Loneliness in Of Mice And Men.

John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice And Men in 1937. The story is about two men called George and Lennie. They travelled together from ranch to ranch looking for a job. Lennie is a big and he is dumb. They had travelled together for a long time. The story Of Mice and Men is set in 1930s America. At this time there was a depression in America. Unemployment was high, so people would move from ranch to ranch looking for work. Candy, Crooks and Curleys Wife are the loneliest people on the ranch.

Curley’s wife is possibly the loneliest of the characters, as she is the only woman on the ranch and the men are all afraid to talk to her. This shows she must have a really lonely life. Curley’s wife only flirts with the workers because it is the only way she knows to get her attention. The reason Curleys wife wanted to speak to Lennie in chapter five is that she doesn’t have anyone to talk to. She tells Lennie this, saying “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to anybody”

This is a preview of the whole essay

Candy is an old man with only one arm. He had an old dog but he let Carlson kill it. Candy was very attached to his old dog, as he had been with the dog since it was a pup, he was his only friend. He feels guilty that he let a stranger kill it. Candy is afraid that he will be sacked when he is no longer any use. He knows that he will have nowhere to go when he gets fired, so when he hears George and Lennie talking about getting their own place, asks them to take him with them, and offers them enough money so that at the end of the month they will be able to afford to buy the place. After his dog’s death, Candy seems desperate to leave the ranch. To make George and Lennie sure that he wants the place he tells them “I will make a will and leave my share to you guys in case I kick off, because I ain’t got no relatives nor nothing”.

Crooks is a black man with a crooked back. He is the only black man on the ranch and is not allowed in the bunkroom because of his colour. Crooks knows that black people are thought of as such, as when Curleys wife tells him that if he tells the boss to ban her from the barn she would get him hung, he simply replies yes mamma. Crooks spends his time alone reading and is a fairly knowledgeable person, as he owns a copy of the California civil code for 1905. He also plays horseshoes until dark, but is not allowed into the bunkhouse to play cards, as the others claim he stinks. He is nasty to Lennie at first, as he thought Lennie shouldn’t be in his room, as he is banned from the bunkhouse. When he finds out Lennie is harmless however, he lets him stay for some company. He hasn’t really spoken to anyone for a long time, and is eager for Lennie’s company. He shows this when he claims books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody to be near him and æ a guy goes nits if he ain’t got anybody. He wants to join in with George, Lennie and Candy to get the place as he is discriminated against at the ranch.

I don’t think loneliness is a problem to George and Lennie, as, like Lennie loves saying to George, I’ve got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you George says about ranchers that travel alone, guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family, they don’t belong no place’s One of the things that binds George and Lennie together is that they share a common dream, to buy their own land, and live off of the fatta the land The fact that they travel together makes them believe that one day they will really get enough money together to do this, and they nearly had the chance. The reason loneliness was such a problem in 1930s America is that no one ever settled anywhere long enough to make any ties or get to know anyone.

Oxted School/alex/56965.doc /