Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

It has been estimated that approximately 60 million people in the United States, 20% of the total population, feel lonely. It is not uncommon to suffer from loneliness. It is way more common than people actually show. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, multiple characters show signs of loneliness. Crooks, one of the characters, shows signs the most. All of the characters show signs of either being alone, being isolated, or being not wanted. Isolation, does in fact, lead to loneliness, and then loneliness leads to insanity. Being alone can lead to insanity. Multiple characters show this throughout the book. Lennie tells George that “(He’ll) go off in those hills right there- right up in those hills and live by (himself)” (pg 13). Lennie feels alone, and the need to isolate himself because he does not think George wants him around. Lennie again says “Cause I can jus’ as well go away, George, an’ live in a cave.” (pg 13). Even after George had reassured Lennie, whom he still feels like he should leave, and he is not wanted. By Lennie wanting to isolate himself from
George he is putting himself in danger of being alone forever, which could potentially lead to insanity. If someone is lonely, and alone it can definitely lead to loneliness; that is something no one should have to experience. Isolation and loneliness go together hand in hand. Not only can being alone for too long lead to insanity but also not being treated or helped can help cause this even more. A character by the name of Crooks has been isolated to the barn. As the book goes on his development shows he is lonely and slowly going insane from it. “(Crooks) kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs.” (pg 67). Crooks is not allowed to be in the bunkhouse, so when Lennie goes into the barn he gets defensive by saying “I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain't wanted in my room” (pg 68). Crooks has been alone for a while now, so when people went in his room he did not know how to react and he lashes out. Crooks ends up telling the others to leave because he did not know how to react to what had just happened. Crooks also is not wanted around, which leads to the next character that is suffering from isolation and being alone. Curley’s wife is not wanted around, so the guys lash out at her whenever she is around them.
Curley's wife says that “(She) ain’t giving (them) no trouble” (pg 77). She just wanted someone to talk with her because she feels lonely. Throughout Curley's wife's character development is shown that she really just wants to talk. “What kinda harm am I doing to you? Seems like they ain’t none of them cares how I gotta live” (pg 88). Curley's wife opens up to Lennie and expresses how she really feels to him. Lennie learns that Curley’s wife was going to be an actress but could not end up doing that, because she was only 15 years old. Curley’s wife’s character is not made likeable until the end where she is gone and it is too late. All throughout the book everyone tells Curley's wife to leave. Candy says “you better go home now” (pg 81). They only said this so that they do not have to keep talking to
her. The opposing side of the isolation argument would be that isolation does not lead to loneliness; it does not lead to insanity either. Even though Crooks is isolated he seems fine. It can be argued that he is not lonely and just dislikes everyone. When he tells people to leave the barn it is because he does not like having company. To refute this statement it can be argued that these are weak claims, because Crooks has shared his ideas with Lennie about joining them in the american dream. He only gets defensive again once everyone says the dream is not achievable. Crooks then goes back to his lonely, isolated self. There are different ways that one person can be affected by isolation and insanity. Lacking social skill, like Crooks, or feeling not wanted like Lennie and Curley's wife. Being left alone for a long time is not a good thing, even if being alone is peaceful. Isolation can lead to insanity because there is not anything to keep distracted with. Being alone is not having anyone to talk to; that leads to being isolated. Isolation is when there has not been anyone in years. Not being wanted is the worst. There is no one to talk to, which can then lead to insanity. A lot of people suffer from loneliness, so it would not be uncommon for characters in the book to suffer from loneliness. If 20% of the population has suffered then it would not be uncommon for the three of the characters to show signs of it.