Loneliness: A Huge Setback for Characters in Of Mice and Men

Loneliness Loneliness is a state of mind and not an emotion. Do you know why? You can be lonely yet physically be in a crowded room with a bunch of people. In the book Of Mice and Men, there are two main characters that support the theme of loneliness. Crooks is one of the many characters to express the theme of loneliness. Curley's wife displays the emotion of loneliness, although in a different way than Crooks does. However, these two have one thing in common; they both have something holding them back from getting out of this horrible state of mind. This feeling holding them back is one of the most important themes of the book, and that feeling is loneliness. In the book Of Mice and Men, loneliness is the main theme. The theme of loneliness is shown through Crooks’s character. The items in his room show that he is lonely. For example, all the books show that he has a lot of free time of his own to read. This shows solitary confinement for a big chunk of Crooks’s day. “And scattered about the floor were a number of personal possessions; for being alone, Crooks could leave his things about, and being a stable buck and a cripple, he was more permanent than the other men, and he had accumulated more possessions than he could carry on his back” (pg. 66-67). Crooks is also isolated by his race. "S'pose you didn't have nobody. S'pose you couldn't go into the bunk house and play rummy 'cause you was black. How'd you like that? S'pose you had to sit out here an' read books. Sure you could play horseshoes till it got dark, but then you got to read books. Books ain't no good. A guy needs somebody-to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick" (pg. 80). Since Crooks is an African American, the guys complain about his “stench” and use that excuse for why he cannot sleep inside like everyone else. Finally Crooks is isolated by his