Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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John Steinbeck is the author of Of Mice and Men which takes place near the Salinas River in California during the Great Depression. During this time, it was every man for himself and many people were looking for jobs. Drifters would go to ranches and work for a few months then leave. In his novel, Steinbeck uses Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife to support the overall theme of loneliness. To start, Steinbeck uses Candy, the swamper, to contribute to the theme of loneliness. Candy is the old ranch swamper that lost one of his hands in an accident. He spent his whole life working on that farm only to end up losing a hand and having little money to show for his time spent. He suffered greatly for his loneliness. Although he is lonely, he still has his dog with him. He and his dog are quite similar being both crippled and of old age. However, one of the other workers talks to him about …show more content…

Crooks is the stable hand on the ranch and is the only black person there. He is so named because he was kicked in the back by a horse which bent his spine. Everyone on the farm excludes him because of the color of his skin. Because of this, he experiences a strong sense of loneliness. While Lennie is in the barn he goes to the light he sees which is crook's room. Steinbeck narrates, "Crooks scowled, but Lennie's disarming smile defeated him." (Steinbeck 69) Crooks has been lonely so long that he almost cannot deal with someone trying to be nice or friendly to him. Later on, Candy comes in looking for Lennie and fills in Crooks with the details of their plan. At first he thinks they're crazy, but then says, "...If you...guys would want a hand to work for nothing-just his keep, why I'd come an' lend a hand." (Steinbeck 76) Crooks said this because he is tired of being lonely on that ranch and just wants to be able to call something his own and earn his own living. This is how loneliness affected

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Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

of mice and men...theme of lonliness in the book

Racial Profiling in of Mice and Men by Steinbeck