Loneliness In Of Mice And Men, By John Steinbeck

To be estrange, you have to cause someone to no longer be associated with someone. In the early 1930’s, people often felt separated from others. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, discusses the realization of several individuals living during the Great Depression. George and Lennie, two companions who live almost their whole lives together, long to fulfill the loneliness in their lives. Although many of the characters in the novel are accompanied by many people, both social barriers and personal choice create isolation between each character. The first character that comes to mind when thinking about loneliness in this book is George. Even though he is accompanied by Lennie, he still does not have any real companionship. Often, he talks …show more content…
He is a black man and is called racial slurs throughout the book. “Come on in and set a while," Crooks said. “Long as you won't get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down." Here, he is talking to Lennie and even though he is reluctant at first, he really does not mind the accompaniment. He envies the white guys that get to sit inside and play cards all together. He says, “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink for me.” Crooks is masking his sadness and jealousy with being bitter about the situation. His attitude is fairly transparent here, because one could tell he actually yearns for the communication, despite what he says. A social barrier sits between Crooks and everyone else because he is black, making his loneliness abundantly …show more content…
Not only is Candy the oldest guy on the farm, he has no family or relatives. “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn't no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me..." Candy says this, feeling like the other workers have this opinion toward him. Even he himself is starting to feel worthless and lonely. Firstly, his dog was his companion and Carlson shot it. And secondly, he mostly keeps to himself and does not have any real companionship with the other men. “A guy on a ranch don't never listen nor he don't ast no questions.” In this quote, Candy shows how being a lonely man on a ranch feels. You cannot listen or ask any questions as a ranch hand, ruining all communication. Candy’s predicament of isolation is a social barrier and a choice. He is much older than the other men, but he also desolates himself from the others occasionally. The author of this story, Steinbeck, has an attitude of empathy for the characters. A reader can feel the sadness of how it must haunt you to be that lonely through many different quotes and situations all through the novel. Many characters experience loneliness in the book for one of two or a combination of two reasons. Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, shows us how people during the Dust Bowl time were reaching for companionship. Personal choice and social barriers were the main reasons for the characters’ unfortunate