Portrayal Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men By John Steinbeck
In the novella of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, loneliness is a significant theme that considerably affects several of the main characters. George and Lennie avoid loneliness by staying together, Candy uses his dog to keep him company, and Curley’s wife acts flirtatiously because of her loneliness and desire for attention.
Firstly, George and Lennie are constantly either traveling, working, or staying together. This is one of the reasons that they have such an intimate relationship: they both, particularly George, are afraid of facing loneliness and have to stay together to prevent it. For instance, George tells Lennie that they are not like all the other ranch hands, as they have no one that cares about them. ” With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us ” (14). George does not like to realize the fact that outside of Lennie, no one would care if he were to disappear. His existence is worth nothing to anyone outside of Lennie, and this is why he attempts to keep Lennie so close to him, to make sure that he will not forget about George. Additionally, at the end of the novella when Lennie dies George is not only heartbroken because of his friend’s death, but he also experiences the feeling of loneliness now that his only true friend is dead.
Furthermore, Candy’s attachment to his dog is an example of the fear of loneliness much of the ranch hands feel. Candy has had his dog for many years, and at one point in the novella, he realizes that he will have to finally put the old dog out of his misery. When realizing this he attempts to convince the other hands that they should not kill the dog, wanting to keep him around despite his senile state. Eventually, however, Candy realizes that someone will have to put the dog down and asks Carlson to kill his dog using the Luger. After hearing a shot, signifying the death of the dog, the men turn to face Candy. “For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling. Then he rolled slowly over and faced the wall and lay silent” (49). Candy has to face the cruel feeling of loneliness when his companion for many years dies, and when he has to face this he is obviously disturbed. Following this, Candy attempts to get in on George and Lennie’s plan to create their own farm, something that he previously had no interest in. This newfound interest is sparked by Candy’s new crippling loneliness that he wants to get rid of by staying with Lennie and George.
Finally, Curley’s wife is another example of loneliness and the effects it can have on people’s actions. Curley’s wife is known around the farm as someone who is flirtatious and a “tart” (28). This behavior is assumed to be part of her character at the start of the novella, but later it is learned why she acts the way she does. This is explained as she attempts to talk to Lennie, but he refuses because George warned him not to talk to her to make sure he did not get in trouble with Curley. To persuade him Curley’s wife asks, “‘Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely’” (86). Curley’s wife goes around the farm dressed up nicely and talks to all the ranch hands not to flirt, but to avoid her loneliness caused by her sad existence on the ranch. She is the only female on the whole ranch and is married to someone she does not truly want to be with: Curley. She tells Lennie: “‘… I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fellow’” (89). Without any friends or a husband she loves she tries to find someone to get rid of her loneliness. In fact, this action is responsible for her eventual death by Lennie, as she causes Lennie to accidentally kill her while she was talking with him.
