Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

“Middle aged adults who live alone have a 24% increased risk of dying of heart disease”, according to a 2012 Harvard study. This shows that loneliness does not only affect you mentally but also physically. Being lonely makes your stress levels rise because of the lack in somebody to talk to. In Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, he develops the concept of loneliness through Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife, to show the negative impact of loneliness on somebody's life. Crooks is the only African american on the farm and everyone on the farm treats him differently from the other people. Crooks has his own room and avoids talking to people. Crooks knows that being lonely is not good for you, for example "A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody.

When Candy was on the ranch, he had an accident that caused him to lose his hand in farm machinery that left him with money but also loneliness. “I got hurt four years ago. They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county." (Steinbeck, 66). Candy is so down that he doesn't want to do anything. He is always offered to go out with the other guys, but he refuses due to his negative aspect towards himself. Candy thinks that nobody wants to be friends with him because of his disability. Eventually, he tries to find a friendship by attempting to join the dream of George and Lennie, to have their own farm. This is one of Candy’s desperate attempts to find a place in society. Candy was attempting to overcome his loneliness and regain a positive outlook by seeking out situations that enable him to get involved with other men on the farm. After Candy lost his dog, he felt much more lonely than he was before. The dog was something that Candy had owned and bonded with throughout his years on the ranch. He felt worthless because now he didn’t own a single important thing. Candy and his dog had the same relationship that George and Lennie had shared for so many years. Candy offers everything he can to support the friendship including money, but money will never buy genuine friendship. "Maybe if I give you money,

Curley’s wife likes to get the attention of everybody on the ranch. She will dress and act very flirty. She will gain the attention of the ranchers to soothe her loneliness. The attention gives her a sense of relief and makes her feel wanted so she can share her personal concerns and experiences. Because of her reputation for being a flirt, none of the farm workers want to talk to her, no matter how hard she tries to fit in, she never can. Curley gives his wife no attention, which forces her into flirting with the other ranchers. Many people do not want to talk to her because of her reputation for being a flirt and bothering others. "Maybe you better go along to you own house now. We don’t want no trouble."(Steinbeck, 85). Curley’s wife notices how Lennie is not the smartest person and takes advantage of that. She knows that he would be the only one where she could discuss her problems that she deals with everyday. Loneliness is caused when you feel there’s no one in your life with whom you can share your feelings and experiences. Curly’s wife’s case of loneliness was the most severe throughout the novel. She struggled in her society to find somebody that she could consult with. She tried and would do anything to get rid of her psychological disorder of