Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Loneliness

A part of the human condition is to feel lonely. In order to feel loved a person must first feel alone. On the contrary those who have been loved find themselves feeling more alone. This is a theme that is prevalent in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Many of the characters find themselves very lonely due to their lifestyle on the ranch, combined with the way they are treated, but they react to it in different ways.
Curley’s Wife is a character that, ironically, her loneliness causes her to become more alone, due to her actions. She asks Lennie, “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely” (86). Curley’s Wife craves attention. Due to this, she carries herself in a manner which the men disrespect. Her obvious desire for the love, affection, and conversation that Curley is depriving her of is off-putting to anyone who meets her. Candy scolds her saying, “You gotta husban’. You got no call foolin’ aroun’ with other guys, causin’ trouble”

(77). Nobody cares that she is lonely because during these days, everyone is lonely, and only willing to care for themselves. Most of the men in the book, and time period, see themselves as better off alone.
Crooks is one of these men, who is convinced he is better off alone. He prefers to ice people out, and fester in his loneliness; he has never felt loved within his life, so he does not know what he is missing. Unlike Curley’s Wife, Crooks loneliness leads him to be more distant from the people on the ranch. When Lennie first enters the barn and Crooks room, Crooks is quick to push him away, arguing, “I don’t know what you’re doin’ in the barn anyway… They’s no call for a bucker to come into the barn at all” (68). He dislikes Lennie’s company, and simply sees no need for it. However, at one point Crooks abandons his need for distance, and lets Lennie in; literally, and figuratively. He hesitantly suggests to Candy and Lennie, “…If you…guys would want a hand to work for nothing- just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand” (76). Crooks, for a split second, lets his guard down, and wants to get rid of his loneliness. But only minutes after the conversation ends, he returns to his roots, and wants nothing to do with Lennie, or Candy. His insecurity, and instincts leads Crooks to remain the lonely person he has always been.
Candy is yet another character whose loneliness impacts their personality.

Unlike Crooks, Candy’s loneliness leads him to open himself up to other people, more than others typically did during the 1920s. At first Candy had his dog, who he loved dearly. He stammers to Carlson, “I been around him so much I never notice how he stinks” (44). Candy’s love for his dog keeps him blind to her faults. He is able to contain his loneliness through his dog, until Carlson shoots her. When this happens, Candy no longer has something tying him to the ranch, and the swiftness his dog was killed leads to paranoia; he opens up to Lennie, and George quite easily. Candy confesses to them, “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? . . . [When they can me] I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs” (60). Candy, being so close to his dog, has an existential crisis. He is lost, and alone without his dog, so he becomes very friendly to those around him, trying to fill the hole in his

heart.
The 1920s was a lonely time, especially for men; the economical strain led to an absence of love, and compassion for other human beings. The people in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, are very lonely on the farm, and try to rid themselves of this in various ways. Whether it be through flirting, the whore house, animal connections, or simply through friendships, the characters constantly find themselves trying to fill the emptiness inside them. This represents America at the time, and how impersonal connections between most individuals were, simply due to their lifestyles. Lonely America; no wonder it is called the Great Depression.