The Theme of Loneliness in Of Mice and Men Steinbe Essay Example For Students

The Theme of Loneliness in Of Mice and Men Steinbe Essay ck Of Mice and Men EssaysThe Theme of Loneliness in Of Mice and Men The theme of loneliness is a dominant theme in john Steinbecks Of Mice and Men. He shows it in a variety of ways ranging from Crooks not wanting Lennie to leave his room to Curleys loveless marriage, even down to candy and his dog and George and Lennie. Crooks is forced into isolation and loneliness because of the colour of his skin. As Crooks himself says to Lennie Spose you couldnt go into the bunkhouse and play rummy `cause you was black a guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody. This is the reason he is so desperate for Lennie to stay and talk to him, and is so overjoyed after spending years of near complete isolation to find that Lennie will talk to him despite his race. One of the points Steinbecks makes about loneliness is what people will do to avoid it. A prime example of this is Curleys virtually loveless marriage. We will write a custom essay on The Theme of Loneliness in Of Mice and Men Steinbe specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Curleys wife marries because she realises that there isnt anyone else in town and that she would be all alone without him. This is ironic however as she dooms herself to an even lonelier life at Curleys jealous hand. The very fact that she doesnt even have her own name suggests that she isnt an individual by herself but a possession of Curleys and that there is more ownership between them then companionship. Last but most importantly is Steinbecks argument that there are times when the need for companionship becomes selfish and starts to harm another being. His two examples of this are Candy and his dog and George and Lennie. Candy loves his dog and would have been alone for many years had it not been for him. This is why Candy keeps him alive cant bear to put him down even though it would be best for his dog. As Carlson says You aint bein kind to him keepin him alive. Georges relationship with Lennie is very similar. In fact Steinbecks goes so far as to describe Lennie as though he is a dog Lennie covered his face with huge paws. This is also the reason George shoots Lennie. He realizes that were he to keep Lennie alive it would be more for his sake then for Lennies. Steinbeck displays the theme of loneliness and what people are willing to do to avoid it in a variety of ways.