Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Everyone wishes they could live the American dream, but sometimes that just isn't the reality of it all. In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, characters try so hard, but don’t always succeed. As two migrants workers, Lennie and George, struggle to reach their goal of owning a farm to support themselves, many unfortunate events unfold, resulting in their dreams being crushed. They work together to raise money, but when Lennie’s disability gets in the way, it stops them from getting what they have always wished for. Throughout the story, terrible loneliness and oppression hold them back from ever reaching their dreams. A theme that occurs many times throughout Of Mice and Men is that loneliness is a human condition that you will feel at some point in your life. This is a feeling that almost all the characters experience. The character that feels this the most throughout the novella is most likely Crooks. Due to the time period this book was written in and because of his race, he is segregated from the other men and is alone almost all the time. He lives in the worst conditions and has no one to talk to, except …show more content…
The individuals tear each other down by attacking characters that are weaker than themselves. This occurs multiple times. The most obvious one is between Lennie and the animals he loves so much. Due to Lennie’s mental disability, he harms the animals that are weaker than he. Another example of this is the way Crooks interacts with Lennie. Since Crooks is much weaker than all the other men because he is black and his back is crooked, he decides to attack Lennie because of his weaknesses. He tells Lennie that he needs to stop dreaming of the farm and to stop relying on George for everything he needs. A third example of this is when George shoots Lennie. Although George is trying to protect Lennie, he is too weak to stand up to the other men to save him so he shoots him