Two migrant workers, George and Lennie, have been let off a bus miles away from the California farm where they are due to start work. George is a small, dark man with “sharp, strong features.” Lennie, his companion, is his opposite, a giant of a man with a “shapeless” face. Overcome with thirst, the two stop in a clearing by a pool and decide to camp for the night. As the two converse, it becomes clear that Lennie has a mild mental disability, and is deeply devoted to George and dependent upon him for protection and guidance.
Of Mice and Men explores a range of different themes:
- Prejudice and Discrimination
- The Impossibility of the American Dream
- Friendships
Loneliness and Isolation Explanation and Quotes
Virtually everyone on the ranch, at some point, suffers from loneliness. The main characters that suffer from loneliness are Candy, Curley's wife and Crooks.
Curley's wife desperately strives for someone to talk to. She doesn't communicate to her husband at all. This is because she was forced to marry Curley.
Curley's wife is a extremly lovely but isolated woman. Curley's wife is really unhappy. She has nobody she can talk to except Curely, her jealous husband, whom she married after she did not get a letter of a talent scout who told her that she has the talent for a moviestar. Curley's wife is really unhappy with her husband, because Curley isolates her, so she can not talk to anybody. She is a dangerous woman for the people on the farm.
She often trys to seduce some migrant workers on the farm. Always when she comes in a room her first question is: "Is Curley here"." But everybody on the farm knows that she is not looking for Cuerly when she asks that. One time Curley caught a man with his wife in the barn, doing their "own buisness." Because Curley's wife is so atractive and Curley is so jealous, he Curley trys to isolate her. After she got killed by Lennie, John Steinberg makes the reader feel sad about what happend to her. She just wanted to break through her isolation and live a normal life.
Loneliness has made Crook's a very bitter and isolated individual. He is truly not able to leave this situation because of his race. The other men at the ranch do not relate with Crooks unless he is working because he is black. Other than when they are working, the other men shut Crooks out off all of their activities except horseshoes. Crooks are very isolated and not welcome in leisure activities. He has become bitter and known to lash out at people because of the loneliness that he has. Crooks's emotions are displayed to the reader when he talks to Lennie in his room about having no one to relate to and communicate with. He states: "Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he's goin' to come back. S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy `cuase you was black...A guy needs somebody--to be near him" (Steinbeck 72). In a way, everyone needs someone to talk to, whether it is a friend, family member, or even a pet. This is a source of comfort and wealth for the person. Crooks does not have any of these sources. Crooks has never been treated well by any of his co-workers because he is black. This has affected Crooks greatly. He has become bitter and has obtained a passionate animosity toward everyone. He has a certain demeanor toward everyone due to the way he is treated because of his race. In addition, Crooks also does not know how to relate and function normally anymore because of how his loneliness has effected him. Crooks's animosity was exemplified when Lennie comes into his room unannounced. He greets Lennie with: "Come on in and set a while...'Long as you won't get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down." Crooks has been lonely for so long that he expects people not to talk to him. When Lennie comes in and does not have any intention of hurting him, he realizes it and he let's his guard down. It may seem that he doesn't desire friendships or affection, but he no longer knows how to deal with his loneliness. It has made him into another person, one that obtains a relentless hostility toward anyone and everyone that gets close to him.
Candy, once an old ranch worker, is now confined to the mundane job of cleaning. He lost his hand at some point and has only a stump to show, which may have hindered his career as a ranch worker- we do not know Candy's background and how long he was like that for. However, it is apparent that he is isolated by his disability, just as Lennie is isolated by his mental retardation. He has only a dog for a companion, a mongrel he has had since it was a pup. The dog used to be a fine sheepdog, but not unlike Candy, it is now viewed as being no longer of any use or purpose. Carlson insists that the dog be shot- after much convincing he takes the dog outside and kills it. This is devastating for Candy- not only was the creature his main friend and ally in a way, but he had allowed another man to kill it. If it was to be killed, he insists later, he should have done it himself. He has no relatives, and once his dog is killed is totally alone.
Key Quotes in Of Mice and Men:
Loneliness has made Crook's a very bitter and isolated individual. He is truly not able to leave this situation because of his race. The other men at the ranch do not relate with Crooks unless he is working because he is black. Other than when they are working, the other men shut Crooks out off all of their activities except horseshoes. Crooks are very isolated and not welcome in leisure activities. He has become bitter and known to lash out at people because of the loneliness that he has. Crooks's emotions are displayed to the reader when he talks to Lennie in his room about having no one to relate to and communicate with. He states: "Maybe you can see now. You got George. You know he's goin' to come back. S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy `cuase you was black...A guy needs somebody--to be near him" (Steinbeck 72). In a way, everyone needs someone to talk to, whether it is a friend, family member, or even a pet. This is a source of comfort and wealth for the person. Crooks does not have any of these sources. Crooks has never been treated well by any of his co-workers because he is black. This has affected Crooks greatly. He has become bitter and has obtained a passionate animosity toward everyone. He has a certain demeanor toward everyone due to the way he is treated because of his race. In addition, Crooks also does not know how to relate and function normally anymore because of how his loneliness has effected him. Crooks's animosity was exemplified when Lennie comes into his room unannounced. He greets Lennie with: "Come on in and set a while...'Long as you won't get out and leave me alone, you might as well set down." Crooks has been lonely for so long that he expects people not to talk to him. When Lennie comes in and does not have any intention of hurting him, he realizes it and he let's his guard down. It may seem that he doesn't desire friendships or affection, but he no longer knows how to deal with his loneliness. It has made him into another person, one that obtains a relentless hostility toward anyone and everyone that gets close to him.
Candy, once an old ranch worker, is now confined to the mundane job of cleaning. He lost his hand at some point and has only a stump to show, which may have hindered his career as a ranch worker- we do not know Candy's background and how long he was like that for. However, it is apparent that he is isolated by his disability, just as Lennie is isolated by his mental retardation. He has only a dog for a companion, a mongrel he has had since it was a pup. The dog used to be a fine sheepdog, but not unlike Candy, it is now viewed as being no longer of any use or purpose. Carlson insists that the dog be shot- after much convincing he takes the dog outside and kills it. This is devastating for Candy- not only was the creature his main friend and ally in a way, but he had allowed another man to kill it. If it was to be killed, he insists later, he should have done it himself. He has no relatives, and once his dog is killed is totally alone.
Key Quotes in Of Mice and Men:
Section 1
2. "he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear
drags his paws."pg. 4
4.
"Slowly, like
a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached,
drew back, approached again." pg. 10
5.
“if I was alone I
could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble....An' whatta
I got.” pg. 12
6. “You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.'"
pg. 12
7.
"Guys like us
that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family.
They don't belong no place....” pg. 15
8. We got a future. We got somebody
to talk to that gives a damn about us." pg. 15
10.
"'we'll have a
big vegetable patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens. And when it rains in the
winter, we'll just say the hell with goin' to work, and we'll build up a fire
in the stove and set around it an' listen to the rain comin' down on the
roof...'" pp. 16
Section 2
11.
"At about ten
o'clock in the morning the sun threw a bright dust-laden bar through one of the
side windows, and in and out of the beam flies shot like rushing stars."
pp. 19
12.
"Curley's like
a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big
guys." pg. 28
13. “ a gravity in his manner… all talk stopped when he spoke…his authority
was so great that his word was taken on any subject… Slim the jerkline skinner”
pg.35
14.
"'Ain't many
guys travel around together,' he mused. 'I don't know why. Maybe ever'body in
the whole damn world is scared of each other.'" pg. 36
Section 3
15.
"Although
there was evening brightness showing through the windows of the bunk house,
inside it was dusk." pg. 39
17.
“That dog ain't no good to himself. I wisht
somebody'd shoot me if I got old an' a cripple." pg. 46
19. " When they can me here I wisht somebody'd shoot me… I won't have
no place to go, an' I can't get no more jobs." pg. 60
Section 4
22.
"I seen it
over an' over-a guy talkin' to another guy and it don't make no difference if
he don't hear or understand. The thing is, they're talkin', or they're settin'
still not talkin'. It don't make no difference, no difference....It's just the
talking." pg. 70
24.
"'A guy needs
somebody-to be near him.' He whined, 'A guy goes nuts if he ain't got
nobody.'" pg. 72
Section 5
28.
"As happens
sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and
remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement
stopped for much, much more than a
moment." pg. 91
29.
"I think I
knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her. He musta like
to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would." pg. 93
Section 6
30.
"Already the
sun had left the valley to go climbing up the slopes of the Gabilan mountains,
and the hilltops were rosy in the sun." pg. 98
31.
"No, Lennie. I
ain't mad. I never been mad an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to
know." pg. 108
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