Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Humans often ostracize others, leading them to be lonely. This is seen in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, where the characters are often lonely. The loneliness is often caused by things which are out of the characters control. This essay will demonstrate this by examining Crooks, Curley's wife, and Lennie. First character crooks is lonely due to the color of his skin. It’s shown when Lennie starts asking Crooks the first character questions about why he is so lonely he responds with, “I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink” (68). Crooks tells Lennie how due to the color of his skin he is segregated from the other men. The quote shows how uncontrollable events cause loneliness. Crooks is a lonely character because of his skin color. Crooks is isolated in everything, which includes sleeping, eating, and playing with the others. He is forced to sleep in his own room, which is right next to the barn. While the others play cards together in their free time, he spends it with himself. The major cause of loneliness is shown through Crooks who can’t change his skin color which causes his loneliness.

George tells Lennie, “Don’t you even take a look at that bitch. I don’t care what she says and what she does” (32). Curley’s wife is purposely left alone due to her being married to Curley. The men on the ranch do not like her and do not talk to her. The men on the ranch don’t like her because of her husband. A reason why they don’t like her husband is because of the control he has over the ranch, and the way he acts with his role in the ranch. Curley's wife’s loneliness is caused due to her husband’s actions, something she has no control over. Curley often looks down on the other men, due to him being the owner's son making him face no consequences for his actions. Which causes the others to dislike