Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men

In the setting of which Of Mice and Men took place, is a location bound for loneliness. There are many different causes of loneliness. It is not only caused by lack of association. Relationships and communication do not stop the harmful effects loneliness can have on an individual, it simply postpones the unavoidable. The loneliest characters in the novel are all sad for their own different reasons. Employment on the ranch serves a great deal of loneliness. Trust plays a big role in whether the characters feel the darkness of privacy. The reason of each of the characters' loneliness reflects on their lives, friends and attitudes.

A great portion of the characters are worried by loneliness for various reasons. Some of the loneliest characters are surrounded by people all the time, but the circumstances they are under force them to endure the devastating pain of desolation. Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife are affected the most by the agonizing aftermath provoked by segregation or for itself. Crooks is isolated in the stable due to discrimination and prejudice. All the other workers on the ranch do not associate with Crooks at all, in fact, they avoid him purposely just because he is the black stable buck. The farmhands feel that because he is black, he isn't worthy of living with the rest of them. “Cause Im black. They play cards in there, but I cannot

play cause Im black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me””! Crooks's attitude is a direct reflection of the way he has been treated his whole life. Crooks has no one. Not one soul that will sit down and have a conversation with him, not even one person to talk to or share thoughts with. This constant lone could cause a person to go crazy, as Crooks says, A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody. life. Often throughout the novel, while the other farmhands are out having a good time,

Candy is left behind to clean the ranch by himself. A major factor that leads to Candy's state of despair is the fact that he lost his hand in a large piece of machinery. This disability often leads to him being left behind. Candy's age makes him, as well as the farmhands feel as though he is unproductive and useless. He looks at his old age as a handicap far worse than his missing hand. mind. Curley's wife is involuntarily thrown into a state of isolation. She tries very hard to partner with the workers on the ranch but her husband strictly forbids it. Curley intimidates people to make them stay far away from his wife, and he is