How Does Steinbeck Explore the Theme of Loneliness in of Mice and Men

How does Steinbeck explore the theme of loneliness in “Of Mice and Men” In “Of Mice and Men”, the theme of loneliness is central to the novel. It is introduced to the reader at the very start of the novel i.e. the first time that we see George and Lennie they are walking apart – “they had walked in single file down the path and even in the open one stayed behind the other”. Throughout the novel we see that everyone is lonely and it seems that the description of George and Lennie at the start of the novel, almost prepare the reader for the lonely lifestyles of all the other characters in the novel. The main theme in the novel seems to be loneliness and Steinbeck explores the different ways this affects the other characters in the novel i.e. George is lonely in a different way to Lennie and so the theme of loneliness is shown in a different aspect. George and Lennie are both migrant workers travelling around the country looking for work. However even though they are travelling together and have each other for companionship, they are both still lonely. George is alone in his responsibility in looking after Lennie. There is no one to help him and he is weary of the lifestyle he is living – “If I didn’t have you I could have it easy”. This reveals that sometimes he wishes that Lennie wasn’t there so he could live like everybody else and enjoy the same freedom as other men. “I could go get a job an’ work an’ no trouble” – this reinforces the fact that George wants what all other men have got and that he is fed up of having to keep moving around every time Lennie gets in trouble. Lennie is lonely because he has no family to look after him (his Aunt Clara is dead and there is no mention of his parents- they may have abandoned him because of his disability) and he is completely reliant on George to look after him. However he is isolated from George because of his disability. He is lonely in his own world where no one can truly access him or understand him however much they try. Another reason why Lennie is lonely is because he can never have what he wants (mice and rabbits to pet) because he always ends up killing them. We can see this affects him in the novel because he starts crying after George takes the dead mouse off him “Lennie’s lip quivered and tears started in his eyes”. This shows us that he is just like a child in that he starts crying when he doesn’t get what he wants and he is lonely because George will not give him the dead mouse to keep him company. The theme of loneliness is also explored by Steinbeck through Curley’s wife. She has no companions and is lonely and isolated as she is the only women on the ranch or for miles around. This is apparent by her constant search for attention with the excuse “I’m lookin’ for Curley”. Her isolation is heightened because none of the men dare to talk to her or get involved with her- “why won’t no one talk to me?” She is isolated by Curley who won’t let her socialise with anyone else i.e. every time she goes somewhere away from the house he comes looking after her “Any you guys seen my wife?” This proves to me that Curley is jealous and possessive over her. This is also observed by the guys who say “He spends half his time lookin’ for her and the rest of the time she’s lookin’ for him” which reveals how possessive he is of her. We also see that throughout the novel she is constantly referred to as “Curley’s wife”, which shows that she is seen as being Curley’s possession. She is not allowed to be an individual like she wants to be and we see that she is bitter and angry about this when she tells her story to Lennie at the end of the novel- “Coulda been in the movies”. Another character who is lonely in the novel is Crooks. He is isolated because of social reasons i.e. he is perceived as a lower class because he is black. He is also separated from the other people because he has a physical disability “the nigger’s got a crooked back”. Crooks was treated as a second class citizen because of his darker skin colour. He is isolated from everybody else as there are no other coloured people on the ranch and there is only one coloured family in the whole of Soledad. We see in the novel that Crooks is not allowed to stay in the same room as all of the other people- “he had his bunk in the harness room” and he is fiercely protective over it- “This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me” this shows us how isolated he is because he has a defensive attitude to scare anyone away because he believes that they will say things to him. However this is crushed by Curley’s wife who reminds him of his low social status when she says “you know what I can do to you if you open your trap”. We see that Crooks retreats into himself after this verbal attack by Curley’s wife again showing how isolated he is. This again emphasises how separated he is form the rest of society and that he seen as being lower than females and having no rights. Candy is lonely in the book because of his age. He is due to be “canned” (fired) because he is useless. He says this himself: “I ain’t got the poop no more”. Candy is physically disabled as he lost one hand. This isolates him from everybody else as he can’t do a lot of things “I ain’t much good with o’ny one hand” showing that he believes himself to be useless. Candy is lonely because he has no family; his only family was his dog which he had had since he was a pup. When they shoot his dog, Candy has nothing left in the world. He delays killing him even though he knows it’s the right thing to do because he doesn’t want to lose his lifelong companion. “I had ‘im too long”. However his wishes are over looked and no one seems to care about what Candy thinks. Steinbeck shows the attitude towards the older generation in 1930’s America who are seen as again being of a lower social status than everybody else. Candy tries to overcome his loneliness by joining in with George and Lennie’s dream of buying their ranch. However this is crushed at the end of the novel when Lennie dies and the dream dies with him. Candy is left disappointed and lonely as George cannot carry on without Lennie “Now Candy spoke his greatest fear. ‘You an’ me can get that little place, can’t we George?” To conclude, George and Lennie’s relationship is juxtaposed against the lonely lifestyle of the migrant worker. We see how unusual their relationship is, as even though they are travelling together they are both still lonely. We see in the novel that everyone is lonely apart from the one exception of Slim who is portrayed as being “perfect in every way”. I think that Steinbeck shows the lonely life that the migrant workers had in the 1930’s and he explores the different way that people are lonely i.e. George is lonely because of his responsibility, Lennie is lonely because of the disability that makes him act like a child, Curley’s wife is lonely as she is not getting the attention that she desperately wants, Crooks and Candy both have physical disabilities and are of lower status than everyone else because Candy is old and Crooks is a negro. We see that even though these people are all surrounded by other characters on the ranch it is still possible to feel lonely because of the kind of lifestyle they are living and the time that they are in.