John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’: the Theme of Friendship

Introduction

John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men was published in 1937, during the Great Depression in the United States. The novel is set in the 1930s and deals with the difficulties of living in America at this time. It is the story of two migrant workers, George and Lenny, who are trying to make enough money to buy a farm in California. During this period in the United States, there was a great drought, which dried up many crops and resulted in food shortages.

This caused a rise in the price of food while a drop in wages caused hunger and poverty among many people. Many workers therefore traveled to the West of the United States, expecting to find work and enough food to keep them alive. These workers were known as migrant workers, and many of them worked as laborers on farms.

Steinbeck lived in California for much of his life and witnessed the sufferings of many migrant workers there. The novel presents the realities of life during the Depression, including poverty and social and economic problems such as unemployment, racism, sexism, and violence. Steinbeck's intention was to give readers a "picture" of what life was really like, and to do this he believed that he needed to be "quite hard" in describing people's lives. Although the novel offers quite a bleak and realistic picture of life during the Depression, Steinbeck also believed, in his own words, that there was "nothing better than the discovery of another human being in us." He was concerned that people were becoming isolated because of the harsh realities of life, and throughout his works, he wrote to encourage a shared humanity. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses his own experience and the events of the period to express his ideas on friendship and the human experience of it. If readers understand the period, they can appreciate the themes of hope and despair in the novel, which bring out the importance of friendships, especially in times of social pressure. Steinbeck was interested in the actions that people take when they are lonely. His works often deal with the inability that many people have to form a bond with somebody else. It is lonely people that have stayed in our minds, years after reading it. When somebody that is lonely does form a friendship or relationship, the impact is great. A solitary life is impaled by loneliness. The thrill of a shared life means everything to a person and is evident in the story of George and Lenny.

Steinbeck wished to express his negative view in the novel in order to illuminate universal human experiences and feelings to help readers understand. He used simple language and common words to tell complicated stories. He believed that using a few characters, it is possible to isolate the psychological reactions of the whole community, thus creating the authentic social life of his setting.

Friendship as a Central Theme

Friendship is a key theme in "Of Mice and Men." From early in the novella, George and Lennie are shown to share a close friendship. Their bond offers them emotional resilience, which sees them through the hardships of their lives. Most of the other ranch hands are lonely. Unlike George and Lennie, they have no one to care for and no one who cares for them. Their isolation means that it is impossible for them to make as empowering and hopeful a vision of the future as George and Lennie create when they share their 'dream' of owning a piece of land.

Friendship also has a less empowering side. While the friendship between George and Lennie affords the main characters plenty of cause for pride and a sense of their own inner strength, their friendship may also be viewed as "fragile," "vulnerable," and at times "transient." The novella is set in a male-dominated world in which women have very little voice. Womanhood is portrayed as a lonely and ultimately sexless state. Curley's wife is apparently friendless and is often characterized by the men as a bad temptress. The use of George and Lennie, who, in an admittedly different way, are also very much marginalized, shows us how friendship, as an alternative to or rebuke of family, can enrich and strengthen, but perhaps also disappoint because it is so difficult to sustain in a tough world. The characters in "Of Mice and Men," however, are unlike those of us who live in the twenty-first century. Their friendships are the bedrock of how they see themselves. They are shaped by and beholden to their kindred associations.

The Dynamics of Friendship between Characters

The novel 'Of Mice and Men' not only guides the reader through the Depression in America, but also explores intense themes of friendship and loneliness. One of the central themes of the novella is that of friendship, particularly the ties between the protagonists, George and Lennie. Throughout the novel, it is emphasized how unique George and Lennie's relationship is compared with the relationships between the other characters. This is shown most poignantly through the relationship between Curley and his wife, using it as a contrast between platonic love and a more exploitative relationship. This theme is inextricably linked with the theme of loneliness, because in this case, the friendship between the men brings the impassioned ideologies of George and Lennie into a setting of conflict. Like most platonic friendships, George and Lennie's is brought to an end due to loyalty. The didactic moral of the story is that sacrificing for those we love can lead to our inevitable and painful ends. Lennie's love for George is so strong that he willingly gives George up by taking off into the countryside and leaving George behind. The novel has a firm basis for all the kinds of friendship a person may hope to find in their individual life and between individuals. These may include love between a man and a woman, love between men, and friendships that may eventually turn into social relationships.

Loneliness and Isolation

One of the principal themes in Of Mice and Men is the loneliness and isolation that the characters experience in their lives. In the atmosphere of the mendacious struggle for life and indifferent social environment, loneliness constitutes the overall feeling of the ranch workers. The almost completely isolated ranch workers are dramatically influenced by an extreme quality of compassion towards each other. The economic depression, harsh standards, and lack of individual settings act as a poison to their solitariness. The indigent quality set in big and dry California has impaired the spirit of the workers.

Looking into detailed character studies, the widespread feeling of being unwanted has polarized Crooks to the limits of almost not making any inroads into any possible friendship. His overall social status prevents him from associating with each of them. It can be seen that all characters, including the woman mentioned in the story, except George, go against Curley's wife. They do not share a feeling of sympathy, empathy, or protection with Curley's wife. Further towards the climax, it can be seen that Curley's wife tries to reach out to Lenny by offering consolation for his wounded hand. She pretends to be an understanding person with a sweetness and seductiveness to lure Lenny as a friend but suddenly changes her attitude towards him. This reveals that she is attempting to victimize him. A deep sense of loneliness, the novel tells about varieties of human relations and how they are lived in an indifferent society. It writes, We are also astonished at the friendship George has welded for sticking to the sorrow-filled existence of so feeble a mental giant as Lenny.

The Tragic Endings and Reflections

The tragic endings of 'Of Mice and Men' provide an atmosphere of despair that serves as powerful examples of the brutality of time and fate, dictating the lives and loves of all. In particular, the perfection of friendship is put to the test in these relentless acts of circumstance, leading people to truly grasp the fragility of life. Weaponized by Curley, Lennie’s unconscious, ill-comprehended strength inevitably leads to his own doom, so George essentially has to decide whether his friend will become a pitiful spectacle or face a quicker ending. George, clinging to a set of dreams that friends share, eventually resolves to take Lennie’s life himself. Candy foresees the sorrow that will follow, already forlornly praying that his son should not hate him, seeing in it the evidence of a world in which there had to be torture on the foundation of friendship as well as cruelty.

The book ends with a reflection on friendship in general, closing with a universal truth that friendship itself is trouble. Not only did they lose their companion, but anyone who reads the story is also lost in this dreadful chasm. At the heart, a tragic tale is relayed that is reminiscent of a few friendships mended and calmed into a single soul, separating when they died. This novel strikes readers with an everlasting sense of despair – a sense that the last powerful conclusion remains imprinted in the mind. It's stunning how, despite few words, friendships in such few pages can really grab hold of people’s lives. In essence, it is a tale of humans, their insecurities, and how through love they can reach each other while love is kind to them. Whether through segregation or friendship, a world in which all are united stretches beyond its inch-thick velvet borders. An amazing job is done in so few words conveying the power of human love and the amount of courage it requires from them to go through with an act of compassion such as this one.

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