A novel titled, Of Mice and Men is written by John Steinbeck in the 1930s during the great depression in California, America. The main topic in the novel is loneliness in relation to injustice and dreams that never came true. Curley’s wife, Candy and Crooks are the three main characters in the novel and are used by Steinbeck to show the impact of loneliness to human beings. All the characters experience, and face problems and have negative feelings due to loneliness and being isolated.
George and Lennie are friends and are the two main characters in the novel. They travel and work together in a ranch and share the same dream of one day owning a ranch. The two characters are used to describe the fate of workers in the ranch. George is presented to be a brilliant man who takes the role of being a parent and takes care of Lennie who is a simple minded person but one with a huge physical strength.
From the beginning of the novel the characters are brought out to be very lonely. For example when George says that guys like them who work in ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. He says they have no family and don’t belong to any place. In the period of depression from the 1930 in America, this fate is common when workers have to travel long distances to look for work. Through their friendship, George and Lennie are driven to find relief in each other in order to get away from loneliness, which is an accepted part of human life. Lennie recalls saying that you have to have somebody to talk to and one who cares about you.
Loneliness can change somebody’s behavior, thoughts and even every day’s actions. In the novel Of Mice and Men, loneliness changes the characters in many different ways. Crook is a strong example of this changes. His character is presented to be extremely isolated and marginalized. The fact that that he is the only black man, often called” nigger” living in a ranch at a time when racism against black people was acceptable in America. From the early stages of the novel we find out that Crook is being verbally abused by his boss and that he lives alone. Despite all this he keeps his room neat and tidy. Loneliness and unfair treatment has really affected him such that he suspects any kindness that he receives. He tells Lenny that he should not come to his room since he is also unwanted in the bunkhouse. Lenny’s interaction with Crooks shows how difficult it is to understand racial discrimination in that period in America. Having been born in California, Crooks had equal rights but always felt like an outsider. The treatment he receives sometimes makes him angry and cynical.
Crooks brings out the loneliness and despair experienced by the other characters saying that a guy needs someone near him and goes nuts if he got nobody. He goes on to say that a guy gets lonely and sick and it does not matter who the guy is. This shows Steinbeck’s logical evidence to play on the human need for company. Crooks treatment makes him think that people are motivated by their own interest and does not believe anyone who dreams and hopes that they will one day have their own ranch. He is marginalized, pessimistic, resentful, and fearful and a “nigger” but still has a dream and believes that one day he will enjoy his childhood again.
Candy another character who is a lonely handyman with only one hand as a result of an accident is worried that his bosses will see him useless and demand him to leave the ranch. An important aspect for Candy is his relationship with his ancient dog. Their relationship represents the future of the people who will not achieve their dreams. For the best years of his life Candy has spent on working on someone else’s ranch only to lose a hand and get little money. His loneliness is seen when he says he has nothing and no relatives and also his desire to talk to George shows how lonely he is. His relationship with his dog that was once a sheep herder is now toothless, foul smelling, very old and will not let him go brings out the picture of his loneliness. When Curley’s wife dies, Candy is affected by loneliness again and is angry at her and blames her for ruining their dream. He is sad because he knows his dream for friendship and company is now broken.
Curley’s wife, is a character in the novel that does not even have a name and is initially seen as the possession of her husband. In the novel they were never shown together. We are only told that she is a good looking lady who wears expensive make up and very attractive dresses. Being the only woman in the ranch she is lonely and sad. She reveals that she is unhappy in her marriage because her husband is only interested in talking about himself and seems to care so little for her. She talks of her broken dream of becoming a Hollywood star. She wants people to talk to her and give her attention and flirts openly with the ranch workers because she is lonely, bored, frustrated and wants to make her husband mad. While flirting, she cuts out Candy because of his old age, Lennie for being “dum dum” and threatens Crooks with a lynching. She talks of every lost opportunity when she gets a chance to speak. She struggles to find people to talk to and could do anything imaginable to let go of her loneliness. In the end she dies of an accident because she was not aware of Lennie’s curiosity in soft objects like her hair.
Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men, the reader gets to know all the sources of loneliness, mainly being discrimination and prejudice. In the end of the story, all the characters discover ways to deal with their loneliness but are still victims of isolation. Steinbeck compares the loneliness of the three characters, Crooks, Candy and Curley with the friendship of George and Lennie and believes that the topic of loneliness has been well presented. All the characters had hope at one point and because they lived in the same ranch they could have depended on one another, made friendships and end loneliness. Due to their pessimism they could not and no one finds a friend. In the end George is obliged to kill his only friend Lenny but he makes sure he dies happy. Steinbeck presents a very sad story such that in the end everybody dies or lives alone. He presents Slim to be very supportive of George’s sadness and makes us hope for their friendship or maybe wonder if their fate will be one of loneliness.
