How Does Steinbeck Show Loneliness In Of Mice And Men

Maggie Garbarino

3/14/23

Mrs. Roberts

English 9 Honors Stranger to all

Alone. Nobody present. Isolated from society, interaction with humankind is non-existent. The Great Depression caused a sequence of loneliness and isolation among people during ten years of tears, hunger, and death. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, characters face harsh challenges to survive. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck prioritizes the thought of characters dealing with a sense of loneliness. Crooks, Candy, Curley’s wife, and Lennie all rely on smaller less meaningful things to make up for not fitting in with the rest. While characters try to fill the void of companionship, we understand how hard

Crooks feels isolated because he cannot socialize with the white males and lives by himself in the barn. While most of the workers are off in town the outliers are left behind. Lennie, being a member of the unfavorable bunch, stumbles into Crooks room as he waits for George’s return. Lennie becomes very anxious about George's return as Crooks is giving him the worst-case scenarios that could happen to George. Once Crooks notices Lennie's companionship with George he feels sad. His realization of his loneliness makes him lash out with many feelings. In the midst of his thoughts, Crooks opens up and says “ If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep, and then it would be all right. But I just don’t know.” (Steinbeck 73). Crooks don’t know how it feels to be cared for. The crooked man lives in the small shack beside the farm, isolated from the rest of the workers. A room all to yourself probably seems favored to many, but Crooks would rather have people to share conversations with, and people who could lend him a hand, play cards, and share emotions. The simplicity of the life Crooks dreams of is not being separated because of the color of his skin but being celebrated. A conversation is his dream. Lennie coming into his room and not defining him by how he looks on the outside made him feel a sense of normality. Crooks having company was so exciting for him because he felt like a human being again. He talks to Lennie about his life when he was younger, and I sensed he was remembering this story because he felt normal back then and at that moment he was brought back to being a member of society. Companionship. Something so simple is what Crooks dreams of. His lonely life is devastating to him. How can something we overlook every day mean the world to someone else? A simple conversation? Although laws were changing during the 1930’s we don’t see Crooks