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Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Loneliness

Ellie Olson 7/8A

Thesis- The story “Of Mice and Men” recounts the struggle to retain the American dream in a world of Loneliness. Loneliness is one of the many themes in this novel that reflect the time period in which the story was written. Steinbeck shows how loneliness is sustained through the barriers established from acting inhuman to one another.

Crooks- Pushing others away

Claim:

Crooks loneliness comes from isolation, and willing to be isolated too. He is separated due to the color of his skin. Crooks, being used to separation, embraces it and frowns upon having people in his room or talking to any of the men in the bunk.

Evidence:

“‘Well, i got a right to have a light. You go on get outta my room. …show more content…
(31).

Reasoning:

Steinbeck uses diction to describe how curley’s wife is lonely and how she acts and uses her body. It describes how she looks and her features different significant meanings and why she is so made up, because of the wanting to be with people and to earn the approval of the men.

Claim:

Curley’s Wife is isolated and treated as Curley's property, thus making it impossible to have her own life.The other characters refer to her only as "Curley's wife". This lack of personal definition degrades her and makes her cut off from the rest of the ranch.

Evidence:

“‘I get lonely’ she said. ‘you can talk to people, but i can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to nobody’”(87).

Reasoning:

Steinbeck uses Diction to represent that the loneliness of Curley's wife is upheld by Curley's jealousy, which causes all the ranch hands to avoid her. This is the root of curley’s wife’s loneliness. She is isolated by curley, who is jealous and extremely watchful over her. It makes it almost impossible to have her own identity and

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