Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

“George is ‘small and quick and dark of face’; Lennie a man of tremendous size, has the mind of a young child. Yet they have formed a ‘family’, clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation” (Steinbeck, 2). In the 1930s, everyone was affected by the Great Depression and migrant workers were some of the most affected people during this time. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Candy portrays the extremely lonely side of the depression; He is left to clean up after the other men who could care less about him. On the contrary, Lennie shows the hope many people of this time carried until they finally gave into reality. Thus, the theme of loneliness is slowly revealed in the novella through the countless struggles endured by

Because of Crooks’ race, readers know that he has faced many years of isolation and discrimination. Crooks’ race causes him to be isolated from all the other men on the farm. “Crooks...had his bunk in the harness room; a little shed that leaned off the wall of the barn” (66). Crooks is kept from being able to talk, hang around, and sleep in the same place as the other men just because of his race. Crooks is also left by himself and can’t play games with the other men since he’s black. This dialogue illustrates, “They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink” (68). Crooks is forced to sit in his own room and entertain himself by reading books as this conversation between Crooks and Lennie reveals: “S’pose you had to sit out here an’ read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain’t no good” (72). In other words, simply because Crooks is a different colour than the rest of the men, the only interaction he has with the other men is during horseshoes. Not only that, but the only way Crooks can pass the time when he isn’t around the other men is by reading books he hates all day long. Crooks also has to speak carefully around everybody on the farm so that he doesn’t get in trouble or even killed. As show by this conflict between Crooks and Curley’s wife, “You know what I can do to you if you open your trap” (80). In short, Curley’s wife knows that everybody will believe her lies about Crooks rather than believe Crooks’ truth because she’s white while he’s black. Sadly, just because Crooks is a different colour than everyone else on the farm; he is not only isolated and discriminated, but he can’t even enjoy the small things in