Great economic Depression And Of Mice And Men Essay

In 1929, the US entered a period of Great economic Depression from it only emerged with the onset of the Second War in 1939. During this period, there was long-term unemployment, so workers needed to go to California where there was still some short-term, poorly remunerative contract counterpane works available. They were not educated therefore they had got no right and could be plunder at any time. They travelled from scatter to cattle ranch to get jobs. This lifestyle forced ranch workers to deem moving and got no chance of making friend and keeping contact with their families. There was also a lot of competition, which put workers under pressure about whether they were good enough.They live isolated lives and argon disoriented from each new(prenominal) because are rivals. They are struggling to survive in a hostile world. all of these factors list all the lineaments lonely in Of Mice and Men. Between them, there are some characters who are very lonely because they are disadvantaged, Crooks, hes black glaze over, because he is erstwhile(a) Curley, because he has to a greater extent security than others and his wife, as she is the only woman on the ranch. They are the victims of the strange society. In this essay I will be investigating the reasons why these characters are lonely in much depth by looking at each character more perplexityfully.Crooks is probably the loneliest character in the book because he is very dissimilar from other ranch workers. He is old, disabled and the only black man in the book who lives in a racism society. As a result of this, he is isolated in his have got room in the barn and is not allowed to go into or stay in the bunkhouse with the other ranch workers. Therefore he has no one to talk to. Though other workers knew that he reads a lot and has more knowledge and thinks deeper, they bustt listen to his opinions. If I say something, why its just a nigger saying it. P102Instead they take advantage of his disabilit y this is shown when they beat him up at Christmas. The racism society gives Crooks no chance of making friend. Crooks tries to get his own back for the agency the white men treat him by keeping a distance between him and the other men. save obviously he recent the fact that he isnt want in the bunkhouse. This makes it even harder to make friends. This is revealed by his words when Lennie comes to his room.I own(prenominal)t treasured in the bunkhouse, and you aint wanted in my room. just gradually he is defeated by Lennies innocent smile and lets his take for down. This is because in his heart he knows that coping with bleakness is no good by reading books, he needed a friend to be near him and talk to him.Suppose you didnt set out zilch A guy needs soulfulness -to be near him a guy goes nuts if he aint got goose egg I tell you a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick.A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin books or thinking or stuffs like thatIf some guy was wit h me, he could tell me I was sleep. An then it would be all right. But I just dont know.This quote from the same page of the book also shows you Crooks feelings of loneliness. When Lennie and dulcify started to talk about the dream Crooks storeyed out that this dream was shared by thousand of ranch workers barely none of them ever succeed in reality but just for a moment he suspends his disbelief long enough to wish to share the dream, though he was immediately reminded his position by Curleys wife words and shut by Georges anger as he doesnt think that any white people would treat him decently. From the facts above, we could see the reasons of why Crooks are lonely. glass is an old and disabled character in the book. He is quite similar to Crooks and is very lonely because he is different too. He lost his hand in an accident and was only kept on by the top dog out of guilt. He has no relatives, no friends and his only repose is his old dog, which keeps him company and reminds him of the days when he was young and whole. Candy is not interested in the things the other guys talk about. For instanceI aint interest in nothing you was saying. A guy on a ranch dont never listen nor he dont ast no questions.But when his only comfort has gone was shot by Carlson, he is all told alone and eagerly clutches at the nous of buying a farm with George and Lennie. This is shown below when George started to talk about the dreamOld pratdy dour slowly over. His eyes were wide open. He watched George carefully.The reason for this change is, Candy himself is very similar to his dog, they some(prenominal) old and disabled, from the shooting of his old dog, Candy knows that when he cant work any more he will be turned away from the ranch. He will haveI got trouble four years ago. Theyll can me purty soon, jus as soon as I cant deluge out no bunk-houses theyll put me on the county When they can me here I wisht somebodyd shoot me. But they wont do nothing like that.At thi s situation, Candy needs something to look forward to, so when he heard about the dream between George and Lennie he found that this is the thing he needed. But of course this all comes to nothing.As the inevitability of the fall of the dream, Candy would certainly be disappointed. The dream ends in a miserable way.You and me can get that little place, cant we, George? You an me can get that little place, cant we, George Cant we?Before George answered, dulcify dropped his head and looked down at the hay, he know.Then- its all off? And Ill have fifty dollar bill buck more.Candys words show that he realises that the end of Lennie means the end of the dream, without Lennie George hasnt got the heart to go on. There are so many cant we in his row telling us he wants George to tell him he is wrong. But the reaction of George confirms this completely.The sadness is expressed in the bitter words he uttered to the body of Curleys wife, whom he blames for spoiling the dream or more accu rately, his hope of a future. You god bird tramp You done it, didnt you? I spose youre glad you lousy tart.Curley is the character who is described as a wretch by John Steinbeck. It may be argued that he must be not lonely because he is the knobs son and had been married for two weeks, has a family and a lot of thing that other ranch workers wanted to have. But actually he is very lonely. As he has more security (he was never worried about being fired), other ranch workers dont mix with him so he has no one to talk to. The macho male society makes him fell that if a guy doesnt appear to be tough and strong, others will put something on him and laugh at him. It is even worse for him that he chooses the wrong way to earn respect-by fighting and be aggressive. But other workers know that he is a coward and despise him for the tension atmosphere he creates.What does he got on his shoulder? GeorgeYou god damn punk, you tries to throw a scare into Slim, an you couldnt make it stick. S lim threw a scare into you. Youre yella as a frog belly. I dont care if youre the best welter in the coun undertake. You come for me, an Ill kick your God damn head off.He has no friends, to overcome his loneliness, he married a pretty young woman but has blindly chosen the wrong soul whom totally inappropriate for the kind of life he leads. He forbids his wife to talk to other ranch workers, as he is scared that she may have an affair with one of the other men which makes her abhor him and others more despise to him. Consequently, his feelings are all channelled into aggressive behaviour in order to deal with his loneliness but this leads to his feeling lonelier because the others dont want to be with him.Curleys wife is another character who is lonely. She is newly married, lives in a strange place, and does not seem to fit in on the ranch as being the only woman. She and Curley do not love each other both of them try to overcome their own loneliness by the marriage. But unfortu nately, both have chose the wrong person. She hates Curley because of his aggressiveI dont like Curley, he aint a nice fella.One point that needs to be mentioned here is that she is the only character who is never given a name in the book and is only referred to as Curleys wife. It appears that John Steinbeck passes a message from this that she is not seen as a person at all by other characters, but an object which Curley thinks he owns.You gotta husban. You got no call foolin around with other guys, causing trouble.Whynt you tell her to stay the sin home where she belongs?Her situation is just like Crooks no one is sensitive about her feelings. This makes her feel irate with the men especially at Curley.Whatta they think I am, anyways.Seems like they aint none of them care how I gotta live.Further more, she has been forbidden by Curley to talk to anyone but him, as he doesnt effrontery her.I get lonely, you can talk to people, but I cant talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. Howd you like not to talk to anybody?To counter this, she keeps approaching the ranch reach with the excuse that she is looking for Curley or something she lost.Think I dont like to talk to somebody ever once in a while? Think I like to sit in that house alla time?The only result is, the men regard her as a slut. But in her eyes, that is the way she is supposed to be.Candy I think Curleys married a tart.Whit Well, aint she a looloo?Curleys aggressive behaviour leads others to avoid her and this further isolated her and she approaches the ranch hand more frequently therefore Curley becomes even more jealous and aggressive. This leads to her feeling lonelier. Finally her loneliness leads to her end as she makes a serious error of trying to overcome it by playing the tease with Lennie as she is pleased that Lennie beat Curley and impressed by his size and strength, but she didnt realise the extent and peril of Lennies mental disability.George and Lennie are also caught in the t rap of loneliness this is because they are different as they have a strong friendship. They travelled together and trust each other and share a dream of owning a farm whereas other ranch workers travelled alone and had no strong relationships with others and have nothing to look forward to. Georges loneliness could be reflected by the words that he uses a lot of swearing and the fact that he needs the dream to keep him going. Just as glass over has his dog for company, George has Lennie (who is often described in animal-like terms). Both companions died and George and candy are left completely alone. Lennie totally relies on George and couldnt survive without George, but on the other hand, George somehow needs Lennie to overcome his own loneliness. It is revealed by Crooks words with great understanding he tells us of the importance of Lennie.I dont blame the guy you travel with for keeping you outa sight.Its just the talking. It just being with another guy. Thats all.Maybe it is j ust talking but this is an enough reason of keeping Lennie as company for George.In conclusion it is clear that all of the characters in Of Mice and Men are lonely. Their loneliness is the evitable result of the society, which is make by the Great Depression. Crooks, for instance is suffered deeply from the racism society. No one is trying to make friends with him in the beginning the visit of Lennie except Slim. Candy, Curley and his wife are the victims of the macho male society. They all have dreams but none of them realise them and get nothing at the end.