If the walls could talk they would tell you of the hundreds of lonely teens wondering from class to class in a constant effort to maintain the idea of “fitting in” or simply looking for a friend. The walls would tell you of the pressure to make the grade or the team. In this essay I will explain why Society has made those concepts totally acceptable in our schools as well as how this relates to John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men.
The social idea of being in the “In Crowd” has crossed generations as well as different societies around the world, causing the less popular, wealthy, or different to feel lonely or cast aside. This concept relates to Of Mice and Men because like lonely teenagers, George and Lenny are both poor and socially unacceptable. Lenny is mentally handicapped causing his peers to look at him as stupid and not worthy of entering into their social class, much like how high school students can treat someone less smart or different. Teens being unaccepted by their peers can cause them to feel lonely.
The pressure to fit in also applies to grades. Teens strive for good grades with the hope of getting an award or scholarship or to get accepted into a college which would send their social class to new heights. The cause and effect of this loneliness can make teens do or say things that will sometimes do more harm than good. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Lenny has constant feelings of pressure to “be good” for George that soon overwhelm him. In the scene with Curly’s wife, Lenny reacts negatively to that pressure by strangling her to keep her quiet about him killing the puppy. This pressure with ultimately be Lenny’s demise.
Every teen has felt Lonely at one time or another. Even the quarter back of the football team has felt his share of loneliness when losing the big game, causing him to work even harder at the next game. In Of Mice and Men, George and Lenny strive to be good at their sport of choice which is working in the fields. The best workers make the most money and in turn have the best social class.
As you can see, if the walls could talk they would tell you about the lonely teens striving to fit into what our society considers to be acceptable. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George and Lenny only wanted to find a place they could call home by fitting in and making money. Unfortunately, the pressures of life and loneliness were too much for Lenny causing George to make the heart breaking decision to end Lenny’s life at his hand instead of by the hands of their peers. In this essay, I have shown how Loneliness can be a motivator or a destructor.