Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Everyone experiences loneliness at some point in their life, but prolonged isolation changes the way a lonely person interacts with others. In John Steinbeck's novella, Of Mice and Men, three characters are discriminated against throughout the story because they are not young, white men. While Candy and Curley's Wife try to compensate for their lack of companionship by pushing themselves onto other people, Crooks puts up his walls and isolates himself more. Candy is a ranch worker on the farm before he lost a hand in a work accident. He now works as a swamper, but the rest of the workers still exclude him because of his old age. While they all go to work during the day, Candy is left in the bunkhouse because he is no use in the fields. Being left behind causes

After a few moments, Lennie doesn't let go, and Curley's wife starts yelling. Lennie panics and tries to stop her yelling, "And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck." 91). The. This small display of loneliness ultimately led to her gruesome death. Curley's wife is so lonely that it only took one huge misjudgment for her to lose her life. Crooks is the black stable boy, named after his crooked back. He is one of the most isolated characters on the ranch, separated from the other workers, not only by societal norms but also by the Jim Crow Laws that segregated people of color in the 1930s. Unlike Candy and Curley's Wife, he copes with his loneliness by isolating himself even further. When Lennie wanders into his quarters while everyone else is away, at first he is very standoffish, telling Lennie "I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain't wanted in my room." 68. The syllable of the syllable. When Lennie starts talking, Crooks lets him into the room, but is still rude. He makes Lennie question whether or not his best friend would return from the town. Later on, when Candy joins them in Crooks' room it is "difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger." i.e.