This is based on the question about how loneliness is portrayed in Of Mice and Men.

Be Honest!

Loneliness is an inevitable part of life that not even the strongest of people can avoid, which is shown throughout each character in John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men. Set in the 1930’s during the great depression, on worn-down ranch in California, we learn of the discrimination and prejudice of many of the characters, which ultimately result in loneliness and isolation.

Each and every character in this book displays loneliness, although it is not always clear to see. At the start of the book we meet George and Lennie, two friends on the run from their last town due to an accident that Lennie caused. It soon becomes clear that Lennie, a large, lumbering childlike man, has a mild mental disability which often makes him forget his own strength. Due to his disability, he is completely dependent on George, a small, wiry, quick-witted man who is fiercely protective of Lennie. Although he often talks of how easy his life would be without having to take care of Lennie, it is obvious that he is devoted to him. George’s behaviour is motivated by the desire to protect Lennie, and, eventually deliver them to the farm that they both dream of owning one day.

It is clear to see why Lennie would be isolated, due to his disability and the fact that, in that day and age, disability’s, particularly mental, are not fully understood. Although Lennie would not probably know that he was lonely, as it seems that in his head, all he really needs is George, it is clear that he is discriminated by some of the other workers. George on the other hand is too lonely, as his devotion to Lennie makes him fiercely protective, which can cause him to push others away. If he feels Lennie is being discriminated in any way, he retaliates by acting aggressively.

In the most obvious ways, we learn of Crook, the black stable-hand on the ranch, who is isolated from the other men because of the colour of his skin. Loneliness has made Crook a very bitter and isolated man, and he fully admits to feeling extremely lonely when Lennie visits him in his room saying “S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy `cause you was black…A guy needs somebody to be near him”. At first, Crook turns Lennie away, claiming that if he could not come into the white men’s house, then they couldn’t come into his, but eventually, his desire for company ultimately wins out, and he invites Lennie to sit with him. Like other characters, Crook turns his vulnerability into a weapon to attack those around him. He plays a cruel game with Lennie, suggesting that George would not come back to him, and it is only when Lennie displays signs of violence does Crook back down.

Another character that portrays loneliness in the novel is Candy, an ageing ranch man who lost his hand in an accident. Candy, like Crook, is and outcast because of his age and this distances him from his workmates too. Although lonely, candy has one faithful companion in the form of his equally ancient dog. When one of his work mates, Carlson, makes it clear that the ageing dog is starting to become a foul-smelling, flea-bitten mutt, Candy fears he will be forced to part company with his one true friend. His work friends refuse to let the dog stay in the bunk with them any longer, and it is then that Carlson offers to put the dog out of his misery and shoot it, claiming it is cruel to keep him alive longer. Candy is distraught at the fact that his companion would soon leave him but has no chose, fearing his age and disability is already enough for the boss to let him go, the last thing he needs is his workmates complaining to the boss about his dog. He reluctantly lets Carlson shoot him, but it is clear this has effected him deeply, stating "I wish somebody would shoot me when I become useless". After the death of his dog, Candy must look for companionship elsewhere, and he hopes he can find this in George and Lennie.

Loneliness is also portrayed in the form of the boss’s son Curley’s wife. Throughout the story, the woman’s name is not mentioned. The men on the farm only refer to her as a “Tramp”, “Tart” or “LooLoo”. Dressed in fancy, feathered red shoes and dress, she represents the temptation of female sexuality in a male-dominated world. Steinbeck does not portrait Curley’s wife as a villain, but rather as a victim. Like the ranch-hands, she is desperately lonely, being the only woman on the ranch, and Curley being possessive and aggressive towards his flirtatious wife so much as looking at another man. Just like Crook, her vulnerability gets twisted and she seeks out weaknesses in other characters, such as Lennie’s mental handicap, candy’s debilitating age and the colour of crooks skin in order to steel herself against harm, although at some points, he vulnerability creeps through, such as when she confides in Lennie her dream to be