Isolation And Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

“Of Mice and men” is a novella set in 1930s America. During this time period many American civilians had become rather lonely due to the great depression, racism and, sexism- hence why so many of Steinbeck’s characters felt isolated and lonesome. The American Dream of the 1930s was to own your own piece of land and “live of the fat o’ the land” but unfortunately during the great depression this dream was often put aside. The Dust bowl was also occurring which were several extreme droughts causing farmlands to fail severely- the location of this novella was Soledad, California which was in the middle of these droughts. The setting of a Californian ranch showcases how detached the average bindle stiff had become as they travelled from ranch to ranch attempting to earn some money during their awful economy.
Steinbeck was once an itinerant worker himself, …show more content…
While the story only takes place over 4 days this highlights that things aren’t going to go well. Despite the circular structure between the best friends- Lennie and George- when they return to the brush George loses his companionship once he “pulls the trigger” and becomes just as lonely as they rest of the Ranch Hands. In conclusion loneliness is presented through characters, structure and language through the novella “Of Mice and Men”. The issue of loneliness is the best for this time period because there are so many aspects to pick up on as Steinbeck uses the issues; sexism, racism and the great depression to showcase how bad loneliness could be in 1930s America. Wrongly, only able-bodied white men appeared to be the people truly respected because they didn’t experience racism or sexism and therefore were the least prone to loneliness whereas the great depression left everyone putting up