Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Candy and his dog provide a parallel to George and Lennie ‘dog lifted his head got… to his feet to follow’ Candy’s dog relies on Candy just a Lennie relies totally on George. George and Lennie have an elevated version of this relationship-stopping any hatred towards George when he shoots Lennie. In the same way despite logic and reason both pairs cling to each other because in the depression that’s makes them different. Steinbeck uses Candy’s dog to show Candy. Candy's dog is described as ‘ancient’ and ‘painful’ with nothing to look forward to except death.

The interactions he has with the other workers are kept at a bare minimum and he even sleeps in an area that faces away from the worker’s common room. All of the time he is separated from the workers and has no one to keep him company while he goes about his day. This segregation has made Crooks bitter and when Lennie starts talking to him, he goes on a rant to complain and lament about how unfair it is to be kept from other people because “a guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody” (72). Crooks’ lonely state has made him a key example of isolation in Steinbeck’s

Loneliness plays an important role in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. He illustrates how people are driven to companionship through Candy, Curley's Wife and Crooks. Candy, the disabled and aged man, is devastated after his lifelong companion's death. Curley's Wife, ignored by her husband and seen as a troublemaker to the other ranch hands, seeks attention. Crooks, denies friendship because of the color of his skin and wastes away alone in his room as loneliness eats away the human soul.

Loneliness is a revolving topic throughout the book. Many characters are impacted by it and this changes the outcome of the book. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, he develops the concept of loneliness through Candy's disability, Crooks unable to fit in, and Curley's wife in order to demonstrate that loneliness impacts people by causing anger and depression.

He lost his hand in an accident which is a major factor in his isolation as he is unable to work alongside the other men. Candy is powerless and afraid of the future. He does not go into town with the other men or socialize with them much. Also Candy gets really excited at the prospect of joining Lennie and George's dream of the small farm, "And they give me two hundred and fifty dollars 'cause I lost my hand. An' I got fifty more saved up right in the bank right now.

Simply because the color of Crooks’ skin he is lonely and isolated. At the beginning of chapter four we meet Crooks, “Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room;”(Steinbeck 66). Crooks not living in the bunkhouse and in the harness room leads to why he is so isolated. During that time his race was discriminated against so much that he wouldn't even have a chance to be anything but lonely.

Although Crooks is separated from the other workers, that does not stop him from being a well-read man. Since he has a lot of time on his hands, he spends it reading books alone in this room. He is a proud man, and critic Hart agrees by saying, “a highly detailed description of Crook’s separate living quarters.... reflect the situation of a proud, aloof man.” However, even though Crooks is a distant person, this does not make him unworthy of friendship. In the novel, his room is described as a “little shed that leaned off the wall” (Stenibeck, Fernandez

Due to loneliness and the living conditions of the Depression Era Candy’s dreams are dying. Before the events of the book, we find out the Candy’s hand is crushed on the job, and he’s perpetually stuck as a sweeper until George and Lennie came along. At the end of the book when George and Candy come across Curley’s Wife’s dead body Candy begins to rant about how Curley’s Wife’s death has ruined his dreams to own a piece of land, “‘Ever’body knowed you’d mess things

Candy lost a hand while working on the ranch. He doesn’t get to do everything he wishes he could do because he is a cripple and is elderly. Candy pleads to join the ranch with George and Lennie. Candy

When Candy is introduced he has a very strong relationship with a very old dog that he has had since it was a puppie. But not everyone likes his dog. On Lennie and George’s first night Carson, a ranch-hand, asks Candy if he can shoot is dog because he has had it for so long. Eventually Slim, the “prince of the ranch”, tells him that he will give him one of his newborn pups if they kill his dog. Candy eventually gives in and lets them shoot his dog.

Crooks likes the other men to think he is very secure and values about his privacy, but it shows that in he would rather be in the bunkhouse hanging out with all of the other men. Curley’s wife makes it very clear that she doesn’t love Curley and that she regrets their unhealthy marriage, “ ‘I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fellow.’ “(Steinbeck 89). Lennie is always lonely because he likes to pet soft things but pets them too hard and kills them.

In John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” loneliness is a prominent theme throughout the entire book. It describes the story of George and Lennie ranch workers who join a new ranch with new people. Many of the main characters in this novel experience and confess to suffering a sense of deep loneliness at one time. Steinbeck uses the setting, plot and the main characters of Crooks, Candy, Curley’s wife, George to display the theme of loneliness during the Great Depression era in the United States of America. The author utilizes the theme of loneliness to showcase the significance of a person's need for intimacy and devotion to another.

Since she is the only women on the farm, Curley is overprotective of her and hates when “she’s alone in the barn with them bindle stiffs” (Steinbeck 79). Many of the men have to ignore her and pay little attention to her due to the environment set by Curley. He has full control over her, especially due to

Curley’s wife says, “Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?”(Steinbeck, 76), when she tries to have a conversation with the boys in the barn. Candy mentions to her that she has a husband and she can’t fool around with other men. Candy’s old dog was the one thing keeping him not alone. Once the dog was killed Candy latched onto George and Lennie’s dream, for he was afraid of being alone and out of work.

Loneliness, a feeling of sadness because one has no friends or company, a feeling of depression and solitude. A theme which Steinbeck used many times throughout the novella. Steinbeck used these techniques to portray many of his characters in his book, of Mice and Men. Curley’s wife, crooks, and candy were mainly the three which had expressed loneliness several times in the story. Everybody does tend to get lonely once in a while but in this case Steinbeck highlights life on the ranch in the early 1930’s.