Mice And Men

Loneliness is something that becomes very evident in certain characters in Of Mice and Men. As you read Of Mice and Men you become aware of the fact that the author portrays loneliness throughout this book. Many of the characters in this book acknowledge to being lonely. The lonely feeling is more obvious in the characters Crooks, George, Lennie and Curley's wife. Therefore they each encounter a time of confessing to being alone.

Although a very proud and sometimes funny man, Crooks finds himself to be on the outside looking in. Even as a child playing with the white kids on the chicken farm, he felt isolated. Getting older, he still sees himself to be an outcast as he sleeps alone in the stables. He is not allowed on the white quarters with the others. Alone on his bunk, he finds himself reading books to ease the pain of loneliness. Crooks is always being left out of the social gatherings on the ranch. He is never invited to play cards or visit brothels.

In addition Curley's wife is always yearning for attention. Being the only woman it would seem she wouldn't have much hassle getting any. Always getting commands from her husband not to chatter to anyone compounds her loneliness. Every time she would try to mingle with the guys they would howl at her and tell her to leave. She felt as if she had no one in the world who she could talk to. She even confessed to some of the guys that she felt she lived a shameful life, and had no feelings for her spouse. "I don't like Curley, he ain't a nice fella."(89)

Moreover George and Lennie find themselves in loneliness as well. George who is a caretaker to Lennie never has time to gaze for companionship when moving from farm to farm. Lennie would never be able to have anything close to him because he ends up hurting it with his undefined strength. "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world."(17) George and