John Steinbeck's book, Of Mice and Men, is an American classic that portrays the era of the Great Depression, he goes in depth about the slowly dying dreams of many of the people during this time period. People are starting to give up on their happiness and instead start becoming reclusive. The struggle of loneliness goes beyond the one of money or hope. Steinbeck shows this through his many side characters, who are desperate for any type of connection. Even though these characters have many differences between them, they are all universally connected to the feeling of isolation and solitude. As a woman, being surrounded by men can be a driving factor to isolation. Many women like to have some sort of female companionship since male dominated …show more content…
What was even more common, however, was being separated simply because of the persons race. Crooks, the Black stable hand, endures this form of isolation. He is confined to his specific quarters on the ranch, one day he encounters Lennie and says "'A guy needs a companion. He goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long as he's with you'" (Steinbeck, 63). Crooks says this to prove the point that every human being needs someone, even if that person is not ideal. Relationships play a vital role in people’s lives, which is why loneliness is so crippling and often leads to despair. Crooks also makes it a point that not only do friendships affect someone’s mental wellbeing, but also their physical, he tells the audience this by stating, "I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick" (Steinbeck 64). This quote highlights that there are many consequences of loneliness by directly linking it to illness. Crooks is once again implying that relationships are a necessity in one’s life, and that lacking this need has a genuine impact on someone’s health. This resonates with the audience since it shows that loneliness is more than just sadness, but that it has a strong impact on one’s