Consider the theme of loneliness Essay

Steinbeck employs character argon restrained by the rules of friendship and through them, to convey the characteristics of American society in the 1920sa society based on animal(prenominal) strength and individualism. The unusual pair, Lennie and George, seemed incongruous in their situations and by comparing and contrastive their human beings relationship to the others, the reviewer is given a further understanding to the musical theme.The stain little novel is full of references to this theme. In Soledad, also the Spanish word for loneliness, situates the bed covering where the majority of the story is set. It is an ordinary counterpane with ordinary tidy sum doing mo nononous, meanual control such as bucking barley. The constitution of this work suggests the kind of modus vivendi the characters on the ranch lead. The ranch also represents a microcosm of the outside world. hither in this close company, a range of characters, each identify by their own personality, are required to work closely together inorder to arrive at their own, individual dreams.When George and Lennie first enters the ranch, they are greeted by an old swamper by the score sugarcoat. A fragile old man with plainly one hand, he is used by Steinbeck to show the cruelty of society towards elderly and the disabled. In a society that emphasis physical strength, Candy is distinctly at a disadvantage. However, he does not attempt this disadvantage but alternatively expose the more feminine and sensitive side of him to others to reinforce this weakness. His domestic social function in the bunkhouse and part as the gossiper once more is an expanding upon of his at5/9/00titude towards the rest of the male in the ranch. Candy separates himself from the rest of fatheads and has solo the company of a dragged-footed sheep-dog.When Carlson demands the cleanup of this dog, although disap hears of it, does not retaliate but kinda looked hopelessly at Slim and asks for his assis tance. His reaction to Carlsons demand is dormant in the way that he except watched uneasily and tries to delay the killing by suggesting may be to-morra. His deep-rooted relationship with the dog is come outn in this intensely emotional part that explicitly dissects his sensitivity. At the sound of the shot, he appears lost and all he manages to do is to stare into the ceiling blocal area networkkly. resembling to this, at the end of the story, George too has to face with the death of his love ones. The rest however lies in the reason behind the killing. George justifies the killing and does it out of his name for Lennie and not out of pressure from others.Curley is the second character appearing on the jibe. A thin young man wearing high-heeled boots, he is clearly no ordinary labouring man. He is the boss son and is qualify to show his status and assurance using this kind of symbolism. However, by doing so, he achieves exactly the opposite. The other men do not acknowled ge his authority and even Candy thinks of him as a scrappy little guy. His method of trying to gain respects by false ambit works against him and isolates him from the others. Curley also has a wife who is the still female in the ranch. This arrangement and character of his wife can except encourage the insecurity he feels anyway.Although he has a wife, she appears more a possession to show off rather than a company. Their relationship is equivocal since they appear to turn over all day looking for each other. His stature also becomes a great encumbrance to him. With a personality that is completely obsess with self-image, Curley is deeply disturb by his height and to resolve this, he translates his anger towards himself onto others. To him, Lennies physique is a challenge of authority and because of this, he wants by prove himself by defeating Lennie. This transference accounts for his cynical nature and isolates him from everyone else. Although desperate to participate, his c haracter and devotion for judgement are essential ingredients for his desolation.Curleys wife is too refereed to as a destitute character. Even before her appearance, the reader is given a pre-conceived image of a lousy tart by the introduction from Candy. Her melodramatic entrance and physical appearance appears to fit the image full make up lips and heavily made-up, clearly she is not a simple rural girl by any mean. From her defraudful action and twitchy body language, George straightaway recognize her as the femme fatale and warned Lennie not to talk to her. This warning is a pre-echo to the tizzy Lennie will get in for her later on in the story, a build up to the final cataclysm at the end. Even at first sight she gave the reputation of a tramp and jail-bait. At a primary level, her action can be explained by boredom and experiment.She is the only in the ranch and clearly has no one to relate. However, from her past experience, Steinbeck implies that Curleys wife dream well-nigh being in the movies all day. By flirting and making sexual suggestive message to others, she attempts to achieve the glamourous and danger feel of affair that she imagined they do in the movies. An alternative account statement to her action would be that she is another dupe of loneliness, desperate to establish relationship with others. She dislike Curley for when Curley crushed his hand she even suggested to Lennie that she would waste liked to through it herself.When she eventually discovers that Lennie is a good listener, she unburdens herself with words in a passion of communication, as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away. She is a highly ambivalent character because although the reader feels sympathetic towards her for her past cast- couch experience, her seduction that lead to the murder at the end is almost entirely her fault. One may argue that she had no knowledge of Lennies past and receives the punishment harsher than she deserves. Mo re over, the price for her irreproachable mistake is on the destruction of the hope of three blameless plurality George, Lennie and Candy.Similarly, George and Lennie have a dream, the American dream of living off the fatta the lan . This phrase followed by a description of their future house is a leimotif representing the birth and rebirth of their hope. This hope is the source of energy and once shattered, conflicting Curleys wife who was then able to found a less satisfying alternative George can find no other exchange like Lennie.Crooks the Negro stable buck is presented as another victim of loneliness. Due to his colour and disability, he is separated with the rest of the male community in everyway. This is shown in the examples that the boss gives him hell whenever he is mad and only in special occasion such as Xmas is he allow into the bunkhouse. In this highly racist period, Crooks role as the nigger stable buck meant he is at the after part of the hierarchy and therefo re ostracized by the rest of the community. Due to this inferiority, Crooks feels even stronger about protecting himself in territorial terms and by isolation. Nonetheless, he does not enjoy this solitude but instead, renouncee prefer the opposite.This is best shown when Candy and Lennie enter his room, which no one but Slim had done before, Crooks finds it hard-fought to conceal his pleasure in anger. Although he would rather play card in the bunkhouse with others, since he stink and aint treasured there, instead, he has to sit out here and read books. This shows that he has adapted to loneliness using other means but although he knows vigor can replace a real company. In the scene which he unburdens himself to Lennie, the situation becomes parallel to that of Lennie and Curleys wife. Not only are they both absurd and have difficulty in relating to others on the ranch due to society boundary based on racism and sexism, they both confide in Lennie because he would not go on blab bin to others. With Lennie they do not feel under threat and therefore do not have to protect themselves with masks of imagery. In comparison, George and Lennie are always at unbosom at the company of each other. aside from Slim, they appear to be the only guys on the ranch to manage this.Slim the jekline skinner is the touch colliery character in the novel used to reflect morally and decency. Although with a common appearance, every movement and air of his is described with royalty and achieved only by master craftsmen. However, his title as the price of the ranch is not self-given. His authority is acknowledge by the other males on the ranch and so great the his word was taken on any object. His business leader appears to go beyond the system at the epoch.Even in this image-ridden masculine culture, Slim does not needs to prove his position by creating prank using force, yet with quite the opposite gentleness and sense elements of human quality that are most required in this imbalance situation. Apart from Lennie, Slim appears to be the only one who George is willing to confide. During the talk, they touch on the subject of loneliness, a sensation that grins a normal, respectable person to nothing but a mean guy who wants to fight all the time. In this part of the novel, George explains his relationship with Lennie and why they had traveled together. In a deeper sense, the phrase got kinda used to each other implies a long-term relationship which neither of the can live without now.Other minor characters in the novel such as Carlson and Whitney represent transaline people who best demonstrate the majority of the society at the time. They aint got no people so they move around the country as Crook states they come, an they quit ango. Their life style is monotonous and they aint have no fun. Their a couple of(prenominal) entertainments include the horseshoe game and cards, which again are reference to competition and individualism. Nonetheless, it is o nly in these games they make recompense for their guard and relax into the company of each other.In conclusion, Steinbeck presentation of the theme of loneliness is reflected in the actions of his character. Although desperate to make contact, their concern for reputation and nature of the machismo culture in society isolate them from one another. The end tragedy then attracts sympathy from the reader by shattering the hope of few exceptions that appeared to have survived.