Of Mice And Men Essay On Loneliness -- essays research papers

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck looks at thetheme of loneliness as it affects many credits on theranch. Crooks, Curleys wife, and dulcorate are the mostexcluded characters on the ranch, because they altogether havedreams that they will not be able to live out and they all areat loss when it came to companionship. Crooks is sole(a)because he is the only black man on the ranch. Since thisbook is set during the Depression, Jim Crow laws are still ineffect, whites and blacks had separate facilities for socializingand living. Crooks comments that he cant live in thebunkhouse, and cant even play cards in there. "I cant playbecause Im black. They say I stink."(68) This adduceillustrates that Crooks feels the pain of rejection more that helets people see. In fact, Crooks protects himself by actinglike a "proud and aloof man."(67) The full extent of Crooksssuffering is do clear in chapter 4 when Crooks lashes outat Lennie. Viewing Lennie as a symbol of all the white menwho had terms him, Crooks strikes out in anger, saying "Yougot no undecomposed to come in my room...Nobody got any right inhere but me."(68) Steinbeck states that "Crookss facelighted with pleasure in his torture."(71) Crookss anger,though, is truly just a cover for the pain he experiences fromconstant isolation. "A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody ...A guy gets too lonely and he gets sick."(73) This desire tohave a affiliation is apparent later in the scene whenCrooks hears Lennie and Candys plan to buy a little ranch.Wistfully, he suggests, "If you guys motive a hand to work fornothing, just his keep, why Id come and lend a hand."(76)No matter how hard Crooks may try to hide the hurt hefeels, he clearly would like to be included in this venture withthe other men. Crookss dream, however, lasts only for afew minutes. When Curleys wife threatens Crooks with alynching, he quickly remembers the terrible reality of hissituation . Ste inbeck writes "Crooks had reduced himself tonothing. There was no personality, no ego - his voice wastoneless."(81) The character of Crooks reflects the universalneed for human connection as well as the brutalizing effectsof racial prejudice. Like Crooks, Curleys wife is very lonely,but she is lonely for different reasons. Like Crooks Curleyswife suffers from... ...ion. But Candy gets some lifeback in him when he hears George and Lennie talking abouttheir dream farm. Hearing this gives Candy a reason to live.He would love to conjoin George and Lennie on there farm andhe even tells them that hell give them money to help financeit "I aintt much good with ony one hand. I scattered my hand righthere on this ranch...an they give me two hunderd an fiftydollars cause I los my hand. An I got fifty more saved upright in the bank, right now...and I got fifty more morecomin... Spose I went in with you guys. Thas three hundredan fifty bucks Id put in."(59) When George agrees to letCandy endure on the wagon and join the farm, you can tellCandy is extremely pleased. But with death of Lennie thedream of the farm dies to. Like the other characters Candysdream was stolen from him. Candys character was lonelybecause he needed human contact but his only companionwas his dog which was killed. Loneliness affected manycharacters in John Steinbecks novel, Of Mice and Men.Crooks, Curleys wife and Candy were affected the most bythis loneliness because none of them had a real companionand all of them had dreams which were shattered.