Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, is about migrant farmworkers George and Lennie who are working at a ranch during the period of the Great Depression. This book takes place in Salinas River Valley, California. Like many other migrant farmworkers, they’re moving place to place in search of opportunities. In his novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife, Candy and Crooks to contribute to the theme of loneliness.
First, Steinbeck uses Curley’s wife to display loneliness. Curley’s wife is lonely because she’s the only woman on the ranch and nobody talks to her, not even her husband. Curley’s wife often tries to escape loneliness by talking to the other men on the farm. She talks to some of the other ranch hands like Slim which causes a farmworker named Candy to say, “Well – she got the eye” (Steinbeck 28). Curley’s wife is basically sexualized and referred to as a “tart” by the others because of the actions she takes in an attempt to escape loneliness. She is limited to who she can talk to by her husband and she does admit to Lennie her true feelings when she says, “I get lonely. You can
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Candy is an old man who has lost his hand in a ranch accident. Candy is lonely because after losing his hand, he’s not able to work with the other men and is rendered as useless. Candy says, “When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me.” (Steinbeck 60). He knows that he will soon no longer be needed and his dog is used as a metaphor for exactly that. When George and Lennie are discussing their dream farm Candy chimes in by saying, “Maybe if I give you guys my money…” (Steinbeck 60). This shows that Candy is so lonely that he’s willing to contribute his life savings to these strangers so he doesn’t get left behind. By offering up his money and getting in on George and Lennie’s dream of a small farm, Candy attempts to escape loneliness by ensuring that he isn’t just tossed aside like