As the Great Depression creates a sense of isolation and loneliness, two men seem to have it all figured out as they find their way through the vast land of California. During this time, men are forced into isolation and loneliness as they travel to find work, but George and Lennie represent the need for companionship as they have their whole lives planned together. In his writing, John Steinbeck uses character mannerisms, symbolism, and social injustice to show loneliness and the need for companionship in the novel, Of Mice and Men.
Through the use of the character's mannerisms, Steinbeck portrays loneliness and the need for companionship. The first way Steinbeck uses the character’s mannerisms is through isolation and sorrow. On page
…show more content…
Age discrimination is demonstrated by Steinbeck when he uses social injustice. Candy is very fearful that he will get canned soon because of his age and has on hand so he asks George and Lennie if he can join their dream. (Steinbeck 60) Candy feels very isolated from the rest of the men because of his age and when he gets to be too old he will be thrown out. Gender inequality is another way Steinbeck uses social injustice to prove the need for companionship. Curley's wife pleads, "You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody but Curley." (Steinbeck 87) This demonstrates social injustice because we know now that Curley's wife just wants to talk to someone, but because of what everyone thinks of her she is forced into the realization of being lonely. Segregation is used by Steinbeck to demonstrate social injustice. When Candy is showing George around, he mentions the stable buck and how he is a different race, which indicates that he is separated from the others. (Steinbeck 20) This shows that Crooks is constantly segregated because of his race and he has to live alone where no one talks to him which allows him to become very isolated. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck uses social injustice to portray isolation and the need for
“Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliness guys in the world. They got no family...we got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us” (Steinbeck 14). During the Great Depression, much of society is alienated while survival of the fittest prevails. The power of loneliness affects the individual involved as long as the society it is present in continues to harvest the discriminatory ways. During the 1930’s, the Great Depression was at its peak; The stock markets crashed, and a chain reaction caused the unemployment rates to rise to an all time high. Thus, migrant worker became popular because they were always needed on a farm and it was a way for one to find employment. In of Mice and Men, Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife are all victims of the Great Depression. Candy and Crooks work on the farm, while Curley’s wife is the flirtatious nuisance whose dreams were crushed. The pervasive emotion throughout this novella is loneliness. Loneliness is felt by Candy, Crooks, and and Curley’s wife, whether it’s being represented symbolically as the characters are fighting social devastation, learning to make it alone, or through their actions.
In a society of people all in the same situations how can someone feel so alone. When lives fall apart and people have nothing to hold on to people need each other most, yet are pushed so far from others. The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, follows the storyline of two men who are displaced farm workers during the Great Depression; they travel around and stick by each other’s sides no matter the circumstance. After many jobs they end up on a farm,the farm they hope will be their last stop. The time spent on the farm is filled with blooming friendships and careless quarrels, yet with an abundance of characters and entertainment- many people on the farm feel alone and out of place. Characters such as Crooks and Curley’s wife often come to mind when the subject of loneliness is brought up. Throughout the book using characters such as Crooks and Curley's wife, John Steinbeck demonstrates that humans are immensely impacted by separation from society and it will change the way that people will act and show themselves to others.
Steinbeck shows how characterization through many different passages and ways how characterization supports that companionship is a beneficial thing. To begin Steinbeck shows characterization that supports companionship is a beneficial thing is Candy’s relationship with his dog. Steinbeck describes Candys words: “‘No I’m so couldn’t do that. I had him so long’… ‘I'm so used to him”. Candy then explains: “I had him from a pup”(45).
“A guy needs somebody- to be near him...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”(Steinbeck 72). The Great Depression, which occurred in the 1930s, was rough on migrant workers, young and old, women, and black people alike. Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks undergo loneliness and discrimination during the Great Depression. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men characters Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks, like so many people during the 1930s, experience harrowing times of being isolated from everybody else during those times. The things they face are being separated in a different room, being shunned by men who think they are above them, and people thinking that they are too old and useless. The theme of loneliness is expressed and felt in the novella Of Mice and Men through the isolation and discrimination of Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks.
In the novella Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, loneliness is present throughout. It starts with ranch workers who are viewed as lonely; they have no real home. This idea of loneliness was very prominent during the 1930’s, as many people had to fend for themselves. During the Great Depression, people were secluded and couldn’t build relationships; they were forced to work to keep themselves afloat. Loneliness was one of the effects of the Great Depression.
Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck depicts the essential of loneliness, curley’s wife, Crooks, and Candy express feelings composed through broken dreams and loss of realism. Candy is an old man who lost his hand in a farming accident. Due to his loss in a limb, he is no longer suitable for work. Carlson, the ranch boss, says his dog is old, smelly, and needs to get put out of his misery. Candy tells him, “I've had him since from a pup.”
Everyone becomes lonely due to hard conditions. Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, illustrates the feeling of loneliness on a ranch in the early 1930’s. This book shows how people are driven to try and find friendships in order to escape from loneliness. Steinbeck creates an isolated and blue atmosphere at many times in the book. He uses place names to give the setting a sense of desolation right from the start, and reinforces it with the characters readers meet throughout the book. Curley’s wife and Crooks are clear examples of what loneliness can drive people to do. Steinbeck’s book shows the importance of friendships in overcoming loneliness.
In the book by John Steinbeck, he develops the concept of loneliness using the following three characters; Candy the old guy, Curley’s wife the attention seeking girl, and Crooks the only black guy on the ranch. These three charters all suffer through the same problems. Throughout the book, Curley's wife, Candy, and
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is book of many themes; one that is very prominent is loneliness. Loneliness is common in many people's lives and that is also true for the lives of the characters of the book. Almost all characters in the book are lonely in one way or the other.
This book has many plot twist to it and one of them is loneliness which mainly all characters feel in this book. They feel like this because they don't have anyone to depend on, everyone just does their own thing, live their own lives and mainly just worry about themselves because there isn't anyone else for they to care or worry about. But three main people that stood out to me were Crooks, Curley's wife, and Candy. They are different people and they feel alone in different ways but somehow similar too. Everyone feels alone because they don't really know anyone else but the people they work with, I feel like they really don't like each other either because in the book their always talking bad about one another, but they also feel lonely
Have you ever been so lonely or isolated in the novel of mice and men; there are many characters that face isolation and loneliness 3 men that stick out are Crooks, Candy, and Slim.in the novel mice and men isolation and loneliness made people cold sad. Even though isalashion makes people willing to listen to whatever someone's saying, it can change people because isolation and loneliness can make people sad and isolation and loneliness can make people mean. In the novel of mice and men the character Crooks is the only black man who works on a farm full of whites all though he has a bunkhouse all to himself he is mean and cold. He never lets anyone in his bunkhouse and most of the whites especially Curley's wife talks down to him.
Unfortunately, despite a need for companionship, people set up barriers that maintain loneliness, and they sustain those barriers by being inhumane to each other. One barrier is based on gender: The bunkhouse is a male world, where women are not to be trusted. While Curley's wife is always looking for attention, Curley's jealousy causes all the hands to stay away from her. Although Curley's wife is often portrayed as cruel and troublesome (and therefore, we can see why she is left alone), the real thing that isolates her is that she is a female in an all-male world. Race is another barrier. Crooks, for example, must occupy a room in the stable alone, and he is not welcome in the bunkhouse. For Candy, the barriers are age and handicap. He is
Loneliness is an experience that innumerable individuals go through when they have no one on their side to be their companion. Steinbeck achieves in making this theme function with characters in the short story of “Of Mice and Men”, that immediately makes readers step in the characters’ shoes and eventually remember about situations that have been difficult to forget. Steinbeck’s use of the word Soledad, is significant to give the meaning lonely to this town to make the readers get a feeling of a depressing environment all the characters live during the Great Depression. During the Great Depression ever soul actually terrors the sensation of loneliness. Such as, George, Candy, Carlson and Curley’s wife.
Using character speech, Steinbeck portrays feelings of loneliness and the need for companionship. Furthermore, in the story of Mice and Men the author often utilized character speech through George. Speaking to Slim, George explains how men that travel about ranches alone don't have much fun, eventually get mean, and become always hungry for a fight (Steinbeck 41). Suggesting that workers will become so
Friendship and loneliness are important themes that John Steinbeck writes about in his novel, Of Mice and Men. His main characters have different personalities and body types, and they are best friends. They share their daily lives and dreams of a better life. Most of the characters find it difficult to develop and maintain meaningful relationships because of the nature of their vocation as migrant workers. They are burdened with feelings of loneliness, as they move from farm to farm for seasonal jobs. There is an older migrant who lost his pet that was his only companion.