How Does Steinbeck Present Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, he illustrates loneliness and isolation within his character’s actions and feelings. In the novel, there were several characters who went through the loneliness of ranch life in the United States; a handless old man named Candy, a black crippled man named Crooks, and Curley’s wife. Candy faces loneliness and isolation after losing his dog, Crooks was forced to live away from the other workers because he was black, and Curley’s wife was the only female on the ranch, receiving no attention from anyone. Loneliness and isolation are expressed numerous times throughout the novel, especially through the emotions of Candy and his old dog.
Steinbeck conveys loneliness and isolation through the emotions of

Curley’s wife is very lonely and isolated because she is the only female on the ranch and nobody keeps her company, as her husband Curley is always busy. Her gender and femininity isolates her from the others because the ranch workers believe that she's a "bitch", "rattrap", and "jailbait" (34) only causing trouble and allowed to "talk to nobody but Curley, else he gets mad.” (87) When talking to Lennie, she says that “[she] get[s] lonely.” (87) and very bored. Her attempts to engage with the other men with her feminine charm on the ranch only pushed them further away from her, as everyone knows that if they spoke with Curley’s wife, they would be punished. Before Curley’s wife married Curley, she "coulda made somethin' of [herself]" (87). She almost made it but her mother did not allow her to go. She attempted to get away from her parents and life before by marrying Curley and running away. Even though she "[doesn't] like Curley" (87) she isolated herself by marrying him. Curley preferred that she did not interact with anyone, even though he sometimes ignored her. She craved attention and just hoped that someone would listen to her and her story, just as Lennie did before she