Loneliness In Older Adults Essay

Loneliness is one of many central themes in John Steinbeck’s classic novella, Of Mice and Men. Throughout the story many characters sought after the company and attention of others. Each character has a certain barrier that keeps them isolated from the outside world. Three characters who portray this loneliness throughout the novella are Crooks, Curly’s wife, and Candy. Each having a different wall between them and society.

People are considered to be social beings, yet, again and again, they seek to falsify the claims of civility, and show themselves as the detached individuals they tend to be. In his novella, “Of Mice and Men,” John Steinbeck designed several faulty pairings that display the true disparity and detachment that are proven to be a part of every relationship in the story. Through the associations of the main characters, Lennie and George, along with several other characters within the narrative, Steinbeck exposes the root of 1930’s relationships in promises, loneliness, and a basic need for companionship, rather than any true fondness- a junction that can easily be nullified.

In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck looks at the theme of loneliness as it affects many characters on the ranch. Crooks, Curley's wife, and Candy are the most excluded characters on the ranch, because they all have dreams that they will not be able to live out and they all are at loss when it came to companionship. Crooks is lonely because he is the only black man on the ranch. Since this book is set during the Depression, Jim Crow laws are still in effect, whites and blacks had separate facilities for socializing and living. Crooks comments that he can't live in the bunkhouse, and cant even play cards in there.

“I think cruelty is loneliness disguised in bitterness” (Thomas W. Hiddleston). This quote expounds how the lack of company and friends can potentially lead you down a path of heartlessness, and despair. In the story Of Mice and Men, you follow the duo George and Lennie in their quest to achieve the American dream. John Steinbeck utilizes his story Of Mice and Men to show how the loneliness of the characters leads to their cruel actions, he exposes this through the characters Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife.

Loneliness is an impossible fact of life that nobody can avoid especially during the Great Depression. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, a novella by John Steinbeck shows that in the early 1930s – during the Great Depression – was a period of great loneliness of men and women, therefore people are driven to find friendship in order to escape the loneliness. But barely anyone find the right companionship while a lot of them were still lonely even if they found their companions. Throughout the story, Steinbeck shows that everyone needs a friend and without friends people will suffer from loneliness inevitably. People who were being discriminated and intolerance or were deserted, they will end up in

“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty…” (Courtesy: Anonymous). Anybody in the world can be lonely and be filled with loneliness when they do not have someone to interact with or talk to. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, characters deal with loneliness throughout the course of the book. Through the characterization of the characters Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife the author reveals the theme of loneliness.

Mother Theresa once said, “Loneliness and feeling that nobody needs you is the worst kind of poverty”. The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck has some very important themes. Loneliness is one of the major themes that is portrayed by almost every character in the book in some way. Race, age and gender are some of the key factors that make the characters lonely. In Of Mice and Men, different variations of loneliness can be seen through Crooks, Candy and Lennie.

Social life and family supports are key components in a person’s life. Family support and social engagement keeps the mind engaged and person dwells upon the emotional connection he/she develops. Elderly people who tend be more socially active in their old age are less likely to develop dementia as compared to those that isolate themselves (ref). Having family support is a key social part in an elderly’s life which not only gives them emotional support but also practical support. The family can look after the elderly and can

The relevance of ‘Of Mice and Men’ being set in the town of Soledad comes from the parallels drawn between the meaning of the name ‘Soledad’ and the deeper sense of loneliness expressed through the characters of the novella. The symbolism of the loneliness that is associated with the town of Soledad establishes an underlying sense of loneliness in all characters. The author uses a variety of techniques to develop this underlying loneliness in each of the individual character’s lives. Such individual characterisation building on the loneliness established in the connotations of Soledad is evident in Curley’s wife, Crooks, George and Lennie,

So by quoting this data Halpern demonstrates that looking back more than 200 years and comparing it to modern times, people are entering into marriage later in life, there are fewer large families, and more people are living by themselves. However, looking back only a few decades he concludes that the number of young people in America who are living alone is increasing very quickly. He further supports that the increase in occupations that are solitary in nature are also contributing to the loneliness of America, which Halpern describes in his introduction as “traveling salesmen, Web designers, phone-bank operators, and online day traders who live and work in

Life satisfaction is typically related to social relationships, which helps us to understand why relationships are essential for older adults' well-being (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015). Naturally, it would seem that most adults in their later lives would have more support from friends and family to rally around them and support them through the various challenges and stressors of late adulthood. However, Broderick and Blewitt (2015) acknowledge that it is normal for their social networks of friends and family is smaller in scope than in the past. It must be

To be lonely is an easy thing, being alone is another matter entirely. To understand this, first one must understand the difference between loneliness and being alone. To be alone means that your are not in the company of anyone else. You are one. But loneliness can happen anytime, anywhere. You can be lonely in a crowd, lonely with friends, lonely with family. You can even be lonely while with loved ones. For feeling lonely, is in essence a feeling of being alone. As thought you were one and you feel as though you will always be that way. Loneliness can be one of the most destructive feelings humans are capable of feeling. For loneliness can lead to depression, suicide, and even to raging out and hurting friends and/or

There are many reasons to why elderly persons can fall at risk of social isolation and loneliness. These factors can range anywhere from

According to George Monbiot’s article “The Age of Loneliness Is Killing Us” Monbiot states that society is shifting into isolation and loneliness. Instead of having the age of sharing and socializing. Each and every individual is wanting to stay alone with their own solitude and loneliness. Monbiot recognizes this damaging effect on society and states that how much dangerous it is. To start off. Monbiot claims that we as humans are social beings and always will be “We were social creatures from the start,” by disagreeing with Thomas Hobbes’s claim on our human state of nature “of every man against every man.” Monbiot sees this idea of every person on their own an epidemic of loneliness in today’s age, and how it

being separated means being alone. This is true of every creature, and it is true of man