Loneliness is a significant concept that Steinbeck implements within the novel Of Mice and Men. The author achieves this by isolating most of the characters within the novel and including that the concept of companionship is foreign to them. In fact, through the development of his characters as the story progresses, a reader can deduce that this theme latches on to even secondary characters like Crooks, Candy, and Curley’s wife. With Crooks being the black stable hand, Candy, the old one-handed ranch worker, and Curley’s wife acquiring names of “jailbait”, “tramp”, or any other derogatory name that the male workers come up with, they all have their own obstacles to navigate before they can fight their loneliness. George and Lennie come to this ranch in Soledad in search for a new job that’ll get them closer to their …show more content…
Crooks at first isn’t introduced by name, in actuality the reader only gets to acknowledge that he’s a character through Candy’s words to George when he says “...he gives the stable buck hell” (Steinbeck 19) and “Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger” (Steinbeck 20). From this introduction, the audience can conclude that Crooks’ obstacle is his race, and during times like these in the ranch in the middle of nowhere, where you’d expect race to be less of a problem, it happens not to pan out that way. When Lennie enters Crooks’ room, we’re given a more indepth description of Crooks’ character. He keeps his room neat, and he owns many books and magazines. A person’s room tells a lot about their