How To Avoid Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

Of Mice and Men was written in 1937 during the Great Depression. This time period marked when the stock market crashed in 1929, leaving everyone with little food, and no money. Author John Steinbeck, writes about the lives of migrant farm workers who had to constantly travel from place to place in order to feed themselves during the Great Depression. Migrant farm workers usually traveled on their own, granted it was much easier. In his novella, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses Candy, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks to demonstrate unimaginable things people will do to avoid loneliness.
To begin, Steinbeck uses Candy to show how people will do desperate things to avoid being lonely. The protagonists, George and Lennie seemed to be the only men who traveled …show more content…
On the farm, Curley is the boss's son. Curley has a big ego and huge control over his wife. He does not allow any of the men on the farm to talk to her Since Curley’s Wife is the only woman on the farm, it involuntarily isolates her from all of the other men. Curley’s Wife explains, “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely” (Steinbeck 86). This quote shows that Curley’s Wife does not want anything more than to have someone to talk to and to keep her company. As the story continues, Curley’s Wife finds Lennie in the barn by himself, and goes to talk to him. Lennie tells Curley’s Wife that he is not supposed to talk to her because she is trouble. Since Lennie is cognitively impaired, Curley’s Wife starts to talk to him until he gives in. Curley’s Wife says, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before… I don’ like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella. And because she had confided in him, she moved closer and sat behind him” (Steinbeck 89). This quote explains that Curley’s Wife was getting comfortable with Lennie and let her vulnerability get the best of her.Curley’s Wife started to confide in a stranger because she finally had someone to talk to, which ultimately lead to her …show more content…
Crooks was the negro stable buck on the farm. He was excluded from the other men for the simple fact that he was an African American. Crooks usually sits in his room by himself, until one day Lennie wonders inside. At first Crooks tells Lennie to get out of his room, since he is not wanted inside of the bunkhouse that the men stayed in. He changes his mind because he thinks of how nice it would be to have someone to talk to. Crooks explains, “S’pose you didn’t have nobody… S’pose you couldn’t go in the bunkhouse… ‘cause you was black” (Steinbeck 72). This quote proves that Crooks was lonely because all of the men on the ranch discriminated against him. As the story continues, Lennie tells Crooks about the plans of the dream farm. Crooks says, “...If you… guys would want a hand to work for nothing- just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand” (Steinbeck 76). This quote explains how Crooks is willing to ask to join in on George and Lennie’s plans to escape his loneliness. This is the first time that Crooks has talked to Lennie. Crooks was so lonely, that he offered his work to people that he barely knew.
In conclusion, Steinbeck uses Candy, Curley’s Wife, and Crooks to demonstrate the unimaginable things people will do to avoid loneliness. The farm that George and Lennie dreamed of would have made the thought of loneliness disappearing a reality. These characters show that in