How Does Steinbeck Portray The Theme Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men
HOW DOES STEINBECK PORTRAY THE THEME OF LONELINESS IN
“Of Mice And Men”?
Steinbeck introduces characters sequentially and in this way is able to demonstrate a recurring theme of loneliness. Loneliness comes with racism, discrimination & ageism. Marginalization is a word which so eloquently describes the happenings that transpire throughout the book: Of Mice & Men.
One character, who suffers from loneliness through intolerable discrimination, is Curley’s wife. She is discriminated against purely for being a woman; the men in the ranch demonstrate their positional hierarchy above her by offering her no respect. (QUOTE?) In the 1930’s women were regarded as being inferior to men and consequentially they were not offered the entitlement of a right to a vote in any governmental election. Characters in the story who compound her loneliness include: Candy, who discriminates against Curley’s wife verbally in the book by calling her a ‘tart’ and Curley himself, who is condescending towards his wife at best. Sadly, Her flirtatious attitude driven by her loneliness, makes other ranchmen think that she is a ‘jailbait’.(1)
Another prominent character who is also a terrible victim of loneliness in this novella is Crooks. Crooks is a victim of racism, a distinctly effective known way of marginalizing members of a community which contributes greatly to the loneliness and isolation he appears to experience throughout the story. People taunt him disrespectful and derogatory names based on his color. He is often called a ‘nigger’ in some parts of the story by both Curley’s wife and Candy. In this time, the term was cruel and stripped away a person's dignity. Back in the 1930’s, with slavery still strongly in existence in many parts of the US, black people weren’t treated respectfully and had no power over white people. Racism was so rife that women were given higher hierarchy than black men so unsurprisingly that the majority of the characters ignore Crooks. It says in
“Of Mice And Men”?
Steinbeck introduces characters sequentially and in this way is able to demonstrate a recurring theme of loneliness. Loneliness comes with racism, discrimination & ageism. Marginalization is a word which so eloquently describes the happenings that transpire throughout the book: Of Mice & Men.
One character, who suffers from loneliness through intolerable discrimination, is Curley’s wife. She is discriminated against purely for being a woman; the men in the ranch demonstrate their positional hierarchy above her by offering her no respect. (QUOTE?) In the 1930’s women were regarded as being inferior to men and consequentially they were not offered the entitlement of a right to a vote in any governmental election. Characters in the story who compound her loneliness include: Candy, who discriminates against Curley’s wife verbally in the book by calling her a ‘tart’ and Curley himself, who is condescending towards his wife at best. Sadly, Her flirtatious attitude driven by her loneliness, makes other ranchmen think that she is a ‘jailbait’.(1)
Another prominent character who is also a terrible victim of loneliness in this novella is Crooks. Crooks is a victim of racism, a distinctly effective known way of marginalizing members of a community which contributes greatly to the loneliness and isolation he appears to experience throughout the story. People taunt him disrespectful and derogatory names based on his color. He is often called a ‘nigger’ in some parts of the story by both Curley’s wife and Candy. In this time, the term was cruel and stripped away a person's dignity. Back in the 1930’s, with slavery still strongly in existence in many parts of the US, black people weren’t treated respectfully and had no power over white people. Racism was so rife that women were given higher hierarchy than black men so unsurprisingly that the majority of the characters ignore Crooks. It says in