Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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To be lonely is like being invisible. This invisible person could be in a room of hundreds of other people and not one of them will speak to him. He is deemed an outcast by others and is therefore ignored. He is not alone, but he is still in desolation. Similarly, the characters in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men also feel this negative emotion of solitude. The characters are not literally invisible, of course, but they might as well be. Even though they socialize with each other they still feel empty inside. They may have a conversation together, but they won’t feel the fulfillment that a sincere relationship would give them. Although they are physically around others, the characters suffer from loneliness because each is socially isolated for being different from everyone else in some manner.…show more content…
After Carlson took Candy’s dog outside to shoot him Slim said, “‘Candy, you can have any one of them pups you want’, Candy did not answer” (48). Prior to Candy’s dog being killed he seemed to be his only friend and would usually be alone with him. This quote shows how much Candy cared about him and how lost he feels by not reacting when Slim offers him another dog. Candy and his dog are both very old and disabled, unlike most of the other workers on the ranch, so he is the only being he can truly relate to, even if he isn’t human. Also, when George and Lennie plan how to get their own farm Candy explains, “I got hurt four years ago… they’ll can me pretty soon…” (60). Candy knows that he will be fired soon because his boss thinks he cannot work anymore. He seems hopeless, like he has no one else to turn to. He hopes that Lennie and George would hire him, even though he is aware that he is physically unable to do much hard work. Candy has no true friends and no one to relate to due to his missing hand and old
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