How Does Steinbeck Present The Theme Of Loneliness

“Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty”(Mother Teresa). This quote best illustrates the theme throughout the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The characters in this novel are constantly being placed in and out of farms in the early 1930’s. The author embellishes how the characters are trying to find a way out of their stage of loneliness; this is proven when they are forced into finding friendships. There are three characters that illustrate the theme in the novel Of Mice and Men, these people are Candy, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife. These characters all show the same trait of loneliness, but in different perspectives. The first example of a character who is lonely is an old handyman, who is left with only one hand from the outcome of a 7wwwwwprevious accident, is left alone with his dog. In the beginning his dog was a impressive sheep herder, but over time he ages, causing him to have a bad odor. Carlson insisted to Candy that the dog needed to be put out of his misery, so Carlson shot the dog. As a result of this incident Candy feels that once he gets old and useless he will be demanded to leave the farm. He expresses his feelings when he says, “ When

Lastly, Curley 's wife who wonders around the farm with flirtation towards the other men; while acting like she is trying to find her husband, Curly. She has an encounter with Lennie, Candy, and Crook in the stable, and admits to her feeling of displeasure with her life and her marriage to Curley. When she says “ I get lonely [...] You talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curly”, this proves her unhappiness that leads to her flirtation (Steinbeck 87). Later in the novel, she explains her dream to Lennie compared to the life she is living now. She explains it by expressing her feelings of how the men treat her by saying, “ Seems like they ain 't none of them cares how I gotta live“ (Steinbeck 88). Curley’s wife’s unhappiness has lead to her