Of Mice and Men - Loneliness and isolation

Everyone on the Ranch is Lonely
1. The men on the ranch are like orphans- George says, "They got no family"
2. The bunk house guys blow their money every Saturday night on prostitutes and booze.
  1. They go for some companionship but it doesn't stop them being lonely.
3. It's unusual for the ranchers to make friends.
  1. Most of the ranchers comment on how strange it is that George and Lennie travel together
    1. "Funny how you an' him string along together"
4. Crooks, the stable buck, lives all alone - he's segregated from the others because he's black.
  1. When Lennie pays him a surprise visit, Crooks doesn't seem to want his company.
    1. He's used to lonliness and at first he seems to find it hard to enjoy another person's company.
5. Curley is lonely even though he's married.
  1. Nobody likes him
  2. The only time you see him with his wife is when she's dead.
No One can think of an Answer
1. Lennie and George think that having their own place would solve everything
  1. But George doesn't ever really seem to think this will happen
2. Lennie and George look after each other but George still seems lonely
  1. George tells Slim, "I ain't got no people" and that he and Lennie travel together just because they're "used to each other".
3. Animals seem to provide a temporary solution to the problem of loneliness
  1. But Lennie kills all the animals he gets
  2. And Candy has his dog until it gets shot.
4. Steinbeck offers no solution to loneliness
  1. Even marriage doesn't stop people from being lonely
  2. Loneliness appears to be part of human nature
    1. It's not something the characters can change.
Looking for Companionship can be Dangerous
1. Crooks and Candy's attempt to grab hold of George and Lennie's dream
  1. Ends in Bitter disappointment for them
2. Lennie holding his animals, holding the girl's skirt in Weed, and holding on to Curleys wife
  1. Ends in tragedy
3. Curley's wife trying to get a bit of companionship by flirting&talking with the ranchers
  1. Ends in disaster for her
    1. It does the opposite

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Of Mice and Men - Loneliness and isolation

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	Created by Greta Westwood almost 11 years ago