Role Of Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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John Steinbeck, an American author and communist grew up in Salinas River Valley, California, on a ranch during the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a dreadful economic downturn that started after a stock market crash. This crash led to a downfall domino effect of many investors, businesses, investment, and employment. It all set the stage for the lowest point of the depression where some 15 million Americans were unemployed and roughly half of America’s banks had failed. Steinbeck’s novels all take place in Salinas River Valley, California. Steinbeck showcases the hardships people went through during the Great Depression in his novella Of Mice and Men, taking place in the 1930s. In his novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses George, Crooks, and Curley’s wife to prove that people will go to extreme measures to escape loneliness.

First, Steinbeck uses George to display that people will go to extreme measures to escape loneliness. George is a small but quick guy. He had restless eyes and strong, sharp features. George is a hard working, focused, kind hearted man because following behind his every step is Lennie, who George looks after. Lennie is a very huge man who is unaware of his strength. Lennie is cognitively …show more content…

Overall each character had loneliness within that revealed itself through each person’s attempt not to be. George sacrificed an easy lifestyle to stay with Lennie so neither one of them would be alone. Crooks offered free help to three white man he didn’t even know on a farm they planned to get when they earned the money. Curley 's Wife went out of her way to find someone to talk to, willing to talk about anything, which led to not only her last conversation but her last breath. Loneliness can be common within many people and you never know what they might do to escape the