Loneliness in Of Mice and Men

solitariness in Of Mice and workforceLoneliness is an inevitable part of life, which many individuals struggle with. It is an emotional response to a lack of companionship and communication with others, which has a huge impact in ones over wholly behavior. Some impacted individuals may try to end their aloneness others become hope little and bitter. The theme of loneliness is presented in John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men. The novel Of Mice and Men portrays loneliness as a complex emotion that lots drives individuals to behavioral extremes. Steinbeck uses characters, some of the most important ones including Curleys married woman, Candy and Crooks, to reflect on the discriminative time period that ultimately lead to the characters loneliness and circumstance behaviors.Curleys wife is a major female character in Of Mice and Men and is married to Curley, a very aggressive facing pages worker that proves his maleness by fighting other workers and marrying a physic altogethery att ractive cleaning lady moreover, he was the boss son. Curley had a huge control over his wife which was very common during the Great slack, and the other workers. He had forbidden all of the workers from talking to his wife. Desperate for friends, attendance and respect, Curleys wife uses her beauty and status with Curley to her advantage. In chapter 4, she intimidated the workers in Crooks room as of closes for acquiring attention and threatened Crooks when he told her to leave his room, saying that he could get sprung up on a tree so easy, it aint even funny (Steinbeck 81). Her sweet behavior resulted in further discrimination and harassment. She was labelled as a tramp (Steinbeck 32), and other derogatory names. She felt powerless and lonely. The only mortal that Curleys wife could talk to was Lennie, because he was not conscious of her period situation. In her last moments with Lennie in the barn scene, she finally felt like she was be acknowledged and listened to. For the first time, she confessed that I don like Curley. He aint a nice fella (Steinbeck 89). She became vulnerable to her humanity and this ironically lead to her death. Curleys wife is a brilliant example of the oppression against women in the 1930s, sexism, and some of the behavioral changes that came along with being stripped of ones identity in society.There argon other reasons why people were discriminated and isolated, some of which includes ageism and ableism. Candy was the oldest ranch worker in the book, that lost his safe arm in an accident. He was discriminated because of his age and disability, and was an outcast. He had no family, except for the label he raised. His dog used to be of great usefulness, but as the dog became older, he became less useful and helpless. This resulted in him being shot by Carlson which intensify Candys loneliness. Candys dog is a prime example of the hearty issue of ageism and ableism in society at that time. Workers were expected to be succe ssful on the ranch, and if one no longer met that demand, due to age or ability to perform certain tasks, they would be dismissed and left to engender (Steinbeck 1937). Candy recognizes that the same thing will happen to him, and he tells George that Jus as soon as I cant swamp out no bunkhouses theyll put me on the county (Steinbeck 60). To escape his loneliness and eventual fate of getting kicked, Candy becames quickly invested in George and Lennies romance, offering a total of $350 towards the dream farm. Spose I went in with you guys. Thas three hundred an fifty bucks Id put in. I aint much good, but I could cook and tend the chickens and hoe the tend some. Howd that be? (Steinbeck 59). He was very attached and hooked onto the dream of the farm, and persisted to apply the farm in spite of what happened with Lennie later in the novel. The farm would commence eliminated his fear of being alone, and develop another relationship worth cherishing. His current position in society forced him to develop a special mindset to escape his destination.One of the biggest issues that was prevalent in the Great embossment was racism, which Crooks was a victim of. He was physically separated from the other men, and had expressage contact with others. As a replacement for friendship, he kept himself occupied with books. Still, he admitted that Books aint no good, and that A guy needs somebody to be near him. A guy goes nuts when if he aint got nobody (Steinbeck 72). In the Great Depression, black people faced racial discrimination and sequestration from the dominant, white culture (Pinckney, 2002). However, this was greatly exaggerated in the story as Crooks was the only black man on the ranch. Unlike Curleys wife and Candy, Crooks legitimate his role in society because he knew that he was powerless against the heavy forces of racism. He was aware that he was treated as if he was less important than the other men and did not have a role in society. This is just a nigger talkin, an a busted-back nigger. So it dont mean nothing, see? (Steinbeck 71). The sad reality of the Great Depression deprived Crooks from his right to be treated like an equal human being with self-worth and tie-up with others. His acceptance of the situation became the strongest antidote to his experience however, it intensified his loneliness.The Great Depression was a time of prejudice present in Steinbecks Of Mice and Men. Curleys Wife, Candy, and Crooks were some of the characters who be the loneliness and isolation brought on by their time period. These characters faced social issues like racism, sexism, and ageism, resembling the oppression of minority groups by the discriminatory nature of their society. for each one character recognized their loneliness, and depending on what their current situation and role in society was, they took specific actions to fight against, or cope with it. Steinbeck has made it glide by that the loneliness brought on by discrimin ation does significantly impact ones behavior, actions and mindsets. Todays generation better understands the societal implications of loneliness and discrimination. It should be societys goal to diminish all forms of discrimination and be supportive of what others go through in their lifetimes in order to lead a better, healthier, and more connected life for all. flora CitedSteinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York, Penguin, 1993.Pinckney, Shelley. Chapter 6 Race and Civil Rights The 30s and 40s. Communism in uppercase State, depts.washington.edu/labhist/cpproject/pinckney.shtml.