Of Mice And Men Curley's Wife Loneliness

A part of the human condition is to feel lonely. In order to feel loved a person must first feel alone. On the contrary those who have been loved find themselves feeling more alone. This is a theme that is prevalent in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Many of the characters find themselves very lonely due to their lifestyle on the ranch, combined with the way they are treated, but they react to it in different ways. Curley’s Wife is a character that, ironically, her loneliness causes her to become more alone, due to her actions. She asks Lennie, “Why can’t I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely” (86). Curley’s Wife craves attention. Due to this, she carries herself in a manner which the men disrespect. Her obvious desire for the love, affection, and conversation that Curley is depriving her of is off-putting to anyone who meets her. Candy scolds her saying, “You gotta husban’. You got no call foolin’ aroun’ with other guys, causin’ trouble”

Unlike Crooks, Candy’s loneliness leads him to open himself up to other people, more than others typically did during the 1920s. At first Candy had his dog, who he loved dearly. He stammers to Carlson, “I been around him so much I never notice how he stinks” (44). Candy’s love for his dog keeps him blind to her faults. He is able to contain his loneliness through his dog, until Carlson shoots her. When this happens, Candy no longer has something tying him to the ranch, and the swiftness his dog was killed leads to paranoia; he opens up to Lennie, and George quite easily. Candy confesses to them, “You seen what they done to my dog tonight? . . . [When they can me] I won’t have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs” (60). Candy, being so close to his dog, has an existential crisis. He is lost, and alone without his dog, so he becomes very friendly to those around him, trying to fill the hole in his