Of Mice and Men Chapter 2 Reading Check
This essay has been submitted past a student. This is not an example of the work written by professional essay writers.
This essay is graded. Score 17/20
Loneliness is debatably one of the most horrible feelings existent inside society. Information technology strikes every living soul at 1 point or another, as it takes an immensely deep emotional toll. A profound role of what contributes to the feeling of loneliness is a lack of emotional empathy from others. Loneliness has the power to jade one'southward perception and mindset drastically, thus wreaking detrimental effects on one'due south beliefs, and ultimately changing him or her equally a person also. This essay analyzes how, throughout the novel of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrays the prevalent themes about loneliness and isolation, along with the pervasive toll it takes, through the depth of his characterization of George, Curley's married woman, and Crooks.
I of the first characters who was struck by the consequence of loneliness in of Mice and Men was George Milton. For the longest time, George has been Lennie's caretaker since Lennie suffered from mental retardation and was unable to care for himself. A significant disadvantage of beingness Lennie's caretaker was that Lennie always unknowingly gets himself into major trouble, thus causing both him and George to lose every chore they go. Every bit a issue, they never stayed in any 1 place for long, so George never got the chance to develop relationships with anyone, which was one contributing factor to his loneliness. In addition, he was not fond of many ranch easily either, stating, "I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no practiced. They don't take no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin' to fight all the time" (Steinbeck 41). George expressed his frustration with the other ranch hands, and it was obvious that he does non have a solid friendship with whatsoever of them. Two ranch hands he especially never got forth with were Curley and Carlson. Curely and Carlson were very emotionally superficial people who were not in bear on with anyone's emotions. After George killed Lennie in the final scene, Carlson noticed that he was saddened by Lennie'southward death and responded by saying, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them 2 guys?" (107). This lack of empathy created a bulwark between George and Carlson, forth with other men similar Carlson, for they cannot emotionally connect or forge a friendship due to the lack of understanding.
The but person that George did genuinely care for and view equally a friend was Lennie. However, due to Lennie's mental condition, he only served as physical company to George; despite how George always told him that they have each other, George was never able to connect with Lennie on any kind of deep, emotional level since Lennie had the mindset of a child. Therefore, George was often very solitary on emotional terms. His sense of loneliness was often conveyed through his solitaire games; he was so alone that he had to play a card game on his own. Finally, at the end of the novel, George lost his only source of consequent intendance and visitor when he had to shoot his own companion and only truthful friend. At that indicate, George lost something even more vital than just Lennie; he lost his unique purpose in life besides. This was George'due south final onset, for he has at present reached his full capacity of loneliness and discontent in life, which is an empty void dusted with crushed dreams of simulated hope that can never again be filled.
Some other character diseased past the prevalence of loneliness was Curley's wife. She married Curley, but despises him, for she never loved him. She does not similar talking to Curley, and with no one else on the ranch to talk to, she has sunken into an abyss of loneliness. Her loneliness took a drastic price on her beliefs towards others. She was so eager for attention that she would go as far every bit acting inappropriately flirtatious, malevolently savage, or even overtly insecure. She often roamed around the ranch, asking various men if they have seen Curley around. She behaved in a seductive manner, while ever making certain that she looked her best, for she had "full, rouged lips and broad-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were reddish. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, similar sausages. She wore a cotton housedress and ruby-red mules, on the steps of which were piffling bouquets of scarlet ostrich feathers" (Steinbeck 31). She does and so, considering she was then desperate for attending that she felt as if this was the only style that she can receive attention from others. However, unfortunately for Curley's wife, nearly of the ranch hands treated her with hostility and tried to ignore her to avoid getting themselves in trouble. Her loneliness has besides led to her occasional sadistic behavior every bit well. Since her loneliness made her so unhappy and insecure, her ego was sometimes fed by deliberately insulting and condescending towards others, like how she did to Lennie, Candy, and Crooks when she tried to dethrone them by calling them "a bunch of bindle stiffs—a nigger an' a dum-dum and a lousy ol' sheep" (71). By putting down others, Curley's wife reassured herself that in that location are people with lives worse than hers, which ultimately gave her a temporary ego boost and made her feel better about herself for the time existence. This proved how insecure she was well-nigh herself. However, at root, her intentions were not purely malevolent; she was merely an empty, alone soul in need of a friend to talk to. She even said so herself when she confessed to Lennie, "I get lonely. You can talk to people, but I can't talk to nobody simply Curley. Else he gets mad. How'd y'all like not to talk to anybody?" (87). Her loneliness clearly took a heavy emotional cost on her, leaving her feeling insecure and securely saddened, in addition to altering her personality into i that is oftentimes seductively malevolent. It seemed as if her only goal in her daily life was to roam around looking for someone to give her attending, for that was all she was e'er shown doing. The sad part was that despite all of her efforts, Curley'south wife ever failed to find a friend who was willing to talk to her, thus leaving her abyss of loneliness open to even more than wear and erosion; this was a pain that was but able to be terminated in death.
One of the loneliest characters in the novel was Crooks, the black stable buck. His immense loneliness was due to the white ranch hands' prejudice and discrimination against blacks. Unlike everybody else, Crooks was forced to sleep lonely in his ain room, whereas all of the other men slept in the bunkhouse. To add, the men never invite Crooks to play cards with them or get out with them to town either. As a upshot, Crooks'due south forced isolation and deep void of loneliness has taken detrimental effects on his graphic symbol and perception of others. His loneliness turned him into a very common cold and bitter soul, and he frequently shies away in reaction to others, because no i has ever been kind plenty to him to make him feel comfortable enough to open up. His superficial hardness served as a defense mechanism to protect his insecurely weak and vulnerable self hiding beneath his exterior. Due to his loneliness, he often lost his grasp of who he actually was, so he took on a different persona instead. He was then used to beingness in isolation that he could not aid just answer in a harsh and hostile mode when Lennie peaked into his doorway: "Yous got no correct to come in my room. This here'due south my room. Nobody got any correct in here but me" (Steinbeck 68). In add-on, Crooks's persistent loneliness opened upwardly the gate that led him to become slightly sadistic at one point as well. After talking to Lennie for a while, Crooks realized that Lennie has a mental condition, thus giving Crooks the upper paw in regards to intelligence and common sense. He used this to his advantage and emotionally tortured Lennie by telling him that George may have gotten hurt and might non come back. Crooks's ego was temporarily satisfied past praying on Lennie's weakness. All of his life, he has been treated as if he were less than human, and he has been vulnerable to everyone, which has sunken him into a deep depression of loneliness; now, the tables accept turned for a moment, and it was Lennie who was currently vulnerable to him. After Crooks realized that he should not try to play a trick on Lennie anymore, he endemic upwardly to his loneliness, and even admitted that "a guy needs somebody?to exist near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't brand no divergence who the guy is, long'south he's with you. I tell ya. I tell ya a guy gets too lone an' he gets sick" (72-73). Crooks openly admitted to how he gets ill of being and so lonely, and merely as soon equally he finally managed to open up and expose himself to the outside world, he emotionally withdrew back within himself simply every bit quickly, for having permanent company and a real chance of surfacing from his abyss of loneliness was too proficient to exist truthful.
The prevalence and pervasiveness of loneliness was adequately conveyed through the darkened depth of George, Curley's wife, and Crooks in John Steinbeck'south riveting novel, Of Mice and Men. Loneliness is a uniquely painful feeling that exudes an aura of emptiness, in which plagues its victims. The feeling of loneliness is so powerful that it has the power to jade people of life, likewise as take a detrimental toll on 1's emotional mindset, just as it has for George, Curley'due south wife, and Crooks. Loneliness drew George and Crooks even deeper into their abyss, leading them down a path to emotional destruction. On the other mitt, loneliness drew Curley's wife besides far away from herself as her cries of desperation for attention were only answered in expiry. Ane of the about meaning factors that contributed to all of the characters' loneliness was their lack of empathy and emotional understanding for each other. It was quite ironic that despite how loneliness struck well-nigh anybody, no 1 seemed to understand each other's loneliness. Their loneliness has emotionally isolated them so drastically to the point where they are no longer sensitive to the emotions of others, and even sometimes, themselves. It is truly disheartening to see how pervasive and powerful the furnishings of loneliness are. For these characters, the prevalence of loneliness will simply continue to ravenously eat away at their lives as their empty voids nonetheless yearn to be filled.
Source: https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/the-prevalence-of-loneliness-in-of-mice-and-men/
0 Response to "Of Mice and Men Chapter 2 Reading Check"
Post a Comment