How Does Steinbeck Present Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

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Loneliness and isolation are the inevitable and unavoidable aspects of life that every person experiences and endures at some point. A person can undergo loneliness and solitude because they might not have friends or companions to keep them company or because they have chosen to remain isolated and apart from society. Throughout Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck reflects the messages, concepts, and ideas of loneliness and isolation as inevitable and unavoidable. He portrayed the period of the Great Depression in his novel, expressing the loneliness and desolation which had been present during the time. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck frequently applied his portrayals of loneliness and isolation among many characters in his story, capturing the …show more content…
The workers around Lennie and George act with an inhumane manner by mistreating them, especially Curley. Curley attempts to block the men from his flirtatious wife, but in order to do that, he strikes fear and resentment in the men. He also verbally abuses the workers. “Well...tell you what. Curley’s like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He’s alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he’s mad at ‘em because he ain’t a big guy. You seen little guys like that, ain’t you? Always scrappy?” (Steinbeck 26). Including this passage in his novel, Steinbeck was expressing that Curley’s arrogance causes him to pick fights with the big guys on the ranch and allows him to feel that he has the power to mistreat the workers on the ranch. Curley often attempts to pick fights with the bigger ranch workers, as he is small compared to them and merely dislikes them. As Steinbeck included these words in his novel, he reflected the messages and ideas of loneliness and isolation. Steinbeck was revealing that as Curley strikes fear and dissatisfaction to the ranch workers, he is creating his own solitude by hurting and pushing away the people near him. Steinbeck is essentially expressing that arrogant and superior men on the ranch like Curley simply create their own loneliness and solitude through their actions, perspectives, and

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