In part two of the novel Of Mice and Men, the narrator introduces us to another lonely character in the book; Crooks, “For Crooks was a proud aloof man. He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs.” Steinbeck present Crooks as a loner and isolated from the others. Isolation is an important theme in this novella as nearly all the characters including Candy and Curley’s wife have profound sense of loneliness and isolation. John Steinbeck presents us with three important themes of his novel such as isolation, the impossibility of the American dream, which is greatly developed in part two of the book and the animal imagery associated with Lennie in the novel. In the novella, Crooks and Curley’s wife struggle with loneliness …show more content…
Most of the characters in Of Mice and Men admit that at one point of dreaming, there will be a different life from what they have. Curley’s wife confessed her dream of one day being an actress to Lennie before her death, Crooks allowed himself the fantasy of one day hoeing a patch of garden on George and Lennie’s ranch, Candy held on desperately to George and Lennie’s vision of owning a land, represent an ideal American dream. When George is awakened by the impossibility of this dream after Lennie’s death, it proves that Crooks was right when he was talking to Lennie back in his bedroom, “but you won’t get no land. You’ll be a swamper here till they take you out in a box.” (page75) Crooks puts the dream of owning a farm into its harsh reality, “every one of them gets a little piece of land. An ‘never a God damn one of” em’s ever gets it. Just like heaven.” (page81) He explains that he has seen hundred of men with the same dream and this dream never came true for any of them, moreover the comparison between heaven and the land suggests that God has forgotten every one of these ranchers. What makes all these dreams typically American is that these characters wish for an unstained happiness without working hard for it, whereas a dream can only be achieved through determination and