Over the country side matters were far worse than in the cities. The farmers were taken off their land and there was a deep issue of draughts, which destroyed the crops. The farmers weren’t able to repay the bank to get their land back. Due to this many farmers travelled to California, where they believed the soil was good and they will be provided work. However, for many people this dream didn’t come true and they were chased away by the Californians, therefore many farmers had to live vast camps like refugees.
For many years America welcomed the persecuted, the poor and the disadvantage of the world, and if offered them the frontier. The line of civilisation steadily extended forward into virgin land until it reached the west coast. Over this time the frontier was a line beyond which people were continually believe that the civilisation did not exist. Beyond it there was land for taking, and a free and independent way of living where a man was answerable to himself. In truth the frontier was probably never like that, but the dream was necessary for people’s survival and the belief that it might be true offered huge comfort to those who would never find out for themselves.
The novel ‘Of Mice and men’ was based on the end of the American dream. Many of the characters on the novel has dreams, in the sense that they have hopes and ambitious. These dreams are often kept secret to begin with. George is displeased when he discovers that Lennie and Candy have told Crooks about their secrets. In contrast, Curly’s wife seems almost desperate to tell Lennie about her dreams. It is ironic that she confides someone who appears to have no interests in, or understanding of, what she is saying.
The Great Expectations shows how people were isolated because of the divisions in the society. Ms Havisham isolated herself from the society as she chooses to do this since she had enough money to survive in her own. There was no need for her to rely on a man. Of Mice and Men explains the isolations of humans, it says that there are isolation because of something within themselves, something which almost seems to make their loneliness inevitable. Different characters seek comfort and solace in different things, for Candy it is his dog, for George and Lennie it is each other.
This essay will explain how do the novels “Of Mice and Men” and “Great Expectation” explore the theme of isolation. Make specific reference to the characters of Crooks and Miss Havisham. of the way in which loneliness can corrupt and destroy a man.
Crooks is an example of Stein beck’s compassion and further illustration. Crooks had a double burden, he wasn’t only the Negro in a society which relegates non whites, but also a partial cripple in a society that values human being simply on their ability to provide a service. Because he was black and because he was disabled he didn’t have a choice to avoid loneliness. “They say I stink” he was forced to be lonely partly because he was black.
Unlike Crooks Ms Havisham isolated her self. She decided not to participate in the society whereas Crooks wanted to participate in the society but the society jilted him. During the Victorian time it was unusual for women’s to not marry after 20’s. However this wasn’t a matter for Ms Havisham because she didn’t had to rely on a man to survive, as she was rich. Therefore she tends to be an independent, also pride upper class women.
Crooks often unwanted in his society, “he had his bunk in the harness room” where any other neglect to come or to company with him. “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black.” Again this shows that the people around let him to be alone because of the racism.
Similar to Crooks, Ms Havisham also stuck herself into one place. Crooks let he be in the “bunk house” and Ms Havisham only been in her house but not anywhere else. In Ms Havisham room everything was stopped, “like the watch and the clock” this suggest when the clock has stopped the time was also stopped as Ms Havisham’s start to become blind from the out side world. There was no day light in her room, which meant that she withdraws from out side world. Also without light, things die as for Ms Havisham without the light her feelings seem to die.
Crooks get the chance to be horrible to someone else. He turns on Lennie and starts to be really nasty to him suggesting, “S’pose George don’t come back no more”. All those years lonely have made him feel that he is always picked on and now he has the chance to be bitter to someone else. He didn’t stopped there, he carried on “I said s’pose George went to town tonight and you never herd of him no more” to pick on Lennie. “S’pose he gets killed or hurts so he can’t come back” Crooks enjoyed being cruel to Lennie as he always treated different from everyone else’s. “They’ll take you to the booby hatch” he torched Lennie by taking his revenge on Lennie.
Just as Crooks, Ms Havisham takes her revenge on Estella and Pip. Because she has been hurt by a man, she decide to hurt Pip by using Estella, which means that she destroyed both Pip’s and Estella’s life. Ms Havisham encourages Pips to love Estella “Is she beautiful, graceful, well-grown?”, this quote by Ms Havisham proves that she wanted Pip to love Estella. Ms Havisham always says, “Love her, love her, love her!”
On the other hand she brought up Estella with a cold heart according to her plan so she can hurt a man using Estella. “I’m what you have made me” this shows because of the way Ms Havisham brought Estella, she tend to be cruel. Ms Havisham was the reason for Estella is to choose the man who she married to. How ever she later realises that what she did was wrong.
Crooks was feeling good and he feel self-assured that he can take on anything, when he was sharing thoughts with Lennie and Candy. But then Curley’s wife appears and starts to stir everything up. Crooks starts to get annoyed because he was having a good conversation which he doesn’t often get which made him very good about himself and Curly’s wife’s started to tear everything apart. He was angry and stands up to her telling her “You ain’t wanted here”. But he forgets about his place in life and he is shown where he belongs by Curley’s wife. Curley’s wife started on him “Listen, Nigger,’ ‘You know what I can do to you if you open your trap?” Crooks have no reply for this. He reduced him self to nothing, he then has no personality, no ego, nothing to arouse or dislike. All the time he has spent by him self, he has convinced himself that he is worth nothing and nobody cares about him. This is when readers sympathises so much for Crooks.
Although Ms Havisham was bitter, we sympathises for her at he end. Later she realises that she stole Estella’s “heart away and put ice in its place”. She regrets what she done and she apologise to Pip. Also the readers sympathise plays apart when she made herself isolated. Not only by regretting her faults but she also gives punishment for what she done by killing herself.
