Of Mice And Men Theme Of Loneliness

Mother Teresa has once said, “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.” Loneliness is sadness because one has no friends or company or the quality of being unfrequented and remote. This quote relates to the theme of loneliness as portrayed by the characters in Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men. Although some view George and Lennie as victims of loneliness, Steinbeck suggests that they are Crooks and Curley’s wife because they both suffer from isolation.

At the beginning, Curley’s wife is forbidden to talk to anyone on the ranch because she is the only woman. For example, Curley’s wife confesses, “Well, I ain’t giving you no trouble. Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in awhile.”(p.77)

This indicates that Curley distrusts anyone on the ranch. Hence, George and Lennie are scared of Curley’s wife’s presence because they don’t want to be canned. Her environment eventually leads to her isolation from the rest, which leaves Curley to be her only companion.
Furthermore, not only did Crooks’ crooked back affects his normal activities, his nationality prevents him from communicating. As revealed by Crooks, “Guys don’t come into a colored man’s room very much.”(p.76) We are meant to understand that the White American are not supposed to interact with African American. Therefore, Crooks is surprised when Lennie tries to come inside his room and talks to him. Also, Crooks mentioned, “There wasn’t another colored family for miles around. If I say something, why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it.”(p.70) Since the Crooks are the only black family, they are like outsiders who are separated in this culture. This means the colored people are ignored and discriminate around this area of white. In other words, Crooks is separated because of his background and appearance.
In addition, Crooks and Curley’s wife are loners because the workers avoid them.

Indeed, Curley’s wife said, “What’s the matter with me? Ain’t I got a right to talk to nobody.”(p.87) Her marriage did not bring her happiness, but it made her regretful. Being described as “no piece of jail bait is worse than her”(p.32) by George, Lennie is instructed to not talk to Curley’s wife to avoid troubles. Similarly, Crooks admits, “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is as long as he’s with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick.”(p.72) He has a separate room in the bunkhouse and no one ever enters the room.This exemplifies why his attitude becomes hostile and excludes himself from the rest of the guys on the ranch, except for Slim and the boss. Also, Curley’s wife said, “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awfully lonely.”(p.86) She feels lonely and starts to get sick, similar as Crooks. Thus, Curley’s wife is restricted to talk to anyone on the ranch, even Curley, who does not talk to her much. This means that their environment prevents them from having a friendship and they get sick.

As a result, Crooks and Curley’s wife present loneliness in Of Mice and Men because they are unwanted. Their environment and different backgrounds affect how they are treated. This empty feeling makes them get sick, driving them to find a friendship to escape the loneliness. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck suggests that everyone needs a friend to talk to, no matter what age, race, or gender, to prevent from suffering

loneliness.