Of Mice And Men: Loneliness

Of Mice and Men: Loneliness The theme of isolation is brought up throughout the book, Of Mice and Men. Throughout the story, there are characters who complain of being plagued by loneliness. Furthermore there are others who are judged and ridiculed for traveling with a companion. Consistently,. In the novel, people in the society view loneliness as the norm. Traveling alone is the normal thing to do, but George and Lennie are an inseparable traveling pair. In the beginning of the story, George states that men “who work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (13). From the quote, it is revealed that George is aware of the tendency of individuals to only fend for themselves. Consequently, George’s awareness indicates that he realizes he could be one of those lonely folks due to the fact that he also works on ranches. In addition, when Slim noticed that George and Lennie traveled together, Slim was skeptical and curiously responded with, “I hardly never seen two guys traveling together,” which revealed that there’s a stigma around people traveling together due lack of it

In the middle of the novel, the individual responsible for the stables, Crooks, revealed that he is ignored and placed below because of his race. Because people go out of their way to avoid contact with him and do not like to associate themselves with him, he feels left out. At the end of the day, he goes back to an empty living space and when events out of the ordinary happen, “he can’t turn to some other guy and ast him if he sees it too” for clarification (73). Crooks feels as though he needs others and can’t stand the loneliness, but the others placing him in his isolation feel as if it is appropriate and human put him in that position. From this quote, it’s revealed that Curley’s wife also expresses that she