Of Mice And Men: Loneliness

838 Words4 Pages
Of Mice and Men In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinback, one of the main topics is loneliness. Loneliness is having a depressed feeling or being isolated. So in the novel “Of Mice and Men” many of the characters are feeling depressed and isolated. Such as Curley’s Wife, Candy, and Crook. Curley treats his wife as an object and forbids her from talking to other people. Candy is old, disabled, and can not work. Crooks is being racially discriminated and bullied. As a result, their lonely. Curley’s Wife’s loneliness is caused by her husband. Curley’s Wife is lonely because she did not follow her dream, Curley treats her as a possession, and the guys on the ranch avoid her because she is Curley’s Wife. “Coulda been in the movies, an’…show more content…
Candy is lonely because of his age, he lost his dog, and his physical disability. Candy’s age is one of the reasons that affect his loneliness, “I ain’t got the poop no more” (20). He said this when the others go to town on Saturday night because he is too old to go out with them, and he thinks he would not fit in. Secondly, after Candy lost his dog he was lonelier, “Candy lay still, staring at the ceiling” (49). When Carlson asked to take Candy’s dog to kill it, Candy would not answer and just lay still and stare at the ceiling because he was sad that he would lose his only friend. Candy had the same relationship that George and Lennie had for years with his dog. Lastly, Candy has a physical disability, “He scratched his wrist nervously. I Got hurt four years ago”. Since Candy lost his wrist four years ago he is not able to do work, and he thinks that nobody wants to be friends with him because of this. Also when George and he were talking about the dream plan, Candy tried to buy his friendship by saying how he will pay for most of it. In conclusion, Candy is lonely because money can’t buy real friendship and he lost his only…show more content…
Crooks is the stable buck. He is lonely because he is racially discriminated, he has no family, and he is bullied. When Crooks was in his cabin Curley’s Wife came in and said “Well keep your place then, Nigger” (81). She is racially discriminating him by his color and telling him to keep his place. This affects his loneliness because he has no one to stand up for him. Secondly, Crooks has no family on the ranch, “...there ain’t a coloured man on this ranch” (70). This makes him lonely because he has know one to talk to and he is the only coloured man on the ranch. Thirdly, Crooks is bullied, “They let the nigger come in that night” (20). On Christmas the boss brought a gallon of whisky and told the ranchmen to drink. So the ranchmen also let Crooks come in just to pick a fight with him because he is a man of colour. This affects his loneliness because he can’t fight back with his crooked back. In conclusion, Crooks is lonely because he is a man of colour and back then racism was everywhere. In the Novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, you will find that everyone has a bit of loneliness in them, even if it is a little. Curley’s Wife is lonely because Curley treats her wrong, nobody talks to her, and she never got her dream. Candy is lonely because he is old and disabled. Crooks is lonely because he is being bullied, racially discriminated and his skin colour. In the end, loneliness is everywhere and still affects
Open Document