Olivia Francavilla
10 silver
English: Of Mice And Men
“Solidad” means loneliness. Why is this relevant in ‘Of Mice and Men’?
The novel “Of Mice and Men” portrays many different themes and values. Through
the plot, settings and characters, Steinbeck’s focal points include dreams, reality,
disability, age and discrimination. However I believe that loneliness and in contrast,
friendship are the prime themes in this novel. From the very beginning there is an
ambience of loneliness and isolation and as the story progresses, it becomes more
apparent.
The novel begins with George and Lennie travelling to a ranch. The area in which
they stay the night is a secluded pool, empty of people and immediately depicts
isolation. It is from this point onwards that the atmosphere is isolated and lonely, the
nickname “dustbowl” giving an accurate idea of Soledad and the way that the men in
this area lived at this given time. George’s words at the beginning gave a clear
indication of how the men in this time and place lived when he said “guys like us, that
work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.”(p.15) Men worked hard
harvesting on farms earning little money that they spent on women or drinks and, as a
result, their lives lacked friends, family or a home. Steinbeck communicates how this
environment affected people through the characters and their hardships. The
characters all symbolise a different group of people of different status that existed at
the time. There is Lennie, George, Carlson and Skim; men who travel around with no
homes, looking for work. There’s Curley, a young man who has everything but is still
unhappy. Lonely old Crooks, isolated and discriminated against because of his racial
background; or Curley’s wife, whose life is very solitary simply because she is
female.
Curley’s wife suffers a great deal from the lifestyle of loneliness and sadness, simply
because she experiences it from a woman’s point of view. Steinbeck was portraying
women as insignificant beings during this time. Curley’s wife represents all women as
“a piece of jail bait”(p.33) and all women depicted in this novel were either prostitutes
or relatives, showing that they were thought of as troublesome pests. Curley’s wife
married into a life where she was useless, lonely and didn’t feel valuable or respected
by anyone. And though she married Curley for security, escape and comfort, the
outcome of the marriage leaves her even more alone. Her situation communicates that
women were not respected in this era. Curley’s wife’s story links back to the novel’s
focal point and also to the title, showing that no matter how well things are planned
and thought about, no matter how many factors seem to bend in her favour, things can
end worse than they were to begin with.
Due to Curley’s wife’s attitude and unappealing demeanour, she was left companionless, a circumstance made worse by her looks and flirtatious behaviour. Her actions
made the workers weary and hostile towards her. This, along with the fact that the
ranch was no place for a woman and that there were no other women to talk to, left
her so desperate that she would talk to complete strangers. Steinbeck created this
character to show how the lifestyles of this era affected young women. Curley’s wife
only wanted to have a relationship with someone, to talk and to have company, which
was different to what the men wanted.
Lennie and George’s relationship, and was complicated as their friendship made life
more difficult, but their need to have somebody by their side overrode the problems
Olivia Francavilla
10 silver
English: Of Mice And Men
they continuously encountered. Men of this time, who travelled and worked, were
considered powerless, ill paid and very lonely, but George and Lennie had somebody
to care for. George travelled with Lennie out of the love he feels for him. He never
said this aloud, as he is resentful toward Lennie and how hard life is with him, but his
efforts to protect him and look after him show that there is a deeper reason than
obligation: he generally cares for the wellbeing of his friend and enjoys having
somebody to be with. Through this Steinbeck shows how desperate people were to
have somebody, even if it meant there were many problems. We hear how George
feels about Lennie throughout the novel, especially when George pronounces that “if I
was alone I could live so easy” at the beginning. (p.12) Despite that fact that this is
said, their friendship is part of what every other man on the ranch wish they had;
somebody just to be with, to talk to, to share and to feel secure with.
The feeling of security and comfort elude Candy’s life. Steinbeck used the character
of Candy to represent the part of the generation who felt useless and had nothing, as
his disability and age left him useless to anyone. However, his loneliness was reduced
by having his dog by his side. The dog was Candy’s companion; it was old and
useless and Candy saw it as a source of hope that he was still needed. But when
Carlson killed Candy’s dog, it woke Candy up to the fact that this hope was false, and
that he would be “disposed of” as well. George and Lennie’s dream gave Candy
another glimpse of this hope and, for a moment, he was happy and the fear of being
alone, discarded and without a future left his mind. He was filled with hope for the
future they had planned, they all were, the three of them were “bemused by the beauty
of the thing.” (p.61)This illustrates how much the idea of having a future, with
company, was the dream of all men at this time.
Through the character of Crooks, Steinbeck displays another group of people who
experienced loneliness in this era. Crooks is symbolic of all coloured people, the
abuse and disrespect that they received and the exclusion they suffered. When Crooks
talks to Lennie he tries - though unkindly - to make Lennie see how he lives. He tells
Lennie that “George don’t come back no more” (p.71) and scares him by asking how
he would survive alone. Steinbeck included this conversation to exhibit that the
discrimination that coloured people received made them far more lonely in an already
isolated time to live. The conversation also showed how important friendship was for
Lennie and George, and that people need company to survive. In a time where most
lived alone, George and Lennie had formed a relationship that was strong enough that
they got through the day much happier than every other man, like Crooks, the workers
and even Curley, who had the “American Dream” and was still unhappy.
Curley experienced a different example of loneliness. This loneliness wasn’t brought
on by age, disability, race or lifestyle. He had the ideal life - the “American Dream”the life that every worker on the ranch was pining for. But he didn’t appreciate what
he had, so he had nothing of any worth. Curley may not have even acknowledged that
he was lonely, because he was so angry, and this arrogant and angry demeanour was
what pushed everyone away. Steinbeck shows the flipside of the American Dream,
showing a man with everything, but who seems to have absolutely nothing. Curley
really represents the importance of friendship and company. Having land, power and a
wife did not make him a happy man. What he hadn’t realised was that materials did
not make a life, it was a balance of company and home.
Olivia Francavilla
10 silver
English: Of Mice And Men
Through the novel, Steinbeck used many small symbols and metaphors to depict
different values. The symbol that represents loneliness predominately were the games
of solitaire played by George and the other workmen. Steinbeck used this symbol to
represent the lives of the men who played it. Solitaire is obviously a solitary game,
played alone. This is a palpable symbol for the lives of all men and women in this
time. The game takes effort, concentration and a lot of time, yet it seldom ends well,
despite how well it is played. This links back to the title and poem “Of Mice and
Men.” The lines “the best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft a-gley” refer to the
fact that no matter how well things are planned, discussed and protected by men or
women of large or small, young or old, rich or poor, can turn badly at any moment.
When Lennie notices that the cards used by the workers have the same end, it links
back to this also: all men and women of this time end up alone.
There is only a minority of people in the world who would rather live alone than have
company. Steinbeck shows just how desperate people became simply because they
wished they had somebody by their sides in a time where most lived by themselves.
Whether it’s Curley’s wife forcing conversations with a man who didn’t understand
her, Curley acting rough and arrogant and ignoring loneliness, or Crooks scaring
somebody into seeing how they would not survive alone, all the characters in Solidad
try desperately to disperse their loneliness, to escape the constant introverted lives
they all possessed.