The 1930’s was a difficult decade for most men, as they constantly struggled to find decent work. John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men,’ is set in Southern California and demonstrates the struggles which men commonly encountered. Throughout the novel a theme which is often portrayed, is that of loneliness and isolation. In the novel, the characters that are primarily affected by this feeling are; George and Lennie due to their economic status, Curley’s wife because of her gender, Crooks who is isolated because of the colour of his skin, as well as Candy who has been affected as a result of his age. The contribution of each character to the central theme of loneliness will be looked at in order to see how ‘Of Mice and Men’ illustrates the loneliness and isolation of life.
George and Lennie are isolated in the novel as a result of their economic status, the difficulty they face in trying to find stable employment, as well as Lennie’s tendency to get into trouble. George is a father-like figure for Lennie and has given up most things in his life in order to look after him. He loses every job he gets due to Lennie’s troublemaking and has given up the hopes of marriage in the future and raising a family. The two men often travel around from ranch to ranch and this is how they are isolated from the rest of the world however, as a result the two characters have formed a companionship. No matter how much trouble Lennie gets himself into, George is always there to help out and make sure he is safe, even if the consequences for George are immense. Despite the lectures he gives Lennie each time something goes wrong, they never part. When Lennie insists he can look after himself, George almost begs Lennie to stay with him, this is evident when he states, ‘No-look! I was jus’ foolin’ Lennie. ‘Cause I want you to stay with me.’ (Page 14) The two characters have formed a companionship and through this they are able to defeat the feeling of loneliness and will always have someone...