Of+Mice+and+Men+Essay

"It is lonliness that makes the loudest noise. This is true of men and dogs." This quote by Eric Hoffer explains the main theme of the book, __Of Mice and Men__ by John Steinbeck. In this book everybody is lonely, except for George and Lennie. This book takes place on a ranch just south of Solidad, California during a period of time known as the Great Depression. There are two characters that are perfect examples of this quote; Crooks and Curley.

Crooks is an African-American who is the Stable-Buck on the ranch. He is very mean and keeps to himself, but in reality he is just lonely. __"'Come on in if ever'body's comin' you might just as well.' It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger." pg. 75__. This excerpt shows that Crooks doesn't want annyone to see how lonely he is. He wants everyone to think that he is content with never talking to anyone.

Curley is a small guy who wants to be a big guy. He is always trying to prove how greaat he is, but if someone is truely great at something, they don't have to go around trying to prove it. An exchange between Curley and one of the other characters, Carlson, after Carlson made a comment about Curley's wife not leaving the house proves this, __"'Curley whirled on Carlson, 'You keep outta this les' you wanta step outside.' Carlson laughed. 'You try to throw a scare into Slim, an' you can't make it stick.' pg. 62__. This shows that curley is all talk and just wants to have attention drawn to him. He isn't mean, just lonely.

George and Lennie are the only characters that aren't lonely. They always have each other as company, someone who has your back, a friend. They were never lonely, "__Because I got you an-" "An- I got you. We got each other, that's what, that gives a hoot in Hell about us." pg. 104__

In this book everyone is lonely except for George and Lennie. Crooks and Curley aren't the only people who are lonely, they are merely examples. The sad reality is this theme isn't limited to this book, it is in the real world. As Eric Hoffer so brilliantly stated, "It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise. This is true of men as of dogs."