Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Loneliness, a Depressing Feeling Loneliness is a prevalent theme in the book Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. The book is about two friends, Lennie and George, who dream of a ranch of their own one day. Until the ranch is affordable to the two, they must work to make money. Along the way, George has to keep Lennie out of the accidental trouble he gets himself in. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck illustrates the various ways humans cope with feelings of loneliness. Loneliness is portrayed through Curley’s wife, Crooks, and ranch hands. Curley’s wife is one of the characters who has to be alone most of the time. She never has anyone to talk to, so she tries to escape her loneliness by attempting to talk to ranch hands and people around the farm. She tries to make conversation with anyone she possibly can. Everyone seems to avoid her. She explains to Lennie that she gets lonesome when she says, “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely” (86). She does not choose to be lonely. Curley, her husband, does not like her talking to anyone beside himself. She also tells Lennie, “You

He knows a worker on the ranch needs a friend to cope with the loneliness that comes along with that lifestyle. George explains to Lennie that they need each other, because they live the life of a rancher, a very lonesome one. George says, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (13). If a rancher has a friend, it helps a lot with the loneliness. Without friendship, ranching would be a much more tedious job. When talking about men who are alone on ranches, George tells all the others, “I seen the guys that go around on ranches alone. They ain’t no good. They don’t have no fun” (41). George knows it’s crucial to have a friend on the ranch to deal with the boring and lonely lifestyle. Without a friend, the rancher life would be