Of Mice and Men Essay

‘Of Mice and Men’personal study

essay question;Discuss how the writer explores the main theme of loneliness in the novel and how this affects the characters.

‘Of Mice and Men’by John Steinbeck is about two young men named Lennie Small and George Milton who try and achieve the American dream. They aim to have their own farm and land and to live a better, ideal life style but it does not plan out how they wanted.At the start of the book Lennie and George’s strong friendship is instantly shown and they are almost inseparable. They have run away from a farm where they worked as Lennie got into trouble for allegedly raping a women however this accusation was incorrect. There was a lynch mob out to get Lenny so this is why they needed a new place to work.

A lot of the characters in the book are affected by loneliness and one of these characters is Crooks. The two men meet Crooks at the new place they work, he is a black stable buck and so none of the other workers want to be near or with him.

“I ain’t wanted in the bunk,and you ain’t wanted in my room...i can’t play cards because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you,you all stink to me.”

At the time the story was set when blacks were segregated from the whites and there was a lot of racism. He had his own room out in the stables next to the horses because the workers did not want to share a room with him but they said it was because he had to be near the horses to look after them. Crooks probably feels quite insecure and so he stays in his room most of the time reading books. As the other workers demanded that he stayed out of their room and space he also kept to that rule and did not want anyone in his space which meant he would only be in his own company, making him even lonelier.

A character that is lonely but does not seem to be is George. Although he has Lennie it is still as if he is alone.

“What you gonna say tomorrow then the boss asks you questions?
Lennie stopped chewing and swallowed. His face was concentrated. I...I ain’t gonna...say a word.
Good boy! That’s fine Lennie! Maybe you’re getting better.”

George can not talk to Lennie in an adult mannor as Lennie has a mental disability. George normally has to repeat himself a few times until he properly understands and will remember. Also Lennie can be quite disobedient so it is hard for George to keep him under control. As the novel progresses George makes a few friends these are Slim, Candy and Whit who also work along side him. He is glad that he can have proper conversations with people of his knowledge and intelligence. George shows true loyalty by looking after Lennie. He does this because he knows that Lennie could not look after himself and Lennie needs his guidance.

Another character that is rather lonely is Lennie. Again although he has George he still feels lonely as there is a strain on their relationship. He always tries really hard to keep George happy but most of the time he get told off by George because of certain things he does wrong.

“It’s on’ya a mouse George. A mouse?A live mouse? Uh-uh. Jus’ a dead mouse, George. I didn’t kill it. Honest! I found it dead”

Lennie shows a part of his loneliness by the desire to stroke soft things. He gets a row from George as he has a dead mouse in his pocket but Lennie tris to convince him to keep to pet. As well as soothing it also comforts Lennie when perhaps he feels alone.

One of the main characters who shows the most loneliness is Curley’s wife. Curley is the son of George and Lennie’s boss. She has no friends and nobody to talk to except her husband Curley, who is rarely around. As she feels such loneliness she goes to the bunkhouse to look

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Symbolism In Of Mice And Men