Motif in "Of Mice and Men"

Every living thing on this earth craves and yearns for another's company. Love and affection are by far the most things that everything craves for. Love is human aid. Even the most bitter of people such as misoanthropist, or hater of people, have the craving for love from a person or thing. Nobody wants to be alone every waking moment of their lives.


In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the characters seem very clingy to one another. Candy clings to his old dog, Lennie clings to George and George does the same for Lennie. Only two people are bound to be alone which are Crooks and Curley's Wife.


Candy is a prime example, becuase he relies on his elderly dog for companionship. Knowing that both of them possibly hold the same fate. Both are no longer young and are near death. His dog is shot in the back of the head because he is seen as worthless. After that, Candy realizes that his dog is just about the only thing he has on that farm and in this world. With his dog no longer around, Candy is alone on the farm and in the world. He then joins forces with Lennie and George for companionship and plot to tend their own farm.


Lennie looks to George for Companionship because without George, Lennie would probably be lost, in jail or possibly dead. George serves as Lennie's eyes, ears and somewhat of a spokesperson. Due to Lennie's retardation and promise that he made to Lennie's Aunt, George feels that it is his duty to take of Lennie.George is intelligent and can fend for himself, but not as strong as Lennie, who because of his tremendous strength gets both of them a job on the farm.

Crooks and Curley's wife lack companionship. Crooks lives alone in the horseshed and is shunned because he is black. Crooks looks for a mutual compansionship in Lennie. Curley's wife lives a life of loneliness, even though she is married. She lives a life of false companionship due to the fact that her marriage with Curley is dead and a result looks to other men on the farm for love and attention.


Every living thing of earth craves for companionship. Love and affection are by far the main things that human want the most. Even the most bitter people or misoanthropists, or hater of people, crave for companionship from another person or a thing of some sort. Nobody wants to be alone every wakign moment of their life. After all, Love is human aid.