Loneliness

Loneliness- the only thing we all have in common, to what extent do you agree with this view Of Mice and Men? Essay Of Mice and Men is a novel that deals with experience of loneliness. Although all of the characters are lonely in different ways, they share a history that can go some way to account for the loneliness they feel. In the Depression of 1930-1939, many families were affected in many different ways. Some family members were broken up, and young men in the family had to go of and find work, often at ranches. As there was a shortage of money in families, it was very hard to get food. People became very protective over the things they owned. Suddenly it was everybodys dream to own their own house and have a good job, but the time of Depression made matters much worse. Everybodys dream involved land, to have and cultivate their own piece of land. People who went to work were constantly afraid of being sacked or canned, because work was hard to find at the time. Many people would be expected to go and find work, to earn and to be able to satisfy basic needs. Therefore, a foot could not be put in the wrong direction, or people would find themselves out of a job with no chance of fulfilling their dream. The bunkhouse is a place that illustrates some of the problems that the ranchers had in getting to know each other. We would think that the bunkhouse is a place where ranchers could come and be more open to each other, but even here, the ranchers are very secretive. They still hide their deep inner thoughts and feelings. The bunkhouse is full of people from different places and backgrounds who do not know each other. The bunkhouse is like a prison. Although the ranchers are officially free, they have to follow the same procedures at the ranch everyday. In the bunkhouse, George is playing a game of Solitaire; this is a one-man game, which symbolises the loneliness he feels. In some ways, Lennie and George can be seen to be different from the other ranchers. Unlike the others, they share a dream, to own their own land, and have a farm, and a house on the land, in which they can sit in on a cold day. Sure, wed have a little house an a room to ourself. Little fat iron stove, an in the winter wed keep a fire goin in it. Lennie is lucky to have George. He needs him to survive and needs him to keep his dream alive. Lennie dreams of getting to tend the animals especially rabbits. And I get to tend the rabbits. Lennie is a strong person only in a physical sense. He could be described as having a childs mind trapped in a mans body. Lennie kills animals by petting them too hard and does not realise this. Lennie loves the pup, but it is the strength of his love that kills the pup which Slim has given to him. Towards the end of the novel, Lennie visualises animal imagery of a rabbit. The rabbit speaks in Lennies voice, it is telling off Lennie, and tells him what a time George can have without him. Through out the novel Lennie is described as different kinds of animals. Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. Lennie is like a tamed dog while George is his ringleader. On the other hand, George is perhaps not so lucky to have Lennie. Lennie is actually the one that makes George lonely. It is on account of Lennie that they have to keep moving from ranch to ranch, so George is given a responsibility to look- after Lennie. The artfulness of courtship as displayed in three pieces of pre-twentieth century literature and Trainspotting EssayShe is lonely mainly because she is the only woman on the ranch. Curleys wife is described as having, Full rouged lips, wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little red clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers. From this description, we can tell that she is completely overdressed to be at a ranch. Though she is not a movie star, she likes to dress like one, so she can try to live her dream. Curleys wife has been known to be giving the eye to some of the ranchers. Married two weeks-and got the eye? Curleys wife is a troublemaker, she has the power to accuse the ranchers of raping her. It is because of her screaming and shouting that lead to her death. Her false accusations stop the ranchers complaining about her. Listen, Nigger She s aid. You know what I can do if you open your trap? This is the reason why the ranchers are afraid to talk to her, and for this reason they could be canned or sacked. Her sexuality is the only weapon she has to gain the ranchers attention. So most of the time shes on her own and she is the loneliest out of all the characters in the book. In conclusion, I can say that I agree with the title to an extent. However there is one character who seems to be able to cope with his loneliness in ways nobody else can. Slim the head rancher, is someone that everybody looks up to for answers, help and advice. Slim earns respect from many of the ranchers, even Curley doesnt dare to pick a fight with him. Slim is someone whose feelings and emotions are not talked about much. When he has to drown the pups, it is like he has been doing it for years and years and was used to it. She slang her pups last night, said Slim. Nine of em. I drowned four of em right off. Slim is a very caring character, he understands what the other ranchers go through. When George kills Lennie, we know this is the right thing to do because Slim tells him, You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Meanwhile, the other ranchers did not understand that the death of Lennie had affected George. Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin them two guys? They were just ready to have a drink. To sum up Slim, I could say that he is his own man and therefore unemotional. On the other hand, he does not show his feelings and emotions. He is someone who would get the last say, because his words are reliable. Slim is someone who is lonely from the inside, this is because he has locked all his feeling and emotions up. On the outside, Slim has many friends who look up to him, and in this sense he is not lonely. At the end of the book, Slim offers George a drink. This could be a sign that he is also offering him his friendship. As such then, this maybe an indication that the novel ends in a positive note-that George may finally have found the kind of companion he needs.