Of Mice And Men :: essays research papers

"A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody. Dont matter no residuum who the guy is, longs hes with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick." A major depicted object in Steinbecks novella Of Mice and Men is loneliness. The characters Crooks, Candy and Curleys wife each suffer from this although the severity of their seclusion varied. The hoar swapper, Candy was victimized by isolation as a result of two main factors, one being his disability and the other being his age. For example, through break through the book we find the farmhands out bucking the barley while Candy is left behind to sweep and clean the ranch. He lost his hand after getting it caught in a get together of machinery and as a result he is forced to stay behind. This being one of the major factors that leads to his loneliness. Furthermore, Candys age adds to his feeling of uselessness. Because he thinks that he is old he puts himself in a state of mind that handicaps him more than his missing hand ever will. He looks down on himself as an old worthless man thats wasting away his last few years. Not only is it the way that others think of him but also the way he thinks of himself that forces him to find solitude. The most evident case of loneliness is Curleys wife. No matter how hard she tried she couldnt fit in. For example, when she tried numerous times to talk to George and Lenny she was either ignored or told to leave. Because of her reputation for being a flirt none of the farmhands wanted to talk to her. It was the threat of getting in pain in the ass with Curley that caused many workers to avoid her. In addition, because of Curleys insecure feelings he neglected her and forced her to seek attention anyway she could, even it meant flirting. She was ignored by twain the farmhands and her own husband and because of this she was being forced into loneliness, the one thing she fought so hard against. Crooks is a black man that experiences isolation in terms of racism. For example, he is forced to live alone in the barn. Because the setting of this book takes place during the 1930s discrimination sadly still existed. The farmhands feel that since he is black he isnt worthy of living with the rest of them.