The Role Of Isolation In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Words: 704

Pages: 3

Open Document

John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, set in California around the 1930’s follows two men, George and Lennie, who struggle to fit into the world. The duo travel to a ranch in mid California in search of a job. The isolation that surrounds the people of the ranch in Of Mice and Men is the root of all their personal problems.
Possibly the most obvious example of isolation in Of Mice and Men is Crooks. As a black man living during segregation, he faces both physical as well as emotional separation from the rest of the world, especially his coworkers. However, some of the isolation is brought on by himself. Though once wealthy, Crooks ended up working at the ranch and lives alone in the barn, leading to his bitterness. Steinbeck states that “He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs” (67). Crooks keeping his distance without being told to indicates that he believes that people do not want him around. Furthermore, his demanding that “other people keep theirs” indicates that he himself did not with to interact with others. Perhaps his antisocial nature stems from his fear of rejection from the others. Crooks’ constant misery and loneliness is created by his pushing people away. Aanother character who tends to experience solitude is Curley’s wife. Her frustrations with life are caused by her lack of contact …show more content…
Additionally, the dream of the farm seems to be more of Lennie’s dream rather than George’s seeing that Lennie is more enthusiastic than George and Lennie is the one who has the complete fantasy about the dream. George and Lennie are not on the same page, and because Lennie is George’s only friend, the lack of a mental connection creates a wall between the two. At the end of the novel, when Lennie is dead, George’s veil of companionship disappears and George must face his

Loneliness And Alienation In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

and Alienation in “Of Mice and Men” John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men explores many recurring ideas and themes, one of the most prominent of which is alienation. Steinbeck’s characters live in a world plagued by loneliness and isolation. In the story of two migrant workers struggling to get by during the Great Depression, isolation has become the norm. Distrust is the quality of the modern world that causes people choose to live in isolation from each other. (“Of Mice and Men,” 246) racism and prejudice…

Words 1017 - Pages 5

Thematic Analysis: Of Mice And Men

Thematic Research Paper Prejudice is displayed throughout John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, through racism, sexism, and injustice towards the mentally handicapped. The prejudice towards African Americans on the ranch causes Crooks to experience loneliness and heartache. Sexist attitudes regarding beauty as a person’s most important quality causes Curley’s wife to believe attractiveness is her only asset and she needs the attention of all the men on the ranch. Lennie feels like an outcast because…

Words 1027 - Pages 5

Character Analysis Of Crooks In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

john Steinbeck’s classic novel “Of Mice And Men,” tells a realistic story of the Great Depression, as all the characters have a deep symbol of how life was like during the great depression. Throughout the novel, these rich characters show the fractured truth of the American dream. Crooks is one of these characters who struggles with simply finding someone to sympathize with. Crooks is a perfect symbol of isolation, the truth of the American Dream, and roles of society within the Steinbeck’s novel…

Words 424 - Pages 2

Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Essay

1936… the year John Steinbeck told a story that startled bookshops. “Of Mice and Men” starkly reveals – with dexterity and integrity- the anxieties and depredations of the Depression Era in Western America. Steinbeck’s divine ability to intimately describe the plight of dispirited bindle stiffs stems from his own experience in the transient workforce. In his novella, Steinbeck addresses perennial issues of the unattainability of the American Dream, human isolation and loneliness. While these issues…

Words 878 - Pages 4

True Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

the good in life, and divides its evils. Strive to have friends, for life without friends is like life on a desert island... To find one real friend in a lifetime, to keep them is a fortune.”-Baltasar Gracian. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men the importance of friendship plays a key role throughout the book. The main protagonists, Lennie and George have a mutual bond that keeps them together, no matter what happens to them. Lennie has made many decisions over the course of the book that have had…

Words 431 - Pages 2

Of Mice and Men essay

‘Of Mice and Men’ is a short novella written by John Steinbeck during the 1930’s Great Depression in America. This cataclysmic, tragic novella tells the story of two protagonist workers George Milton, A quick-witted man who is guardian and feels bounden duty to care for Lennie Small; a huge, lumbering, innocent and mentally handicapped with no ability to understand abstract concepts like death. His relationship with other characters on the ranch are therefore wrecked as our only lone female on the…

Words 1097 - Pages 5

Migrant Farm Workers

exposition of the itinerant laborer's lonely life of moving and working, Steinbeck counterposes the dream that George and Lennie share. As mentioned above, it is not just any dream, or even simply the dream of a better life” (Attell). As reflected in Of Mice and Men, farm hands had dreams of having a better life. The characters in the book’s dream, along with their real-life counterparts, are not merely a fleeting aspiration or a simple desire for material wealth, but a coping mechanism to justify their lonely…

Words 2655 - Pages 11

Migrant Farm Workers

exposition of the itinerant laborer's lonely life of moving and working, Steinbeck counterposes the dream that George and Lennie share. As mentioned above, it is not just any dream, or even simply the dream of a better life” (Attell). As reflected in Of Mice and Men, farm hands had dreams of having a better life. The characters in the book’s dream, along with their real-life counterparts, are not merely a fleeting aspiration or a simple desire for material wealth, but a coping mechanism to justify their lonely…

Words 2655 - Pages 11

Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Loneliness, isolation and exclusion impacted people in the 1930’s. John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men follows George Milton and Lennie Small on a ranch owned by Curley’s father. Curley is married to a tart referred to as Curley’s wife. Although she breaks her husband’s rules, she is supposed to be isolated in the house. An older gentleman named Candy, losses his hand in an accident and sweeps the bunkhouse, at the ranch where George and Lennie works, alongside his old dog. Another character, Crooks…

Words 1487 - Pages 6