1ENGLISH ESSAY
Topic- Theme of loneliness in John Steinbeck’s novella “Of Mice and Men “.
Introduction
One of the most famous novellas of John Steinbeck is “Of Mice and Men” which
published in the year 1937 describing the story of Lennie Small and George Milton. They are
two displaced migrant ranch who moved from different places in California searching for a job
opportunity at the time of the Great Depression in the United States. The author has designed the
novella based on his own experiences of working as a teenager in the 1910s. The title has been
inspired from Robert Burns’ poem “To a Mouse”. This is a narrative intervention of the novella
which will focus on the theme of loneliness, the writing pattern of Steinbeck through the
characters such as Candy, Carlson, Curley, Lennie and others.
Interpretation of chapter three
The chapter three shows that Slim and Lennie have one puppy. The character George has
been taking Lennie as his travel companion and a work mate too after Clara died. Regarding the
puppy, George asks him to take the puppy to its mother for the safety purpose. The character
Carlson keeps complaining about the old dog of Candy and asks Candy to shot the dog.
Afterwards, Candy allows Carlson to do it himself outside. When the chapter is analyzed, it can
be seen that all the visible actions in this particular chapter occurs in the bunk house. In the
novella, Steinbeck controls the events carefully and weaves the minute details into a rich whole.
The atmosphere is kept gloomy because the story covers the shooting of Candy’s dog and the
fight between Lennie and Curley. The shooting of the dog of Curley draws a parallel between
Lennie and George. The dog of Candy and Candy too symbolize the ‘old timer’ version of the
young couple. The dog of Cady was once the best damn sheep dog just like Lennie who is an
incredible worker. The other men cannot realize the sentimental companionship that Candy had
with the stinking dog. The parallels are rather strengthened by Steinbeck’ portraying of the bonds
between Lennie and dogs.
Theme of loneliness
The theme of loneliness is evident throughout the entire novella and considered to be one
of the most horrible feelings existing in the society. It can strike all the living souls at some
particular point or another and in turn takes a deep emotional toll. The components of loneliness
are a profound part of loneliness. It happens due to the absence of emotional empathy from the
others. As depicted in the novel of Steinbeck, loneliness has the capacity to jade the perceptions
of an individual and his/her mindset too. Moreover, it leaves detrimental effects on the behavior
of people and ultimately changes the personality as well. The prevalence of the theme of
loneliness is there in the novella “ Of Mice and Men”. The effects of loneliness are depicted in
depth through the characters of George, Crooks and Curley’ wife.
The values attitudes and beliefs
There is evidence of loneliness in almost all the characters, the loneliest character in the
novella was Crooks. Since his being a black, the prejudice of the ranch has led him to go deep
down in utter loneliness. In the case of Crooks, it is seen that he was forced to sleep alone in his

John Steinbeck's of Mice and Men English Essay 2022

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