Isolation theme in of rodents and men essay

Solitude is the a sense of isolation – Steinbeck defines this motif by representing effectively through key imaginary characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’. By residing in the town of ‘Soledad’ (Spanish for loneliness), the audience gets an overwhelming feeling of the depressing environment that the migrant employees are living through by their repeated lifestyle as well as the consequences that they face throughout the Great Depression (1930’s – 1940’s) and the Dustbowl. Even through hard work and prosperity the American fantasy is unachievable. The four loneliest matrimonios in this new are Curley’s wife, Crooks, Candy and George & Lennie.

Although they all wish to target success, and achieve the American wish: the idealistic fantasy of individual liberty, independence and self-reliance they each have to face loneliness to get there.

The theme loneliness is most unhealthy in Crook’s character. Thieves was introduced in chapter 4 plus the first term used to illustrate him: the negro plainly tells us that he is separated due to competition which leads us to the concept of the loneliness, in those times black everyone was always separated and discriminated because of the segregation law.

He is likewise housed together with the animals treating him just like he is one of them. This is displayed by Steinbeck’s language of setting as Crooks comes from a ‘little shed that leaned off the beaten track of the barn’ to indicate that he is weak to survive in the world. He also offers ‘a mauled copy from the California civil code for 1905’ which will conveys that despite Criminals being enthusiastic and strong to obtaining a prosperous existence, his life will never be the same. The past has gone behind him and nothing can easily protect him from his isolation and loneliness.

Though Steinbeck demonstrates loneliness made Crooks nasty by adding Candy and Lennie inside the same placement as he is definitely making Lennie think in the event that ‘s’pose you have to nobody’ And also this, his race makes him more vulnerable and confronted with others easily. “S’pose you didn’t have got nobody. S’pose you could not go into the hokum house and play rummy ’cause you was dark. How’d you prefer that? S’pose you had to sit down out right here an’ read books. Be certain to could perform horseshoes till it got dark, then again you got to read books. Ebooks ain’t no good. A guy requires somebody-to become near him. A guy should go nuts in the event he ain’t got no one. Don’t help to make no difference who the guy is, long’s she has with you. We tell ya, I notify ya some guy gets as well lonely an’ he gets sick”. Steinbeck says this kind of to show us that race was the main reason why Thieves was depressed and isolated and that he works for nothing, as long as he could communicate with others.

Curley’s partner is lonesome in many ways. She actually is flirtatious numerous of the guys on the ranch because she feels trapped within a world of males and a relationship which is lacking in love and companionship. The lady was born unhappy and women had been considered as handicap in 1930’s America, which is harsh although Steinbeck shows this extremely effectively. Curley’s wife`s appearance may make her as an incredibly attractive person, having ‘full rouged lip area and wide-spaced eyes’ and her American dream makes her even more vulnerable to her loneliness. “Think I don’t like to talk to a person ever’ once in a while? “Why can’t I talk to you? I actually never get to talk to no one. I acquire awful lonely” shows all of us that she’d like to speak to someone every now and then and is seriously lonely from this ranch world where there is no one to support her. Why is her more exposed is a constant reddish colored imagery employed in her presence which not merely represents a desire for relationship in her life (which is failed by Curley for her loneliness has made her disappointingly upset) but the sign of warning and danger in her your life.

Not only this, although Curley’s better half is vulnerable because this wounderful woman has no brand which in a sense suggests that this wounderful woman has no strong identity for the ranch and is treated as being a social equipment. So similarly to Crooks, her loneliness has made her bitter and more manly which is shown towards the end of Section four and is also now cared for as ‘ma’am’ by Thieves. Candy is known as a prime manifestation of remoteness and loneliness. Firstly, it seems his handicap has brought him down by the ranchmen as they lost his right palm which demonstrates he just isn’t practical in the ranch. She has the most well-known on the ranch by being a ‘tall, stoop-shouldered old man’ and having the most experience on the farm. Yet it seems that the depression has struck on the shoulders for his look on life has been brought straight down knowing it appears that age and disability has made him susceptible against the harsh reality of isolation in 1930’s America. Secondly, this individual lost his only trustworthy companionship due to old age and decay right now he’s really vulnerable and thinks that he is going to die quickly as well due to his aged age- “You seen the actual done to my dog tonite?

They says he was not no good to himself nor nobody more. When they can me in this article I wisht somebody’d take me…” “And they give myself two hundred and fifty us dollars ’cause We lost me. An’ I got fifty more saved up right in the bank right now. Which three hundred…” He is quickly willing to provide every penny that he’s worth to join in George and Lennie’s desire and break his extreme loneliness in the life and leave behind his isolated unpleasant ranch existence. Contrasting using these character types, George + Lennie really are a strong companionship coming into the ranch with high anticipations.

However George feels like this individual has a burden on his shoulder muscles and has to look after someone who does not have the same mental ability just like him. So , for him it feels such as a job rather than a partner or possibly a friend that may give him bravery and expect in the future. His dream about his farm is usually his attempt to breaking the solitude in his world. “Guys just like us basically on ranches are the loneliest guys on the globe. They received no friends and family. They no longer belong to zero place”, “I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone” simply by these two quotations Steinbeck suggests that the farm itself is actually a lonely place and recover the heroes are lonely themselves which in turn builds up the isolation.

Furthermore Lennie’s prefer to pet smooth things comes from his ought to feel safe and secure, to touch something that provides him that feeling of not being alone on the globe. For Lennie, the desire the farm parallels that security. Lennie is not alone, he knows that he features George to address him and says that George would not leave him no matter what. He’s not as lonesome as various other characters yet is still frightened and sacred of this world which he can’t manage. Even though George and Lennie are always together they are even now lonely mainly because George is a lot like a care taker and for Lennie, George is like a boss and a person to take purchases from rather than companion.

Total, George & Lennie, Curley’s Wife, Crooks and Candy are affected by the harsh reality of loneliness which in turn Steinbeck gives emotionally through setting and their own disabilities in 1930’s America- be it racism, sexism or not able to perform useful skills. Even with their American Dream, Steinbeck shows that this kind of only makes it the more weak against the extensive world ahead of them in a lonely town known as ‘Soledad’. We see this kind of isolation arrive altogether in Chapter four when the hacienda hands get into town about Saturday night time to ease their very own loneliness with alcohol and ladies. Similarly, Lennie and Candies go into Crook’s room to look for someone to speak with, and later Curley’s wife comes for the same explanation – Solitude.

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