 Pages

This is my room’” (Steinbeck 64). Crooks acted uninviting at first because he is so used to being left alone and having the label of being rude and cold to others. In reality, he is cold because of the way the others treat him and look at him. He opens up to Lennie about his life before this when they are both left behind by the group.

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398 Words | 2 Pages

This quote also hints at the upsetting idea that Crooks is so used to this treatment, seeing that it's been his reality his whole life that he's given up trying to defend himself. Another quote from Steinbeck’s book that emphasizes how Crook’s are affected by minorities, marginalization, and scapegoating is when Lennie and Crooks have a conversion in the barn. Later in the book when Lennie decides to visit the pups in the barn, he runs into Crooks, Crooks and Lennie end up discussing how Crooks is treated. Crooks tries to help Lennie understand his situation by saying, ‘“Maybe you can see it now. You got the George.

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1481 Words | 6 Pages

He tells Lennie about about how he wasn’t allowed to be around the other men on the ranch because he was black: “‘’Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink”(68). Crooks also mentions that the reason he isn't treated the same is because; “there ain't a colored man on this ranch an’ there’ jus’ one family in Soledad’”(70). Around the same time chapter four, Crooks talks about no one will listen to his opinion because he is black and they don't believe him: “If I say something, why it's just a n*****

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708 Words | 3 Pages

Lennie asked Crooks “Why Ain’t you wanted?” Crooks replied “Cause I’m black” he also told Lennie, “I tell ya a guy gets lonely and he gets sick.” The explanation supports the fact that Crooks was plagued by loneliness and alienation and he wanted

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510 Words | 3 Pages

Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men were isolated or alone. The three characters I chose were Crooks, Candy, and Slim. Crooks is a african american stable buck, Candy is a swamper, and Curley's wife. The people I chose are either isolated or don’t talk about their life. Steinbeck uses loneliness to give us a better message.

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403 Words | 2 Pages

(Steinbeck 68). One day, Lennie goes to his place and Crooks tells him to leave. He says, “‘You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain’t wanted in my room.’” (Steinbeck 68).

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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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597 Words | 3 Pages

Steinbeck immediately makes it clear that Crooks has grown spiteful of his isolation from the other men. Very soon after introducing Crooks, the author directly characterizes him as a man who “kept his distance and demanded others to keep theirs” (Steinbeck, 67). In this quote Steinbeck hints that Crooks might be resentful of how the other men are treating him, and he retaliates with hostility towards them as well by insisting people keep away from him. Crooks’ hostile attitude is displayed again when upon being visited Lennie in his segregated living quarters he responds with “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house… you ain’t wanted

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1065 Words | 5 Pages

( Steinbeck pg 20). This quote from the book gives the reader an example of how they treat Crooks and that he doesn 't really talk to anyone but he does read a lot and you could gather from that, that he is kind of lonely. Another thing is that when Crooks was talking to Lennie he told Lennie he had no right to be in his room because he isn 't allowed in the bunks with them so Lennie could not be in his room then. This might tell you that Crooks spends a lot of time by himself and he doesn’t feel that the other guys should get to do things if he doesn’t. In this next quote, Crooks is telling Lennie that Lennie had no right to be Crooks room cause Crooks couldn’t go in there, and that he is the only one that has rights in his own room.

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329 Words | 2 Pages

Nobody got any right in here but me.” (Steinbeck 68). Crooks snapping back and being all defensive towards Lennie shows how lonely he actually is. Crooks, who is African American, is very separated from the rest of the ranch workers because of his skin color. Because of his skin color, he is alway by himself, which may cause him to be defensive,

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435 Words | 2 Pages

The reader is led to believe this through the author's quotes when Lennie asks, "Why ain't you wanted?”, and Crooks responds, "Because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” (P. 68). The reader understands that Crooks is not accepted by the other workers on the ranch because of his race.

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1240 Words | 5 Pages

An Exploration of Loneliness & Companionship in Of Mice and Men The Great Depression was an era where hope among the people was scarce and the dreams/aspirations of many young Americans were shattered. John Steinbeck’s social realism novel Of Mice and Men follows the journey of George Milton and Lennie Small as they travel together searching for work and try to fight the loneliness and isolation that countless others are facing during the Great Depression. Throughout his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck utilizes symbolism and foreshadowing to develop the motif of loneliness, ultimately conveying his perspective on the importance of companionship and the devastating effects of solitude. One unique symbol of loneliness is Crooks, the lone

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603 Words | 3 Pages

Crooks sharply explains, “‘Cause I’m black’” (Steinbeck 68). Steinbeck continues to frame Crooks’ loneliness by using connotative diction to describe Crooks’ room. He has a significant number of books and keeps his room clean because he is, as the narrator describes, “...a proud, aloof man. He kept his distance and demanded that people keep theirs” (Steinbeck 67).

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786 Words | 4 Pages

(Steinbeck 80). Crooks is talking to Lennie about if George were to never comeback and support Lennie. He says this because then he would be like Crooks as he does not have anybody to interact with socially. Another example of Crooks being lonely is in the same conversation with Lennie, “ S '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.

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