Of Mice and Men - The theme of loneliness

Liz Tulloch

Practise Essay

Of Mice and Men – The theme of loneliness

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is set in the farmlands of Salinas Valley in California during the 1930’s. At this time there was a world wide depression caused by the Wall Street crash in America. John Steinbeck was born and brought up in Salinas California, he had lived and experienced a life of a migrant worker and that is what inspired him to write this novel (novella?). This meant he could paint a lot better picture of the place and the people for the reader to imagine.

'Of Mice and men' is about two migrant workers, Lennie and George, who work and travel together. These migrant workers had a lonesome and isolated life and the only thing that keeps them going is the ‘American Dream’. The ‘American Dream’ is the idea of an individual overcoming all obstacles and beating all odds to one day become successful. In George’s and Lennie’s case the idea that one day they will own and “live off the fatta the lan’”.

There are several clearly identified themes running through the novel, one of the main being loneliness. Steinbeck raises questions in the mind of the reader that the novel would be based on loneliness immediately from the beginning of the novel. The first line read ‘A few miles south of Soledad’. This is a clever idea by Steinbeck as ‘Soledad’ means loneliness in Spanish. The title ‘Of Mice and Men’ may be seen as a warning for the whole novel as it came from Robert Burn’s poem ‘To a mouse’ which translates as “No matter how well we plan for the future, things often go wrong”.

The setting of Steinbeck’s novel is very important in relation to loneliness. It was set in 1929, around the time New York Wall Street crash stock market collapsed, resulting in the dollar becoming worthless. Unemployment was high at this time and men had to move around a lot looking for work, which meant they were never in one place long enough to form relationships, so this was a very lonely existence.

Steinbeck shaped the ranch where George and Lennie worked in as an isolated and primitive place. Steinbeck uses his personal experiences as a ranch worker to describe ...

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Steinbeck shaped the ranch where George and Lennie worked in as an isolated and primitive place. Steinbeck uses his personal experiences as a ranch worker to describe how the working men at the ranch felt in the novel. George says that ‘ranch workers are the loneliest guys in the world, and don’t belong know where’. He it is clear to see that a migrant workers life is very lonely.

Steinbeck also portrays loneliness through characterisation. He uses sexism, racism and ageism to get his message across.

One example of this is when George meets the old, decaying Candy and his antiquated dog, he tells him about the ‘Black’ man called Crooks. Candy states to George ‘Give the stable buck hell. Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger’. This was typical of 1930’s America as black people were thought of as inferior to white people. This suggests that Crooks was friendless. He has his ‘own bunk in a separate nigger room’ and ‘he scattered personal possessions around the floor; for being alone he could leave things about’. Crooks is obviously suffering from racial discrimination as he is the only black man on the ranch, and is not allowed in the bunkroom with the other man because of his colour. Crooks therefore could be seen to be a very lonely character in the novel.

Steinbeck also uses Candy to portray loneliness. The disconsolate Candy becomes lonely after his beloved dog gets shot. The men on the ranch describe the dog as a ‘stinking hound’ and an ‘old bastard’. Candy feels dejected as he says ‘I wish somebody would shoot me when I become useless’’. This proves that Steinbeck describes Candy as a lonely character as he believes he has no reason to live.

Perhaps the loneliest character, which Steinbeck creates in the novel, is Curley’s Wife. She is the only female character on the ranch and although she is married, the reader never gets to witness the distinct couple of Curley and his wife together; they are always searching for each other. Curley's wife is lonely and as a result

Perhaps the loneliest character, which Steinbeck creates in the novel, is Curly's wife. She is the only female in the ranch and although she is married, you never witness the distinct couple of Curly and his wife together; they are always searching for each other. Curly's wife is lonely and, as a result of this, she was endlessly trying to make friends with George and Lenny. She tries to convince Lennie to speak to her despite what George was declaring. Curly's wife remarked, "You can talk to me, don't listen to George". But, Lenny didn't agree with what she has to say. Another piece of evidence, to suggest that Curly's wife is lonely is that she had no name. This proves that no one ever stays long enough to get to know her. Curly's wife also flirts with the male workers of the ranch to seek attention. The workers think she is a "tart" but she also could be seen an insecure, lonely woman and this is shown when she tells Lennie "I never get to talk to anyone, or else, Curly gets mad". My personal opinion is that Curly's wife married Curly for company, not for love. (allowed to put own comment in?!)

Steinbeck illustrates Slim to say to George and Lenny "I've never seen a couple like you two before. It is not normal in this area". You never read about Slim in abundance which must also indicate he is a lonely character.

Another example which Steinbeck uses to illustrate why these men are lonely was when Whit describes that he has a friend who was in a magazine; he said, "Do you remember Bill Tenner. He worked here three years ago?" This emphasizes how these ranch workers never developed relationships.

Steinbeck uses George and Lennie as a contrast because they are the only people to have anyone to talk to. To demonstrate this, Lenny exclaimed "But not us because.........because I got you to look after me and you have got me to look after you and that's why".

The last line that Steinbeck wrote read, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys". Curly is not used to being with someone for so long therefore he does not understand why they were depressed after Lennie gets killed.

In conclusion, John Steinbeck expertly portrays the theme of loneliness in "Of Mice and Men" in an interesting and original manner. He portrays loneliness through characterisation, setting and discrimination. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel.

Miss sale, I am not that happy with this essay! But it’s what I did in 45mins/1 hour so I didn’t want to add to much more without your help, just in case I couldn’t fit it in, in the real exam. How long is the lit exam? And what can I do to improve it?