John Steinbeck s Of Mice And Men - 1623 Words

Loneliness is the feeling of isolation and no hope or dreams in your life which is what Steinbeck achieves by portraying this theme effectively using key characters and settings in Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck writes about the Great Depression and how two friends, Lennie and George, stay together through this tough time. They go from town to town and work on ranches, always staying together. This new haven in California they stumble upon seems like a good fit, however Lennie creates problems and terminates their chances of survival there. In the first chapter Steinbeck sets a scene of tranquillity which when inferred has a sense of loneliness. Its set â€Å"a few miles south of Soledad†, which is in western California, he chooses this city†¦show more content†¦The tranquillity disappears when the two men come into the scene; they are travelling to the ranch where the theme of loneliness carries on. The ranch is the main setting of the book and the home of all loneliness. Ranchmen â€Å"are the loneliest men in the world† this is because â€Å"they got no family† and â€Å"don’t belong no place†. Steinbeck describes ranch life for the average man through George and Lennie. They are telling themselves this to make them feel that they have â€Å"got a future† men during the great depression lives to work they would move from city to city just to find work, no time for a family. The ranch is also very separate having different rooms for everything and the men being very reserved. All they have are â€Å"articles, soap and talcum powder, razors and western magazines†. All these items are very impersonal and lonely. They don’t have photos or letters from loved ones. The ranch men had â€Å"apple boxes† as shelves â€Å"big square table† for them to play â€Å"solitaire† on. Also everybody is very separate and never share anything they have. What also make the ranch even lonelier are all the characters. Each character has a sense of loneliness about them and some more than others. George and Lennie are strangely looked at by the other characters in the Of Mice and Men. This is because they travel around together. For example when the boss greets them for the first time he think that George is pulling the wool over Lennie’s