"I tell ya, a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick" (Steinbeck, 73) said Crooks. During the Great Depression, many migrant workers experienced this first hand. In John Steinbeck's book Of Mice and Men, many characters also experience this feeling. Of Mice and Men tells the story of George and Lennie, two migrant workers who travel to Soledad to work on a new farm. In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, the idea that loneliness brings out the worst in people is shown through the characters of Crooks, Curley's wife, and Candy.
Crooks is a prime example of how loneliness brings out the worst in people. When Lennie comes to visit Crooks while looking for his puppy, Crooks says, "I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain't wanted in my room" (68). After feeling unwanted and alone, Crooks becomes hostile towards kind people. He is the only one who is not welcoming to Lennie, unlike everyone else. While talking, Crooks brings up the possibility of George not coming back; he inadvertently hurts Lennie's feelings. However, he later realizes his mistake and says, "Maybe you can see now. You got George" (72). This indicates that he has no one, whereas Lennie has someone. However, it also makes Lennie think that George might not come back, which hurts his feelings.
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When Crooks, Lennie, and Candy are talking, Curley's wife interrupts and says, "I could get you strung up on a tree" (81). Curley's wife is lonely because her husband is always working, so she tries to talk to other people to relieve her loneliness. After being rejected, she becomes lonely again and starts to threaten them, showing that the worst in her is coming out. When Curley's wife first introduces herself, she says, "They left all the weak ones here" (77). After being alone for a while, when she finally meets someone, she is rude and unkind, showing that her worst qualities come out after feeling