Compare the way in which Thomas Hardy in "The withered arm" an "John Steinbeck" in "Of mice and men" prepare the way, in the opening chapters, for the theme of loneliness.

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Compare the way in which Thomas Hardy in “The withered arm” an “John Steinbeck” in “Of mice and men” prepare the way, in the opening chapters, for the theme of loneliness.

Loneliness is a basic part of human life, everyone becomes lonely once in a while, Both Thomas Hardy in “The withered arm” and John Steinbeck in “Of mice and men” have set their stories on the theme of loneliness.

The withered arm is classed as a short story, it was set in Wessex, during the 18th century, and the book was written by Thomas Hardy and published in 1988. “Of mice and men” was set in the 1930’s; it tells the story of two lonely men trying to live out the American dream in the farming lands of north California.

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Although both stories were written in different centuries and tell of different circumstances there are many similarities between the two. They both involve loneliness and outsiders. However, straight away you can tell that the two stories are set in different places and at different times.

One of the most obvious connections between the two stories is that both sets of main characters are lonely. Both Lenny and Rhoda are very much alike, they are both seen as outsiders, we can tell this from our first impressions Rhoda is described as “a thin fading women of 30 milked somewhat apart ...

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