Lonliness

Loneliness

There is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness leads to low self-estee. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters, Crooks, Candy, and Curly’s wife all show some form of loneliness. They are curious of George and Lennie’s friendship because they do not have that support in their life. Through his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates that many times, a victim of loneliness will have a never-ending search to fulfill a friendship.

"A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t matter no difference who the guy is,

longs he with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick" (Steinbeck, 13)

Crooks is a black man that experiences isolation because the society mostly is racist. As a result, this quote was his way of finding a personal connection to Lennie. Like Lennie, Crooks has a ‘relationship’ with loneliness. He knows that when people get lonely, they tend to get sick. Studies show that people who suffer from loneliness have higher incidence of health problems. This can be determined based on his emotional behavior. " At the rate Crooks is headed, he will probably die in a short period of time. Gerontology stated "seniors, who attend church at least weekly, live longer than those who don’t." By attending church, the attendees maintain a relationship with god and have the ability to relieve themselves of loneliness. They can deal with their problem of loneliness through attending church or other social events and in turn, live longer. Crooks is rejected from every group of people and cannot interact with others.

"Loneliness can result from rejection…" (Couns.uiuc.edu/loneline.htm) Although discrimination is still present during the time period of the book (the great depression), Crooks still attempts to make friends. Others treat Crooks unjust because he is different from others given that he is black. He does not know how to treat others because of the way others treat him; with disrespect. Furthermore, he does not know how to vent his frustration and as a result, lashes out at others because they are cruel to him. Crooks is not allowed to participate in daily events with white people. He is treated unfairly and therefore acts the same way toward the white people (the people who offended him.)