Robert Olen Butler Loneliness

Nouwen (1975) describes loneliness as a universal experience that affects even the most intimate relationships. He identifies loneliness as one of the universal sources of human suffering. Some of the mental suffering in the

Loneliness and exclusion from society hurts and affects everyone; the emotional strain a person endures from it creates the image they present to others, but deep down they are not the display image they manufacture. As an illustration, while opening up to Lennie in the barn Curley’s wife states, “I get lonely… You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad.

Acknowledging that individuality challenges the norm in the "Brave New World" society, the thought that loneliness arises from societal isolation is evident. Evidence can be found in how John, known as 'the Savage,' experiences loneliness due to his refusal to conform to the caste system and question

All in all, it can certainly be said that loneliness is one of the central themes on which Of Mice and Men is built. Just like people today, the characters deal with difficulty dealing with and struggling against loneliness. Each character searches for companionship, because as Crooks said,

Many of the characters do suffer from loneliness in the novel Of Mice and Men. George lets everybody know early on in the novel that he is lonely. When George reminds Lennie that "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (Steinbeck Section 1). Men like George who travel from farm to farm usually never have anyone to look to for companionship and protection. As the story goes on, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife all state their deep loneliness. Crooks says, “A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick" (80). In a world with no friends to confide in, random people will have to do. Each of the characters search for a friend, someone to confide in and be able to talk to on an everyday basis, as Crooks says. In the end, however, companionship of Curley’s kind seems impossible to find. For George, when Lennie dies, George’s dreams and hopes of finding a companion disappears.

Not only does loneliness exist as a physical state, a circumstance, it also exists as a state of mind. For example, possibly the most obvious testament to the truth of this statement, is the character, Aza

“No matter how hard you try, you will never really be alone. You will always have yourself” (Unknown). Loneliness is something we will all face in our lifetime. Whether you just got out of college and have an empty apartment to yourself or simply living longer than those around you. At some point in everyone's lives they will feel loneliness.

Loneliness is one of the worst feelings in the world, when your surrounded by people all around you. Many factors can cause a person to feel better when they are alone. Their family upbringing plays a big role on how well one adapts to new situations. The most vulnerable point in one’s life, is while they are an infant, because this is when many interaction skills are learned. A person’s childhood may be an indicator of future loneliness and psychological problems, however there are people who use this pain from being lonely, to become a stronger person.

Through Curley’s wife, you can see several examples of isolation and lack of companionship. “’I get lonely,’ she said. ‘You can talk to people, but

Loneliness has become an epidemic among young adults and spared out in elders’ everyday life where social isolation has become a cause of early death because we cannot cope alone.

This author points out that loneliness is created by society at a judging stage of how one looks and, on page 64, the “WOMAN” says, “Above all when you begin to fall asleep. The solitude of your body, a body alone, that inevitably ages and” The solitude of the heart that tries hard every night to prolong its cry against silence.” The character feels lonely and is how she will remain because of her age and looks.

Or are we just exaggerating a new change in our society? Monbiot claims that it is killing us and damaging our society but is it really that dangerous? We as humans love to be social but has there been any individual that understood his true identity and his ideas form being in a social conformist life? We will always get our ideology and identity from being alone and isolated. I disagree with Monbiot’s article. Loneliness is a good change in society having aspects such as non-conformism, self-reliance, and more discovered ideas and ideologies.

In life, there are many times where an individual may feel alone. Personally, this past week can attest to that notion. Moving into a college dorm, saying goodbye to my loved ones, and taking on a new chapter in my life, have all been accompanied by a new set of emotions that I have never felt before: homesickness, freedom, peer-pressure. However, looking around everyone seems happy, and it feels as if I am trapped in a space that no one else appears to be in. But, internally they may be battling the same struggles that I am. That is what can be drawn from “The Wisdom of Sociology: Sam Richards at TedxLacador,” the idea that behind the facade, our personal struggles are all connected.

Generally almost all loneliness can be traced back to low or below "average" self-esteem. Chronically lonely people will usually have low opinions of themselves. They may think of themselves as unintelligent, unattractive, broken, unwanted, not worthy of good things, no good, unable to do anything right, and/or socially isolated. Unlike many other emotionally hurting people, the chronically lonely usually know what is wrong, but like many others they don't believe they can do anything to fix it, or, circling back to the low self-esteem, they may also believe they are not worth of happiness.

"No man is an island." This famous quotation explains the nature of man as a social being. It is truly a fact that human beings cannot exist in isolation. They need to be interdependent with each other in order to survive. This interdependence is needed because a human being alone will not be able to fill his own social needs, and his material necessities came from other people as well. All acts of society such as sex, love, and dependence are essential for the survival of any species. Interaction and socialization is the only way to prevent people from isolation, from solitude.