Of Mice and Men Essay on Loneliness
Honors English 9
10 March 2014
Of Mice and Men Literary Analysis Essay on Loneliness “Actually, feeling lonely has little to do with how many friends you have. It 's the way you feel inside. Some people who feel lonely may rarely interact with people and others who are surrounded by people but don 't feel connected” (Karyn Hall 2013). Truthfully, loneliness is something almost all people fear. It 's a deeper feeling then just being isolated. It 's feeling distant or disconnected from others. Loneliness is so much more than just feeling secluded, it 's feeling rejected by society, or even like an outcast. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck suggests that there is a deeper meaning to being lonely than just the superficial sense of loneliness. This is portrayed through Crooks, Candy, and Curley 's Wife. Crooks portrays the feeling of loneliness through his rejection from society due to his skin color and through his cantankerous ways when others try to reach out to him. He shows his loneliness when Lennie is talking to him in Crooks 's room. Crooks is telling Lennie about how it feels to be black and how excluded and isolated he feels: “ 'Books ain 't no good. A guy needs somebody—to be near him. [. . .] A guy goes nuts if he ain 't got nobody. Don 't make no difference who the guy is, long as he 's with you. [. . .] I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely an ' he gets sick '” (Steinbeck 72). Crooks tells Lennie, “Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to go read books” (Steinbeck 72). This tells Lennie that Crooks feels singled out because of his skin color and that he does not want to be lonely anymore. Additionally, he does not want to just read books by himself at night; he would rather be talking to someone who will listen to him. Furthermore, Crooks does not want to be isolated and excluded from the rest of the workers because of his skin color; he wants to be included and not have to sleep in his own, separate room. Later on in the
10 March 2014
Of Mice and Men Literary Analysis Essay on Loneliness “Actually, feeling lonely has little to do with how many friends you have. It 's the way you feel inside. Some people who feel lonely may rarely interact with people and others who are surrounded by people but don 't feel connected” (Karyn Hall 2013). Truthfully, loneliness is something almost all people fear. It 's a deeper feeling then just being isolated. It 's feeling distant or disconnected from others. Loneliness is so much more than just feeling secluded, it 's feeling rejected by society, or even like an outcast. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck suggests that there is a deeper meaning to being lonely than just the superficial sense of loneliness. This is portrayed through Crooks, Candy, and Curley 's Wife. Crooks portrays the feeling of loneliness through his rejection from society due to his skin color and through his cantankerous ways when others try to reach out to him. He shows his loneliness when Lennie is talking to him in Crooks 's room. Crooks is telling Lennie about how it feels to be black and how excluded and isolated he feels: “ 'Books ain 't no good. A guy needs somebody—to be near him. [. . .] A guy goes nuts if he ain 't got nobody. Don 't make no difference who the guy is, long as he 's with you. [. . .] I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely an ' he gets sick '” (Steinbeck 72). Crooks tells Lennie, “Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to go read books” (Steinbeck 72). This tells Lennie that Crooks feels singled out because of his skin color and that he does not want to be lonely anymore. Additionally, he does not want to just read books by himself at night; he would rather be talking to someone who will listen to him. Furthermore, Crooks does not want to be isolated and excluded from the rest of the workers because of his skin color; he wants to be included and not have to sleep in his own, separate room. Later on in the
Cited: Karyn, Hall, Ph. D. "Pieces of Mind." Accepting Loneliness. N.p., 13 Jan. 2013. Web. 1 Mar. 2014. . Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. Print. Hall, Karyn. “Accepting Loneliness”.