‘Well I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I would just like to know what your interest is’
he goes onto say,
‘What stake you got in this guy’
This quotation highlights the point of loneliness in the story and how ranch hands had little time to build up a friendship. As the other characters are revealed, we witness Curley, a short and very insecure man. We understand that he finds the friendship between George and Lennie very unusual; he then throws accusations at them,
‘Oh, it’s like that is it’
This appears to be Curley implying homosexual connotations to their friendship but unlike other issues like racism and prejudices, homosexuality was not a topical issue as people were not educated on this area, so his opinion wouldn’t be followed up.
Throughout this novel, Steinbeck explores many of the different situations that led to loneliness; the migrant lifestyle that the ranch-workers lead in the book contributes to their loneliness. Steinbeck sets his novel around the issue of defeated hope and the harsh reality of the American Dream. The American Dream was a belief that anyone could escape the harsh environment and swap it for untarnished happiness and have the freedom to follow their own desires. Many of the characters in the novel have dreams, but none are realised. George and Lennie are poor, homeless, migrant workers, doomed to a life of wandering and toil in which they are never able to reap the fruits of their labor. They dream of a place of their own, the opportunity to work for themselves, George describes it to us constantly saying,
‘Someday-we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and ….. live off the fatta the lan.’
Another important issue that leads to distinct isolation and loneliness is racism. In America at this time, racism was a very alarming issue. The black race was classed as inferior and it was socially acceptable to discriminate against a person just because of the colour of their skin. But during this time, although there was significant injustice to blacks the American population saw this as the norm as they weren’t sufficiently educated on the topic so they couldn’t see what was wrong with what they were saying. In the novel Steinbeck reflects the attitudes on racism in the real world, attitudes that had remained in America since the abolition of slavery, into his book by creating a black man, named as Crooks and developing him to be one of the main characters. In the novel, Crooks is portrayed as very irritable as a result of his unfair treatment by the other ranch-hands, disabled because he has a crooked back and very clever and knowledgeable due to his broad knowledge of books. In the novel, Crooks has been labeled as the stable buck, Crooks is segregated from the other white ranch-hands; he cannot share the life and conversation of the bunkhouse, he is subjected to sleep in the barn with the horses. This creates the impression that during this era black people were regarded more as an animal than a human. Throughout the novel, Crooks is never called by his name, he is either ‘the nigger’ or ‘the stable buck’, this leaves Crooks to feel rejected and is the main contributor to his utter loneliness. A key scene that Steinbeck uses to demonstrate Crooks low status is when Crooks is talking to Curley’s wife and Curley’s wife finds herself in a position of power. Curley’s wife is the boss’s daughter in law which gives her authority but her status as a white female gives her additional power over Crooks. She abuses this power when she reminds him that she would only need to claim that he has attempted to touch her and a lynch mob would kill him without hesistation. In my opinion, Steinbeck exposes the bitterness, the anger and the helplessness of the black American who struggles to be recognized as a human being, and therefore is treated in as an animal. Also, I feel that Steinbeck is challenging his readers to consider the problems of racism and prejudice and by creating the character Crooks he is demonstrating that it is totally unjust to discriminate against these people just because they are black.
Another important character in the novel is Curley's wife. In the novel Steinbeck portrays Curley's wife as very lonely and flirtatious and her character is used to represent the plight of young women during this time. During this era, women were fighting for their rights, as women were classed as inferior to the men of this time. The role of women during this desperate period was as a homeworker, they could not vote or go out and get a job. When the men left and families were shattered, women even lost this role. The only possible way out of this was the glamour of Hollywood: this was a destine to be involved in the glamour and stardom of Hollywood. Unfortunately, many dreams of this glamour were harshly shattered, due to the harsh reality of this era and the empty promises from men pretending to be amongst all the successful movie stars. In this novel we witness a character who has been the victim of a shattered Hollywood dream. Throughout the novel, Curley’s wife is only ever referred to as ‘Curley’s wife’ which in effect highlights her insignificance in her own right and reveals her inner loneliness and isolation on the ranch. Curley’s wife is a victim of a lost dream and it seems that she has married as an attempt to escape from her own spiral of loneliness but Curley’s failure to satisfy her, emotionally and physically, leads her to engage in flirtatious exchanges with the other men. However, the men’s attitude towards her is sexually prejudiced as she is commonly referred to as a ‘Tart’ or a ‘Looloo’. Also, their attitudes towards her reflect their worries about the consequences of talking to her. Curley’s aggression seems to motivate the ranch hands to avoid conversation with his wife as they might lose their jobs in a time of widespread unemployment. In addition, Steinbeck always uses ‘Curley’s wife’as her name as he is accentuating the idea that in the story she has become the property of Curley, her husband. This links in with the reality that women were not equal to men and in a relationship the men were the more superior and dominant over their women counterparts.
As the novel progresses, many characters reveal their inner loneliness to specific people in the book but Candy conceals his loneliness in his thoughts until very late on in the book. In comparison to the characters in the novel, we recognize Candy’s significant loneliness. Candy is an old man, who has lost an arm. Although Candy has a gossiping friendly relationship with the other ranch hands, he seeks company from his elderly dog. This allows Steinbeck’s readers to determine his loneliness and also educates us that during this period, companionship of human kind was rare. In this novel we understand that most characters are inspired by the thought of living the American dream, the hope that one day they will own their own land and work for themselves. This inspiration appeals to Candy when George and Lennie's dream is accidentally revealed to him. Candy is then immediately drawn into the dream as he realizes that he will not face a lonely and poverty stricken death but that of happiness.
Another contemporary issue in the story is the attitude and understanding of mental disability. During such a period, people were very uneducated on such matters; they had little understanding about issues revolving mental disability. Therefore people had different thoughts and perceptions on the idea and so the mentally disabled people of the era were regarded as ‘freaks’, and many faced punishment of being chained or hanged. In the novel, Lennie Small represents the mentally disabled person of this era. Steinbeck shows how this abnormality of mind first leads to loneliness in George but his companionship with Lennie helps the pair both overcome loneliness. They are both inspired by the thought of owning their own land and so when Lennie is tragically murdered by George, George leaves him thinking of their dream.
As the play progresses, we understand that throughout the novel most characters suffer from loneliness in some form, but we realize that Slim is not lonely. We feel that Slim is well respected by the fellow ranch workers as they ask for his opinion on certain matters including the time when Whit pulled a letter from his pocket and asked Slim to read it. Steinbeck uses this situation to allow us to recognize that Slim is majestic and charismatic and is a man of great perception and natural dignity. This inevitably creates the idea that he could be regarded as a Christ-like figure as he has a welcomed thought about every character on the ranch, even Curley’s feels his Justice and fairness when he compliments her, ‘Hey good-looking.’ I feel Steinbeck uses this character to show how the typical migrant lifestyle of this time needed a charismatic individual to be a central moral force that held all the ranch-hands together and create a friendly and sociable atmosphere.
In conclusion, the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ is written by Steinbeck to show how the social and economic problems of this era contribute to the emotion of loneliness in the novel. Steinbeck portrays characters in the novel in a certain light to highlight the typical and contemporary views of certain people during this harsh time. The novel is set in the 1930’s which is straight after the Wall Street Crash and during the Great Depression. Steinbeck uses this novel to educate people of this time and aware them of the terrible working and living conditions during this period of great unemployment. Steinbeck portrays characters in the novel in a certain light to highlight the typical and contemporary views of certain people during this harsh time and demonstrate to us of how these attitudes were considered as the ‘norm’. The character of Crooks is exploited by Steinbeck in the novel to represent the hopelessness of the Black American and Curley’s wife is used in representation of the lonely inferior women of this time. However, Steinbeck illustrates to us of how rejection and loneliness that all the characters in the novel feel at some stage can be conquered. This is through companionship and George and Lennie are used in the novel t
