Loneliness and Dreams in Mice of men Essay

John Steinbeck wrote the novel of Mice and Men during the great depression. During this time there were few jobs which meant people had to migrate in search of jobs. This meant they were constantly moving and could not establish lasting friendships or relationships. Steinbeck portrays the loneliness and hardship felt by people living through the 1930’s American depression. He shows how the dreams of the characters were what helped them survive through this period. In this essay I will discuss the dreams and loneliness of the characters in the novel and how Steinbeck reveals each characters loneliness and dreams. George and Lennie both experience loneliness. Even though they had each other George needed somebody on his wavelength, with his level of maturity because Lennie is like a child and does not think like an adult, he is mentally retarded. One almost gets the feeling that he doesn’t want Lennie for companionship at all when he is talking to Lennie about how he would live without him. † God a ‘mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy.† Page 11 As George carries on talking of his laid back carefree lifestyle he dreams of he progressively gets angrier. It makes the reader wonder why he even stays with Lennie if he feels so overwhelmed with the responsibility of looking out for Lennie. George is a thinker he sees how bitter other men on the ranch have become through their loneliness; George knows that staying with Lennie stops him from being truly lonely. He also has protection from Lennie because he knows he is safe when he has a big guy like Lennie as his friend. Looking out for Lennie gives him a purpose, a reason, a role in his life he gets the satisfaction of knowing he is needed. ‘George fell silent. He wanted to talk.’ Page 41 This quote is from when George talks to Slim. He is happy to have the chance to talk to someone on his level of maturity. As Slim is a good listener and tries to understand the relationship between George and Lennie. Lennie doesn’t really experiences loneliness although he needs to pet something, to hold something. He always has George to look after him sees George as a father figure. George instructs him on how to behave and what to do in certain situations. ‘Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached,’ page 9 This quote is taken from when George wants to take a dead mouse away from Lennie who doesn’t want to give it up. It reveals how George has an authority over Lennie. George and Lennie’s dream is to one day own some land. They wish to live on this land and be their own boss. George no longer wants to comply with somebody else’s rules. He wants to have a purpose in working hard on the land because then he will benefit from his hard work. Whereas when working on a ranch he is working hard for somebody else’s profits. Lennie is only interested in tending to the rabbits. He just wants to be able to pet some animals. His dream fits in with George’s it doesn’t matter if he owns the land or not. Curley’s wife’s name is never mentioned she is always referred to as Curley’s wife. Steinbeck never uses her name because the other men see her as belonging to Curley, just another possession of his on the ranch Curley’s wife is the only woman on the ranch, she married Curley recently and she is still quite young. She is lonely because she has no one to confide in. When she wants to talk to the men she uses the excuse she is looking for Curley. ‘Any you boys seen Curley?’ Pg81 This quote is from when Lennie, Candy and Crooks are in Crook’s room and Curley’s wife comes in. In this chapter we know she uses the excuse she is looking for Curley as a way to talk to the men on the ranch. We know this because, after the men tell her he hasn’t been there she says ‘Think I don’t know where they all went? Even Curley. I know where they all went. ‘ Page 81 She uses this excuse every time she wants to talk to the men but she has shown that she knew exactly where he was this time. She then calls them the weak ones the ‘bunch of bindle stiffs’ but even after that she wishes to talks to them. This is because she is desperate for some company anyone to talk to. She is seen to be a ‘tart’ and ‘jail bait’ by the other men on the ranch, but she still wants to have them for company. Curley’s wife also had dream, she still has, and when she was younger she wanted to be an actress. She says how she could have been famous, rich and happy. † I coulda made somethin’ of myself.’ She said darkly, â€Å"Maybe I will yet.† Pg 93 The fact that she still hopes to fulfil her dream is rather pathetic. Her dream is very unrealistic she will never break free from her unhappy marriage. She has this dream because it is a form of escapism, she can pretend that she is not lonely and that one-day she will not have to live the way she very much dislikes. † I tell you I ain’t used to livin’ like this.† Pg 93 She reveals her dreams to Lennie when he’s on his own she finds that the men only talk to her when they are on their own. Even when Lennie is on his own he is reluctant to talk to her because of what George has said about her. Crooks is a Negro in a society that considers non-whites as sub-human. He also is partially crippled which does not help when he is living in a society that value people by their ability to provide a service. Because of his race he does not sleep in the same room as the other workers, he lives in the room where he works in and ‘ a manure pile under the window.’ Because of this Crooks spends most of his time on his own leading to a great feeling of loneliness. His only companions are his books and as he has seen people come and go he has acquired more possessions than the others have. His loneliness is revealed when he is talking to Lennie. Lennie is talking to Crooks in his room, telling him about the land they will one day own. † A guy needs somebody-to be near him.† Pg 77 Crooks reads books but because of his colour he has no friend not even somebody on his wavelength. He is on his own every night whereas all the other men share their room in the bunkhouse. Crooks is so overcome with his loneliness that he cannot hope or dream anymore. He doesn’t take any notice of Lennie’s dream because he has heard it all before. â€Å"I seen hundreds of men come by on the road†¦ An’ every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a god-damn one of ’em ever gets it. Pg 78 Although after he hears how this dream could become a reality Crooks is influenced and wants to join in. He later retracts his statement because of the way Curley’s wife treats him. † Well you keep your place, then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain’t even funny.† Pg 85 She’s racist and through her body language she shows that she has the authority over him. This is why he no longer wanted to join in with the plan of owning land. Candy is lonely because he has nobody; he only had one companion, which was his dog that he had since the dog was a puppy. Candy was very upset when his dog had to be killed. His loneliness is revealed when Carlson proposes that the dog should be shot. † Why’n’t you shoot him, candy? The old man squirmed uncomfortably.† Pg 47 The thought of Candy’s only companion being shot fills him with dread. The thought is uncomfortable. He tries many times to reason with Carlson and find a way that he can put off the death of his dog. â€Å"Candy said hopefully, ‘you ain’t got a gun.† Pg 50 The only reason he lets his dog die is because he cannot argue with Carlson. Also Slim agreed with Carlson and Slim word is the law in this play, the voice of reason. Candy is so desperate for companionship that he keeps a blind dog that is in pain from dying in a way this is an act of selfishness. Candy listens attentively while George and Lennie are talking about their dream. He offers to buy the land they need to fulfil their dream. â€Å"S’spose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hundred an’ fifty bucks I’d put in † Pg 62 Candy is very old, because of the great depression there is no job security and because of this he thinks he will be sacked soon. At this point the dream seems more real to them than it has ever been before. Before it was just a fantasy, some thing to find comfort in, but he could never actually let himself believe it. † They all sat still, all bemused by the beauty of the thing,† Pg 64 I think now their dream is more realistic but not realistic enough because George says if Lennie and he don’t spend anything they would have $450 but they are bound to spend something especially when George is interested in going to the cat house. Also the asking price is $600 it will take a lot longer for them to raise that amount of money. The great depression in America had its effect on many of the characters; money was hard to come by. Loneliness is a major theme in the novel Of Mice and Men because many of the characters suffer from this more than anything else. Loneliness kills Curley’s wife, embitters Crooks and candy although Lennie and George put it off through the fact that they have each other for companionship. â€Å"Guys like us, that work on the ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world’†¦. Lennie broke in. ‘But not us! Because †¦because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why’ Pg 14 Steinbeck doesn’t offer any answers to the character’s problem of loneliness. Showing the reader a graphic and moving portrayal of how loneliness affects people without providing an antidote or giving a happy ending makes the novel really sad. Lennie and George’s dream brought nothing but pain and grief instead of promised joy and happiness, which ties into the tittle of the book which was taken from a poem titled to a mouse by a Scottish poet called Robert Burns. This poem was about how a mouse, which had planned for the winter by making a nest, had its nest ruined by a tractor. George and Lennie planned carefully how they were going to achieve their dream of being free and independent but forces beyond their control shattered their dream. Steinbeck never suggests that dreams should not be had, Lennie and George’s dream was so powerful that Candy was drawn in and for a short time so was the cynical Crooks. This dream was what comforted Lennie and helped George survive. The dreams the characters had had to be had they were what was needed to hold on to, to survive and to work for. This period of time made people bitter because they were lonely, the only person they had to look out for was themselves, kindness had no place on the ranch. They all cried out for love and care but only Lennie openly expressed his need for it through his constant talk of rabbits. Characters like Crooks had become cynical, he had lost hope and he couldn’t dream. At first when Lennie talked of his dream Crooks thought it was another pathetic dream he was beyond imagining how everything could be. Curley’s wife’s dream was rather pathetic and quite unrealistic but it was a form of escapism for her. So she fantasised about her dream coming true but it was her way of coping when she was in an unhappy marriage that she had no way out of. It is sad to think that the loneliness that she was trying to get away from killed her in the end.