Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Loneliness is one of many central themes in John Steinbeck’s classic novella, Of Mice and Men. Throughout the story many characters sought after the company and attention of others. Each character has a certain barrier that keeps them isolated from the outside world. Three characters who portray this loneliness throughout the novella are Crooks, Curly’s wife, and Candy. Each having a different wall between them and society.

In a society of people all in the same situations how can someone feel so alone. When lives fall apart and people have nothing to hold on to people need each other most, yet are pushed so far from others. The novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, follows the storyline of two men who are displaced farm workers during the Great Depression; they travel around and stick by each other’s sides no matter the circumstance. After many jobs they end up on a farm,the farm they hope will be their last stop. The time spent on the farm is filled with blooming friendships and careless quarrels, yet with an abundance of characters and entertainment- many people on the farm feel alone and out of place. Characters such as Crooks and Curley’s wife often come to mind when the subject of loneliness is brought up. Throughout the book using characters such as Crooks and Curley's wife, John Steinbeck demonstrates that humans are immensely impacted by separation from society and it will change the way that people will act and show themselves to others.

had an old dog at the beginning on the novel .He had this dog for a

The harsh and lonely characteristics of crooks emphasize the loneliness theme shown throughout the book.

“A guy needs somebody- to be near him...A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you”(Steinbeck 72). The Great Depression, which occurred in the 1930s, was rough on migrant workers, young and old, women, and black people alike. Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks undergo loneliness and discrimination during the Great Depression. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men characters Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks, like so many people during the 1930s, experience harrowing times of being isolated from everybody else during those times. The things they face are being separated in a different room, being shunned by men who think they are above them, and people thinking that they are too old and useless. The theme of loneliness is expressed and felt in the novella Of Mice and Men through the isolation and discrimination of Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks.

(Steinbeck 72). As a result of the discriminatory mindsets of the people in that specific era, Crooks, being a Negro, is often avoided by everyone else. This combined with the fact that the stable hands come and go as they please makes for a very lonely existence with no one to talk to, no one to rely on, and no one to befriend. Even more, Crooks isolates himself with his deeply ingrained mistrust. Even his room is separate from the stable hands.

“Want me to tell ya what’ll happen? They’ll take ya to the booby hatch. They’ll tie ya up with a collar, like a dog” (Steinbeck 72). Discrimination plays a large role to feeling lonely. In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, characters endure attempts by society to make them “invisible.” These include racism, ageism, sexism, and isolation. More specifically, three of these characters experience loneliness from acts of discrimination. Factors contributing to their loneliness include ageism, disability discrimination, and racism. Each of these characters are migrant workers during the Great Depression who are discriminated against in different ways. Thus, through Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s wife, Steinbeck reveals the powerful

Candy can’t have any say in anything because he is so old. The men are not able to form relationships with him because he old and disabled . As a result, Candy is lonely and isolated due to his age and

     "Of Mice and Men" is a play written by John Steinbeck that focuses on life during the mid 1930's. This play has many recurring themes, and one of these themes is that of loneliness. This loneliness is because of the intolerance of society on those who are different. The underlying, yet stunningly obvious, theme of loneliness can be found in many characters with many examples. This loneliness due to isolation and intolerance is found in the characters of Candy, because he is old and useless; Crooks, because he is black and crippled; and Curley's wife, because she is a beautiful woman and the only girl on and all guy ranch.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is book of many themes; one that is very prominent is loneliness. Loneliness is common in many people's lives and that is also true for the lives of the characters of the book. Almost all characters in the book are lonely in one way or the other.

In the opening chapter, Steinbeck introduces the idea of loneliness and people who work on ranches living temporary lives, with no aim in life. Steinbeck develops the importance of Crooks, Curley’s wife, and Candy and how these characters are affected by loneliness. In Chapter 4 of Mice and Men Steinbeck reinforces the theme of loneliness in a subtle and not so subtle way. The loneliest person on the ranch has to be Crooks,

Crooks was a solitary man as well, being forced by the social boundaries at the time to keep to himself. He could not even make the idle chit-chat that the other men could to occupy themselves and sidestep the preliminary loneliness of working away from family. He was separated not only mentally but physically; “Crooks … had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn.” (Steinbeck 33) Crooks, who hailed from a different line of descent than the men surrounding him, was forced by the ethics of the era to stay separated. He had no one to confide in at all. He never mentions family, only lending to the fact that he has himself alone to talk to at all save when people give orders to him around the ranch. It is loneliness at its most concentrated. Not only was he separated but “[He] wasn’t wanted in the bunkhouse …” Not only is loneliness defined as being without companions and solitary, but as being “sad because one has no friends or company.” Not being wanted only makes one sad, and having no one to talk to makes Crooks a perfect match for the definition of loneliness. With Crooks, Steinbeck overwhelmingly makes the theme of loneliness readily apparent.

Crooks, the stable barn, who lives in a small shed that leads off from the barn is exposed to loneliness as he keeps to himself in his small and deserted room. ‘Scattered about the floor were a number of personal possessions; for being alone, crooks could leave his things about.’ (Page 66). When first describing Crooks, the author puts and underlying message in our head of loneliness as to show us

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck displays characters who each express their individual sense of loneliness. In particular, Crooks, the stable buck, exhibits a specific kind of solitude which stems from his background, discrimination towards him, and his isolation. As a child, Crooks grew up with two brothers that were “always near [him], always there” (73). He mentions remembering “[his] old man’s chicken ranch” (73) where he could live freely, spend time with his family, and play with his friends. Now, he has lost everything - his brothers, his family’s ranch, and the company that he had through his family and friends - thus igniting his loneliness.

Crooks is an African American who isn’t acknowledged very much by anyone else. “He has a room to himself... ‘You got no right to come into my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.’” (Steinbeck, 66 and 68).