In the novel, Steinbeck’s Mice and Men is set in the Salinas Valley in California during the 1930s. At this time there was a great depression and the death toll in the United States was 7 million people. There are many characters that are plagued by loneliness in the novel, and they are Candy, Curley’s wife, and Crooks in the novel they are all searching for friendship and acceptance and to make people understand how it feels to be alone and not to have any friends. And they show and express the way they are lonely in many ways. One of the main characters was Candy. Candy is an old man who works at the ranch. He lost his hand in an accident while working and has a fake hand and receives money as compensation. And Candy's one true friend is his dog. Candy's dog is also old and useless and Carlson was having enough always telling him to take it outside because it smelled so bad and to also kill it because it's useless,. But one day they were inside the cabin playing cards and Carlson finally persuades Candy to kill the dog. Now because Candy's dog has died, he feels lonely and says “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They say he wasn't no good to himself …show more content…
He does not live in the bunkhouse like the rest of the men. He lives in his own room in the barn where all the animals live, which is away from the bunkhouse. He is not allowed in the bunkhouse because of his skin color and when Lennie tries to enter his bunkhouse, he does not let him because he says “You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room.”. -page 68 However, Crooks is one of the loneliest people in the book and allows Lennie in for company. Crooks is lonely without the company of the others and is alienated from them because of his skin