Theme Of Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

Loneliness is a topic that comes up very often in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Almost every character deals with the struggle of being alone throughout the novel. The characters in Of Mice and Men are all lonely for very different reasons, but they all have one thing in common: they have nobody who cares for them. George and Lennie, however, are different. They have each other, which is much more important than anything owned by anyone else on the ranch. Despite the fact the George and Lennie have the company of one another, every other character struggles with the thought of loneliness, with the fear of never having anyone to turn to for help or guidance. Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife are a few of these people. To them and many others, …show more content…
He is the only black man on the ranch and during a time of segregation, it is difficult for him to fit in because of his skin color. On page 72, Crooks says, “S’pose you didn’t have nobody. S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunkhouse and play rummy ‘cause you was black. How’d you like that?” This is spoken to Lennie in Crooks’ bunk in the harness room. Those sentences say that Crooks is lonely because no one wants to be around him. The fact that Crooks is telling Lennie all of the emotions that he has not been able to tell anyone also shows how desperate Crooks is for a friend, especially considering the fact that Crooks and Lennie just met that day. Crooks is in pain because of his loneliness, and he needs someone to explain all of the thoughts the he has hidden from everyone else …show more content…
She does not seem to fit in with the farm, like she should be doing something else with her life. Ever since she was introduced, she seemed like a troublesome person. This is evident when more about her is revealed, such as the insults she says to Crooks and Lennie. On page 81, Curley’s wife says, “Well, you keep your place then, Crooks. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny.” This line is spoken to Crooks out of pure hatred. She believes that she is superior to Crooks because of the color of her skin. In reality, Curley’s wife knows that she has no impact on anyone on the ranch. She only tries to act to have more power to come across as superior. Deep down, she knows that she is lonely because the only person she has on the ranch is her husband Curley, who does not even care about her. She knows that her loneliness is what puts her into her hidden