Of Mice And Men: Analyzing Loneliness

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Pages: 7

Analyzing Loneliness

Loneliness, a state of sadness due to no friends or company. Causing isolation and neglect, and even results in lack of friends. All around the world, there are people who suffer from loneliness, for they have no one to call theirs. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George, a very short yet sharp man and his companion Lennie, a very large, shapeless man with intellectual disabilities work from farm to farm in California during the Great Depression. George and Lennie both dream of having a small ranch of their own, but Lennie always does something wrong which forces them to run away. When they settle on one ranch specifically, no troubles occur until Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife. Because George wants
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During this time, racial inequality caused almost all African-Americans to feel neglected, which includes Crooks. Crooks tries to maintain his room somewhat organized, especially his books because they keep him company, unlike any of the men on the ranch. By working alone all day and having a room to himself where he only sleeps and reads, Crooks suffers from severe isolation. Because no one talks to him, Crooks relies on books to keep him company, but even he knows a conversation beats reading books when trying to overcome loneliness. When talking to Lennie, Crooks tells him, “S’pose you had to sit out here an’ read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody-to be near him,” to make Lennie understand that he desires a close friendship with someone (72). He even claims that “a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick,” to put his life into someone else’s perspective for once (73). Crooks lets out all his complaints of being lonely to Lennie, the only character who truly talks to him. At first, Crooks acts as if he wants Lennie to leave him be, but once he gives in to letting him stay, he makes it obvious that he loves to befriend any company possible. Only the outcasts of the story try to befriend Lennie, including Crooks. When he attempts having a nice conversation with Lennie, he angers …show more content…
Instead, she married a rude man, Curley, and moved to the ranch his father owns, where no one talks to her due to the fear of Curley’s jealousy. When George and Lennie first arrive on the ranch, she invites herself inside their room, but George immediately tells her to leave. She claims she lost Curley, but stays in the bunkhouse when she realizes he had already left. Being reluctant to leave, Curley’s wife tries conversing with both George and Lennie, but they purposely ignore her. However, she continues to talk to them even though they have rejected her. Towards the middle of the story, all men except for Lennie, Crooks, and Candy go to the town. The men left behind all found themselves in Crooks’ room later in the night, and Curley’s wife came in, once again uninvited. She insults all of them by calling Crooks a “n*****,” Candy a “lousy ol’ sheep,” and Lennie a “dum-dum” (78). She acts as though she hates their presence, but when Crooks and Candy tell her to leave, she refuses to. Instead, she threatens to have Crooks lynched and reminds Candy that no one listens to him no matter what he says. Curley’s wife tries to casually talk to everyone on the ranch, but never succeeds, which upsets her. Whenever she faces rejection, her instinct to stay, results in her upsetting those around her, which makes her loneliness