Loneliness in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Essay Example

Have you ever felt lonely? Everyone has dealt with loneliness at some point during their life. It might just be not feeling love or even being isolated from other people, no matter what kind it is, loneliness plays a part in everyone's life. The book Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck,  taking place during the great depression, shows the loneliness in characters with their actions, and interactions with other characters. John Steinbeck shows loneliness in the characters Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife, with their adversities and their feelings of isolation. The characters end up realizing they are lonely talking with one another. The book shows us that the loneliness they face is caused by more than just simple isolation but instead caused by the other challenges in their life.

Through the characters' lack of friendship, we see loneliness. The characters Lennie, Crooks, and Curley's wife are all different from the others in the book, with Lennie having a disability, Crooks being a colored man, and Curley’s Wife being a woman. The differences that these characters have cause them to have a difficult time making friends, as shown by Lennie when Steinbeck says, "Lennie smiled helplessly in an attempt to make friends”(68). Lennie had just moved to a ranch with his best friend George to find work, Lennie tried to make friends but had a difficult time. He smiles helplessly to try but ultimately is unsuccessful. This shows that Lennie is unable to make many friends as a result of his disability. His disability deters people from him causing him to be lonely. Another example is Crooks, who tells Lennie, ”people don't come into a colored man's room very much”(Steinbeck 76), showing us that since Crooks is a colored man people don't want to talk to him or be one of his friends. Curley’s Wife is lonely, and like many other women isn't treated the best. Curley's wife is the only woman on the ranch and has a difficult time making friends and talking to people as shown when Steinbeck says, “I never get to talk to nobody, I get awful lonely” (86). Since she has a hard time talking with people she has a really hard time making friends causing her loneliness. The differences these characters have prevent them from making friends show us that the loneliness they face is caused by more than just simple isolation.

These characters often feel like nobody cares about them. Lennie feels as if he is a burden to George and doesn't care. Lennie tells George “if you don't want me I can go off in the hills and find a cave” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie shows us that he feels as if he is preventing George from achieving his goals and he isn't needed by anyone. The character Crooks doesn't have many people to talk to, he feels like he isn't cared for, he tells Lennie “suppose you didn't have nobody” (Steinbeck 73). This shows that he feels as if he is alone and nobody cares for him. The character Curley’s Wife shows us that she feels like people don’t care when she asks “what's the matter with me ain’t I have a right to talk to nobody”(Steinbeck 87). She feels as if people don't want to talk to her and she is stripped of the right to talk with people. This is another example of how the loneliness that the characters have is caused by the ideas and feelings they have that nobody cares about them rather than the simple isolation they face.

They even deny that they are lonely, they know that if someone leaves them they won't have anyone but they don't want that to be true. Lennie needs George as he is the only one that shows he does like Lennie, Crooks suggests that George might leave Lennie one day. Lennie says “George won't go away”(Steinbeck 73). Lennie knows he needs George and denies that George might leave him as he makes finding work for them hard. The loneliness he faces and the same with other characters is caused by their understanding they don't have many people to be with and they continue to deny it. 

The loneliness that these characters face during the book is shown through the differences they have, the ideas, and their understanding of the situations. They show that the loneliness that they have is caused by much deeper and less obvious issues than just simple isolation which is a product of the deeper issues that they face, not the main reason causing them to have difficult times connecting with the other people in the story. This shows that they have much deeper issues causing their loneliness than just simple isolation.