Lonely Characters In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

After leaving home and basically forcing herself into a loveless marriage, she states that she isn’t in love with her husband. ” I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella”. (89) Throughout the course of the book, Curley’s wife spends most of her time “looking for Curley” when in reality she’s just looking for someone to talk to.

(87). This shows how since she is the only woman she is isolated from everybody else and feels very lonely. The setting of the novel takes place before the civil rights movement. So Crooks, being the only African-American man on the farm plays a huge part on his isolation. In the text Crooks says, “‘I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse...

While reading this book a few things were noticed like the number of characters who were experiencing loneliness. Although none of the characters really know each other they still have one thing in common and that’s their need of companionship. In my essay I’ll be explaining how each one needs a companion. The characters Lennie, Curley’s wife, and Crooks all exemplify loneliness and isolation.

Crooks explains, “ A guy needs somebody- to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody”. Crooks isn’t allowed to play cards or enter the bunkhouse. ”Why aren’t you wanted”? Lennie asks “Because i'm black, they play cards in there, but I can’t because i'm black.

Albert Schweitzer once said, “We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness.” Undoubtedly, Albert Schweitzer’s quote can be referred to Curley’s wife in the novel Of Mice and Men, and John Steinbeck’s message about loneliness. Without a doubt, Curley’s wife, from Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is a lonely character who fails to find companionship, and depicts Steinbeck’s message about loneliness. Certainly, Curley’s wife was in search of a companion throughout the novel.

What Curley’s wife says in this quote further exemplifies how she is misunderstood and simply lonely. She is not trying to cause trouble by talking to other people and is just trying to interact with other men since she feels lonely and not because she wants to flirt with them. In addition to her isolation, the conflict between her wanting to live a desirable life and her inability to do such, is evident in the novel as she expresses her dissatisfaction with her life with Lennie and talks about her failed dreams and aspirations to become an actress, saying “"Well, I ain't told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought'n to. I don'like Curley.

Crooks was very lonely because he was isolated from everybody else due to the color of his skin. He was the only colored man around which left him without anyone to talk to because of how prevalent racism was, Steinbeck described him by saying, “... Crooks was a proud, aloof man. He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs.” (Steinbeck, 67).

Loneliness was a big thing in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, especially with the characters George, Curley 's wife, and Crooks. In the book, Crooks showed he was lonely, Curley 's wife actually admitted she was lonely, and in George 's actions he was lonely. Crooks didn’t have anyone who was equal to him, George didn’t have anyone he related too, and Curley’s wife just couldn’t talk to anyone. They were all lonely in different ways. If you see a lonely person, make an effort to talk to them, no matter if they’re a different skin, if they are a different gender, or if you don’t even relate to them.

We all may have had the feeling of loneliness and isolation, wanting companionship feeling abandonment. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, there are men living on a ranch having their own reasons for loneliness or being isolated. The three characters Crooks, George, and Lennie crusade dealing with own ways of loneliness and isolation. Crooks has no one that likes him because he’s black, Lennie struggles mentally and George struggles with always having to care for him. They all can’t decide whether it is that they want to be alone or not.

Seems like they ain’t none of them cares about how I gotta live. I tell you I ain’t used to livin’ like this. I coulda made something of myself” (88). Furthermore, Curley’s wife dreams of doing things in life and by marrying Curley those dreams were put on hold. So, as of right now she is not happy with what her life has become.

Lennie asked Crooks “Why Ain’t you wanted?” Crooks replied “Cause I’m black” he also told Lennie, “I tell ya a guy gets lonely and he gets sick.” The explanation supports the fact that Crooks was plagued by loneliness and alienation and he wanted

“In utter loneliness a writer tries to explain the inexplicable.” -John Steinbeck. Loneliness can be affected by many things and can affect many things. Curley’s wife is a character whose actions are debatably driven by the feeling of loneliness. Some think her actions are driven solely by her personality and moral values.

Loneliness and isolation is an ongoing theme throughout the novel Of Mice and Men, experienced by several characters to different degrees. Some characters are more isolated and lonely than others, yet every character in the story goes through this theme during one point in the story. There are various reasons why each character is lonely or isolated. In general, all the ranch workers feel some sort of loneliness because they move alone from ranch to ranch and do not have real connections with others, Curley’s wife experiences this theme because she is the only woman on the ranch and nobody wants to interact with her because Curley is very protective and hostile of her. Thirdly, Candy struggles through being lonely and isolated after Carlson shot his dog and because Candy does not work with the others since he is a swamper.

A key aspect of any novel or story is the way the characters interact and feel towards everything. In John Steinbeck’s, “Of Mice and Men”, the characters tend to give off the effect of loneliness and the feeling of isolation throughout the novel. The main characters that give off the effect of loneliness and the feeling of isolation are Curley’s wife, Crooks, and George. They’ve been truly alone, if not in mind then in body.

First, loneliness is the sadness caused by having no friends or company, and friendship is a state of mutual trust and support between people, they are polar opposites, yet a person may acclaim to have both. For example today a person may have a friend, or many, but still will face loneliness in their life in one way or another. This is shown in Of Mice and Men periodically throughout the novel, knowing this the reader is challenged with such themes, the enticing beauty of friendship between George and Lennie, and the gloomy dreaded idea of loneliness shown by Curley’s wife, Candy, Crooks, and again Lennie. Among these characters the reader may also feel a connection between themselves and the characters, even though the world now and during the publication of Of Mice and Men has changed a lot. The world has reformed, and developed exponentially so, however friendship and loneliness is still a facet of everyday