Why does George say the migrant workers who travel from farm to farm are the loneliest people in the world How are Lennie and George different from the other workers?

The Theme of Loneliness in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is set in the farmlands of Salinas Valley in California during the 1930’s. At this time there was a world wide depression caused by the Wall Street crash in America. John Steinbeck was born and brought up in Salinas California, he had lived and experienced a life of a migrant worker and that is what inspired him to write this novel (novella?). This meant he could paint a lot better picture of the place and the people for the reader to imagine.

'Of Mice and men' is about two migrant workers, Lennie and George, who work and travel together. These migrant workers had a lonesome and isolated life and the

Unemployment was high at this time and men had to move around a lot looking for work, which meant they were never in one place long enough to form relationships, so this was a very lonely existence. Steinbeck shaped the ranch where George and Lennie worked in as an isolated and primitive place. Steinbeck uses his personal experiences as a ranch worker to describe how the working men at the ranch felt in the novel. George says that ‘ranch workers are the loneliest guys in the world, and don’t belong know where’. He it is clear to see that a migrant workers life is very lonely. Steinbeck also portrays loneliness through characterisation. He uses sexism, racism and ageism to get his message across.

One example of this is when George meets the old, decaying Candy and his antiquated dog, he tells him about the ‘Black’ man called Crooks. Candy states to George ‘Give the stable buck hell. Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger’. This was typical of 1930’s America as black people were thought of as inferior to white people. This suggests that Crooks was friendless. He has his ‘own bunk in a separate nigger room’ and ‘he scattered personal possessions around the floor; for being alone he could leave things about’. Crooks is obviously suffering from racial discrimination as he is the only black man on the ranch, and is not allowed in the bunkroom with the

“A guy needs somebody-to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody...I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick” (Steinbeck 72-73), Crooks, an african american migrant worker, explains. Loneliness is a powerful theme in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Being lonely, whatever race, gender, or belief, will make anyone go to the point of insanity where it will affect you and those around you. Taking place in the 1930’s, during the time of the Great Depression. Migrant workers commonly traveled alone at the time in search of work. But George and Lennie, the main characters of this novella, are migrant workers who travel together. Steinbeck shows how these two men stand out from the others because they look out of each other. Candy, an old migrant worker, and Crooks, an african american migrant worker also play an important role in Of Mice and Men. Both of these characters reveal how George and Lennie’s relationship is different from the rest which helps them able to have the American Dream that is so desired by everyone at the time. Consequently, the theme of loneliness is revealed in the novella through the isolation felt by Candy, Crooks, and Lennie. In chapter three, an older migrant worker called Candy explains to George how he lost his hands on the ranch and was compensated with a “swapin” job and 250 dollars. Because of Candy’s older age, readers can infer that he has outlived many of his friends and family members; consequently, Candy feels all alone and longs to find a “family” before he dies. Knowing that Candy doesn’t have any remaining family helps the audience understand why he struggled so much with Carlson’s proposal to end his dog’s suffering: “ I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup...You wouldn’t think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I’ve ever seen”(44). And moments later after Slim supported Carlson’s decision to shoot the pup, Candy added, “Maybe it’d hurt him... I don’t mind takin’ care of him”(45). In this scene, Candy loses his best friend-his only friend-and this tragedy forced him to not only recognize just how much he relied on his dog for companionship, but also just how much his dog kept him going each day. At the same

A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’ books or thinkin’ or stuff like that. Sometimes he gets thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so an’ what ain’t so. Maybe if he sees somethin’, he don’t know whether it’s right or not. He can’t turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too. He can’t tell. He got nothing to measure by. I seen things out here. I wasn’t drunk. I don’t know if I was asleep. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, an’ then it would be all right. But I jus’ don’t know.

Crooks speaks these words to Lennie in Section 4, on the night that Lennie visits Crooks in his room. The old stable-hand admits to the very loneliness that George describes in the opening pages of the novella. As a black man with a physical handicap, Crooks is forced to live on the periphery of ranch life. He is not even allowed to enter the white men’s bunkhouse, or join them in a game of cards. His resentment typically comes out through his bitter, caustic wit, but in this passage he displays a sad, touching vulnerability. Crooks’s desire for a friend by whom to “measure” things echoes George’s earlier description of the life of a migrant worker. Because these men feel such loneliness, it is not surprising that the promise of a farm of their own and a life filled with strong, brotherly bonds holds such allure.

Did you know you can highlight text to take a note? x

Try the new Google Books

Check out the new look and enjoy easier access to your favorite features

Page 2