Isolation and Commitment of Mice and Men - Research Paper Example

Isolation and Commitment in Of Mice and Men Two men struggle to get by; in the beginning, they only have themselves but in the end, they have no one, in spite of literally being with other people. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck analyzes the themes of isolation and commitment in a capitalist society. This society manifests more than profit-motivated relationships, because it also depicts a damaging patriarchal culture. Conflicting loyalties to the self and to human relationships make it harder to find meaning and happiness in this society too. Nature also conflicts with technological advances. This paper argues that the novel demonstrates that in a patriarchal and capitalist society, people struggle to fight isolation by being committed to human relationships and finding meaning in nature, although the novel also sends the message of futility in this struggle among genders and among social classes. Isolation is more prevalent in a capitalist society, and the novel shows that hope for the working and poor class is worthless, since they will never have a fair access to the sources of production. Capitalism produces social hierarchy, where those without land and other resources are found in the lowest rungs of the social ladder (Loftis 135). Levant shows that Lennie represents the “reduction of humanity” to idiocy (134) and this can be related to how capitalism forces people to be non-human beings. Because of the demand for efficiency and increasing profits, firms turn people into robots, whose function is to produce money for shareholders. People are treated as means to a profit-centered end, a nature of the “grotesque” inherent in capitalism (Railsback 53). The American dream is hopeless for the poor. Millichap argues that Of Mice and Men is an expression of the “tragedy” of struggling for the American dream (6). Ocampo highlights the “cruelty” present in Steinbeck’s novels, because they depict the reality of class oppression and the futility of escaping it (50). Owens focuses on the setting, because since the novel is set in a California valley, it portrays that the story as symbolic of the “fallen world” (145). Slim tells George: “Ain’t many guys travel around together”. He adds: “I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other” (Steinbeck chapter 2, par. 179). The capitalist society has made people enemies instead of friends, because of the competition for labor and limited assets. Furthermore, George aims to have his own land, but his struggles are not enough for him to save money to buy land. He remains poor throughout the novel. In a patriarchal state, male relationships seek to dominate and to eliminate femininity and women characters, because they ironically want to save them, although in the long run, they only further isolate women from their dreams and hopes. The setting of the novel is “essentially a man’s world” (Ditsky 23), where women are seen and treated as either “sexual objects” (Broder 224) or nurturers. Violence is the key to survival. George says: "I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain’t no good. They don’t have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin’ to fight all the time” (Steinbeck 3.17). Happiness is elusive to the poor and they tend to use violence to express their anxiety with their society. As a result, women cannot survive as equals with men, since they also suffer from their weakened gender. Curly’s wife is the temptress, who can be understood as a symbol of gender oppression. She cannot pursue her own needs, so she is sexualized and demonized to have some function in society. It reveals a misogynistic theme, although this can also be understood in light of the patriarchal culture that Steinbeck belongs to. Steinbeck wants to save women from men’s violence, but the effect demoralizes and weakens women, since they are not empowered to help themselves. Emery and Bloom use characterization, plot, and symbolism to argue that male relationships dominate women and execute the essence of finding life meaningful for women. They emphasize the patriarchal husband-wife relationship between Lennie and George. George’s need for power over Lennie is also a patriarchal manifestation. Furthermore, the plot reveals how George sees Lennie as the weak and dependent feminine character. The ranch and its activities symbolize manly activities and motives. Hence, this is a man’s world, where women are weakened to the point of non-existence. Capitalism fosters technological development that intensifies human isolation through detaching humans from their environment. Naturalism is one of the movements in 1890s and early 1900s as people “make sense of the intensification of technological change” happening around them (Halliwell 135). The opposition between nature and mechanical living can be seen in the relationship between George and Lennie. Lennie is the one who loves natures and soft things. He depicts the interest in ecology that Steinbeck has (Kelley 209). George, on the contrary, wants material goods, because he seeks a more stable life. Steinbeck, however, shows that life will have more meaning with a true “new Eden”(Meyer 95). The fertile land represents the dreams for Eden, a paradise where poor people can reach their fullest potential. This is the land where Lennie finds comfort, but where he also conflicts with the materialist and physical needs of the people. He cannot exist in this kind of society that demands rational people who value goods too. People are then detached from their relationships, since they have to focus on economic goals. The capitalist society isolates people from their labor and human relationships, which, subsequently renders their lives meaningless without the people they need to feel human again. Richard Gray talks about the “power of the oppressors” (226) and how Steinbeck seeks to illustrate power relations in this world. People can only strive to find meaning in their lives, but their efforts are fruitless: “The author's delineation of his disaffected characters, with their individual aspirations and their unique brands of loneliness, stands in stark contrast to the broader themes of friendship and shared dreams, powerlessness and loss” (Brunjes and Bloom 23). Lennie loses everything in a world that has no compassion for people like him. In a materialistic society, Lennie will only be killed in the rat race. George aims to survive in the rat race. He wants land and happiness. But as the novel shows, it is hard to pursue these dreams if one is poor. Poverty means lack of resources and relationships that can help people escape their poverty. The ladder rings upwards are too many and often broken. Commitment alleviates human isolation. It shows people’s yearning for something real in a materialistic society. Commitment shows a “voluntary acceptance of responsibility,” says James Gray (21). He adds that it entails that “man owes something to man” (21). Hart mentions that some say that Steinbeck borders “calculated sentimentality” (261), as he pursues the “moral phase” (Timmerman 227) of his life. In the case of George and Lennie’s friendship, their relationship is not based on “utility or pleasure” (Johnson 239). Lennie says: "If you don’ want me I can g off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time." George replies: "No—look! I was jus’ foolin’, Lennie. ’Cause I want you to stay with me." (1.103-104). This shows that George needs Lennie in ways that George cannot always admit. Li argues that Steinbeck breaks “traditional concepts of friendship,” because George shows the ultimate act of loyalty through shooting Lennie (64). It parallels the act, where Carlson shoots Candy’s old dog to permanently end its misery. George and others like him only want to feel alive and they can only do so through establishing relationships with others. The “commitment to American individualism” will not help people survive this world (Denzin57). George and Lennie’s friendship symbolizes the existence of valuable human relationships in the midst of hopelessness. The author also uses foregrounding where the lost Eden shows the futility of establishing genuine human relationships, when everything is doomed to end. Lennie’s yearning for something soft also stands for the need of humanity for warm, human relationships. If people can find meaning in these relationships, they can escape the futility of their lives. Of Mice and Men demonstrates that in a patriarchal and capitalist society, life is meaningless for the poor and oppressed. People struggle to fight isolation by being committed to human relationships and finding meaning in nature, although the novel also sends the message of futility in this struggle among genders and among social classes. Women are lower than men and poor men are lower than richer men. The world is defined by one’s gender and social class. In this world, mice and men exist, where mice are the poor people and men are the rich ones. Steinbeck presents a melancholic realization: This world is a world for the rich. The poor has no place for meaning and purpose, aside from what society dictates. Works Cited Broder, Lesley. “Women Stripped of Humanity: John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.” Women in Literature: Reading through the Lens of Gender. By Jerilyn Fisher and Ellen S. 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