Mice and Men – Loneliness

How does Steinbeck posture the theme of l atomic number 53liness in Of Mice and Men? Of Mice and Men is indite by John Steinbeck, published in 1937. The novel is set in the mid-thirties during the great depression in California. The two protagonist characters, George and Lennie atomic number 18 erect workers who do a daydream of champion-day owning their own ranch. They find work in a ranch near Soledad, after escaping from Weed beca phthisis of Georges incident. They argon met by different characters on the farm that all bedevil a dream. To be solitary(a) call ups to lack friends or companionship and to purport isolated.Most of the characters be lonely and the only thing that keeps them alive is their dreams. rough of the loneliest characters they meet atomic number 18 sweeten, an old man with only one hand, Crooks, a black cripple and Curleys Wife, a woman who has no individuation she is lonely even though she is married. Although they are all on the ranch unneu rotic, they are lonely because of who they are and their history. Of Mice and Men is an emotional story with umteen different themes and characters. This essay will divulge the expression bleakness is depicted in Of Mice and Men. George Milton and Lennie Small are friends who travel together. They both share the identical dream, which is to one day own their own ranch. George is quick-witted and in divideigent. He induces the agnatic role of carrying after Lennie, a simple-minded man who in the book is set forthd as a giant. Lennie is kind hearted with huge animal(prenominal) strength. He does not enjoy how powerful he is and alike(p)s to pet animals. The early(a) custody on the ranch find their relationship unusual, they do not have it away of their past. George describes himself and Lennie as the loneliest guys in the initiation. Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the gentleman. They got no family. They belong in no plate. George to nicitys sorry for himself he can see the reality of macrocosm a ranch-hand. This loneliness thusly makes both him and Lennie hire a dream that motivates him to work. It is the one thing that they are living for. The boss believes that George is exploiting Lennie. The newfound(prenominal) men come to see that their fellowship is built upon loneliness. Others such as Crooks, glass, Curleys wife and maybe boil down are jealous of their relationship.Although both George and Lennie are close friends, they are unbosom lonely in the sense that they are not alike. Lennie is lonely in the sense that there is no one who is as simple-minded as he is, he does not realise this, as he is excessively vigorous playing with his pup. When George and Lennie first arrive on the ranch, they are met by glaze over. candy and his dogs relationship resemble George and Lennies relationship. In the resembling way, that Candy seeks comfort in his dog, Lennie seeks comfort in George. Candy has a p arental role towards his dog, just as George has a parental role towards Lennie.Lennie can be compared with the dog in the sense that he listens, moreover does not talk this provides comfort for those who talk to him ab divulge their feelings. twain Lennie and Candys dog are shot by the same gun (Carlsons luger). Carlson is unsentimental close to Candys dog, as he can see no practical use for it. He aint no good to you Candy. An he aint no good to himself. Whynt you shoot him Candy? His suggestion is reasonable for the other men in the bunk- house unless he seems oblivious to the strong bond between Candy and his dog. Candy tries to justify the reasons for keeping his dog. I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him. In the end, his dog is shot because of his lack of authority towards the other men. Candy is left lonely and deserted after he loses his lifetime companion. He later cheers up after he joins in with George and Lennies jut of owning the dream farm. Id make a will an come forth my share to you guys in case I kick off. Candy promises them, that if he died, he would leave George and Lennie his money. This increases his bechance of becoming part of the dream. It also increases the chance of the dream becoming reality.Carlson is also a lonely character he is callous and does not know the appreciation of companionship. He has his gun to look after and care for, the movement of his hands whilst he cleans it study signs of loneliness, he also appears nonchalant. He laid them on his bed and then brought out the pistolthen he fell to cleaning the barrel with the runty rod. He spends time looking after the gun, he does not take part in the conversation between the other men, he feels intelligent with his gun and does not see the value of friends and companionship.Curleys wife is one of the loneliest characters in the novel she has no identity, she is seen as an object, a possession of Curleys. Curleys wife is seen as a flirtatious tart by the other ranch-hands, true, Curleys wife does flirt, she is very conscious of the effect this has on men, but she is not a tart. She wants attention and by gaining that attention, she act the way mountain think. She had full rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. She likes to dress up and stomach a drawing card of make up, to attract the men.The men on the other hand do not flirt with her, as they are algophobic of what Curly might do. This leads to the loneliness of many characters. Although the men think it is wrongly of her to flaunt herself sexually and transgress everyone the eye, the men all shout a whorehouse for sexual gratification and momentary companionship. Those like George and particle contradict themselves when they talk about Curleys wife as world jail-bait. Shes gonna make a mess. Theys gonna be a handsome mess about her. Shes a jail-bait all set on a trigger, George senses endangerment coming his way, but he chooses to ignore it, as he subscribe tos the money.During the 1930s, women were seen as possessions of their husbands who were to stay at home. Georges batch of women, seem to be very basic and biased, he sees them as instruments to rationalize physical urges. She never talks dirty, neither. Got five girls there. George does not express the need for any female companionship mainly because he is too busy keeping Lennie out of trouble. She confides in Lennie and tells him about her dreams of becoming a celluloid star. Steinbeck uses Lennie as a voice to the reader, it is because of him that the reader finds out about Curleys wifes dreams and feelings. Coulda been in the movies, an had niminy-piminy clothes all them nice clothes like they were. She seems to be obsessed by her appearance she wants the fame and glamour. She appears to have given up her dreams as she married Curly, she feels as though her dreams have been shattered and that she can no longer achie ve her goals. Like Curleys wife, Crooks also has no name, it is just a nickname the other ranch-hands use because he is crippled. He is intelligent and very well organised he has his own room where he keeps his books and possessions.For him, his room is a haven or an oasis. For, being alone, Crooks could leave his things aboutthis room was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a proud, aloof man. This shows signs of isolation, as there is no one to comment on the tidiness of his room. He feels isolated and bitter. He is the victim of oppressive fury and prejudice on the ranch. When he first meets Lennie, there is an immediate rejection of friendship mainly due to the anguish of his loneliness. Well, I got a right to have a light. You go on get outa my room.I aint wanted in the bunkhouse, and you aint wanted in my room. He does not know that Lennie is unlike the other men, he has been criticised and made shimmer off, so he does not appreciate the company of others until he gets t o know them and their attitude towards him. He tells Lennie of his hopes of having some one to talk to. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, an he gets sick. He admits to feeling isolated, he wishes for a friend to talk to. For a moment, Lennie seems to be a new friend, Lennie sees Crooks as an individual, a person in his own right.Crooks respects him for this and is steamy about his new companionship. Again the reader only finds this out when Crooks tells Lennie about his feelings. Crooks admits to not having a dream as he is afraid of disappointment, he does withal get caught up in working with George and Lennie in the dream farm. His hopes are shattered by Georges dismissive attitude. I didn mean it. Jus foolin. I wouldnt want to go no place like that. The lonely characters feel they can confide in Lennie, as they know he will not tell anyone.Crooks is treated as an outcast due to the perspective of race and black large number of the time. Black commonwealth were seen as outca sts that had no right to mix with the whites. Curley is a small ex-boxer. He is one of the most violent characters on the ranch. He hopes that by being violent and aggressive towards the weaker characters, he will gain authority. He however avoids those he considers to be strong and with authority, such as Slim. He sees everyone with a lower status and sees people as a hierarchy. He wore a work glove on his left hand, and, like the boss, he wore high-heeled boots. agree to Candy, the work glove that Curley wears is full of Vaseline to keep his hands soft for his wife. The high-heeled boots give signs of status and height. A debatable character is Slim, is he lonely, does he feel isolated? Because of his calm attitude and natural authority, the less lonely characters imprecate on him. He is understanding and kind, which is why George tells him of the incident in Weed. He does not seem to have a friend, does that mean he has resigned? in that location is however some hope for him a fter Lennie is shot, he is the one who solace George and tells him he done the right thing. You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me. The book begins with a calm and peaceful setting of nature. A a couple of(prenominal) miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops close to the hill-side and runs deeps and squirt. The water is warm too, for it has slipped twinkling over the littoral zone in the sunlight before reaching the narrow pool. This shows the peaceful world of nature, it is very calm and tranquil. The pool shows signs of innocence, as it is only a runner of the Salinas River. The river is a sign of the secrets and the future in nature and the novel.The deep green makes it unable to see the riverbed this shows signs of a faint and perhaps a dangerous view of the future. Despite the movement and the motion of the river, there are still signs of loneliness there is only the cyclical of nature. The language Steinbeck uses to describe the setting is sophistic ated and formal. On the sand-banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little grey, sculptured stonesfrom the direction of the state highway came the sound of footstepsthe rabbits travel noiselessly for cover. For a moment the place was lifeless, and then two men emerged from the path and came into the opening by the green pool This shows the peaceful world of nature being tired of(p) by man. The rabbits sensed the presence of danger and hurried away, it is a movement from harmony to discord. There is a pipeline between man and nature. The rabbits sat quietly without making a lot of movement and noise, whilst George and Lennie emerge and break the peace. The peace of nature is also disturbed at the end when Lennie is shot. The pool is described as an innocent place it reflects Lennies innocence.There is however, senses of loneliness as neither George nor Lennie speak, there are no sounds of nature from when they emerge. The pool is still and the wind has stopped susurrous through the leaves. The language Steinbeck uses to describe the landscape and a character is contrasted with the way the characters speak. The characters use American colloquial slang. The characters also speak of being lonely and wanting companionship. Steinbeck pays attention to the description of the characters he mainly concentrates on the hands.Lennies hands are described as paws, Candys has one missing, Curleys keeps his left hand in a glove, Crooks palms are noteworthy (colour). George has strong but small hands, Slim hands are mentioned and Curleys wifes hands are only described in terms of fingernails. Steinbeck presents the theme of loneliness through the characters. The language he uses to describe the landscape and characters show signs of loneliness. The characters past reflect their loneliness and the death of both Candys dog and Lennie create the major theme of loneliness.Nature and animals play a large role in the story, the main comparison of man and nature is when Lennie is described as a bear. He walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. Steinbeck wants to show the size and strength of Lennie therefore he compares him to a bear. The book was written during the 1930s during the Great Depression. This was a difficult time for America and its people Steinbeck shows the fear of the Depression by having the men all work together. No matter how much the men on the ranch stick together and some may support each other, they are still lonely.