In those days’ people where discriminated if they where different, there were no laws on racism, discrimination or prejudice and so there was a lot of it, “I can’t play because I’m black, they say I stink.”
The men spent their earnings by going into town. They either spent it on prostitutes, drinks or both.
There is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and isolation. Loneliness leads to low self-esteem. 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 driven towards the curiosity 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 often times, a victim of isolation 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"
Crooks is a black man that experiences isolation because the society in which he lives in is racist. As a result, the previous quote was his means 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.
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. He does not know how to escape 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.
"Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m Black. They say I stink. Well I tell you, you all stink to me!"
Nobody likes to be forced to live in a barn, let alone to work only with the horses. Crooks spent most of his nights reading and he keeps away from others because of the way he is treated and this eventually leads to his very own emotional downfall. He is treated as an outcast and is forced to find friendship the only way he can, through the books and magazines that he reads.
Crooks is fascinated by the strength of the friendship of Lennie and George, especially how close they are. Crooks said, "Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?" Crooks asks these questions because he does not have any friends. He was curious about the friendship of Lennie and George. He wants the people to feel the way that he did when he was lonely. He is pushy to achieve sympathy and understanding from others. Crooks would work for nothing if it meant communicating with others. Crooks offers his services to clear out his problems of loneliness.
"…If you…guys would want a hand to work for nothing …just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand. I ain’t so crippled I can’t work like a son of a bitch if I want to." This quote supports that he is attracted to the friendship of Lennie and George. It also proves that all Crooks wants to do was talk to people, and he will do anything for it, even work like a "son of a bitch."
Candy, an old, physically disabled man, has worked on the ranch practically his whole life. When Candy was on the ranch, he got into an accident that cost him a physical handicap. Farm machinery took away his hand, leaving him money and loneliness. As a result of Candy’s age and disability he has a feeling of uselessness. Since Candy feels that he is old, he places himself in a state of mind that handicaps him more than his missing hand ever will. He looks down on himself as an old worthless man wasting away his last few years. He is often afraid of losing his work, not to mention is whole life, ”I got hurt four years ago. They’ll can me purty soon. Jus’ as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county." Candy is so down that he puts himself into a state of solitude. He is often allowed to go out with the other guys, but he always refuses due to his negative aspect towards himself. Candy thinks that nobody wants to be friends with him because of his disability. Eventually, he tries to find a friendship by attempting to join the dream of George and Lennie, to own and run their own little ranch. This is one of Candy’s desperate attempts to find a place in society and meaning in life. Candy offered his services to become a part of George and Lennie’s friendship and dream.
"I’ll wash dishes an’ little chick stuff like that. But I’ll be on your own place, an’ I’ll be let to work on our own place."
Candy was attempting to overcome his loneliness and regain a positive outlook by seeking out situations that enable him to get involved with other ranchers. It is quite possible that he was sad and lonely because he was in search of the right person to be friends with. After Candy lost his dog, he felt much lonelier than he was before. The dog was something that Candy had owned and confided with within his years. He felt worthless because now he didn’t own a single important thing. Candy and his dog had the same relationship that George and Lennie had shared for so many years. While Lennie had George and the ranchers had each other, Candy did not have anybody and this put him in a condition of sorrow and depression. Every character in the book is different and no characters act alike.
Nobody in the book shared the same interests and/or dreams as Candy did. This is why he tried so hard to gain the attention and friendship of Lennie and George. He offers everything that he had to support the friendship including money, but money will never buy genuine friendship.
All of these characters are alike because, not only were they affected by loneliness; they were always in search for ways to solve these dilemmas. Another character who possesses the same problem of loneliness is Curley’s wife.
Curley’s wife is a tease to everybody on the ranch. She will dress and act sort of like a "whore". She makes use of her stunning body to gain the attention of the ranchers to sooth her loneliness. These acts give her a sense of relief and made her feel wanted so she can share her personal concerns and experiences. Because of her reputation for being a flirt, none of the farmhands wants to talk to her, but no matter how hard she tries, she can never fit in.
Curley’s, insecure feelings towards his wife, forces her into flirting with the other ranchers. Many people do not want to talk to her because of her reputation for being a flirt and bothering others.
"Maybe you better go along to you own house now. We don’t want no trouble."
Curley’s wife notices how simple-minded Lennie is and takes advantage of that situation. She knows that he would be the only one where she could discuss her problems that she deals with everyday. One problem that Curley’s wife was unaware of, was Lennie’s curiosity and interest in soft objects. When Curley’s wife was done explaining her problems to somebody that could care less about them, she asked him to stroke her hair. But when she began to yell at Lennie, he just pulled her hair tighter. This leads to the death of Curly’s wife and now she will not have to worry about being lonely ever again. Curly’s wife’s case of loneliness was the most severe throughout the novel. She struggled in her society to find somebody that she could consult with. She tried and would do anything imaginable to dispatch her loneliness.
Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life that not even the strongest can avoid. Throughout the story, Of Mice and Men, the reader discovers the many sources of loneliness, primarily being discrimination and prejudice. Crooks, Candy and Curley’s wife all suffer the previous injustices resulting in loneliness and isolation. This made them want to look for an escape.
This is a novel of defeated hope and the harsh reality of the American Dream. George and Lennie are poor homeless migrant workers, doomed to a life of wandering and labor in which they are never able to collect what they have worked so hard for. Their desires may not seem so unfamiliar to any other American: a place of their own, the opportunity to work for themselves and harvest have with no one to take anything from them or give them orders. George and Lennie desperately cling to the belief that they are different from other workers who drift from ranch to ranch because, unlike the others, they have a future and each other. But characters like Crooks, candy and Curley's wife serve as reminders that George and Lennie are no different from anyone who wants something of his or her own.
All the characters wish to change their lives in some fashion, but none are capable of doing so; they all have dreams, and it is only the dream that varies from person to person. Curley's wife has already had her dream of being an actress pass her by and now must live a life of empty hope. Crooks' situation hints at a much deeper cruelty than that of the white worker in America, the oppression of the black people. Through Crooks, Steinbeck exposes the bitterness, the anger, and the helplessness of the black American who struggles to be recognized as a human being, let alone have a place of his own. Crooks' hopelessness underlies that of George's and Lennie's and Candy's and Curley's wife's. But all share the despair of wanting to change the way they live and attain something better. Even Slim, despite his wisdom and confidence, has nothing to call his own and will, by every indication, remain a migrant worker until his death. Slim differs from the others in the fact that he does not seem to want something outside of what he has, he is not beaten by a dream and he has not laid any schemes. Slim seems to have somehow reached the sad conclusion indicated by the novel's title, that to dream leads to misery.
Another key element is the companionship between George and Lennie. The two men are not unique for wanting a place and a life of their own, but they are unique in that they have each other. Their companionship shows the loneliness that surrounds them, the loneliness of the homeless ranch worker, the loneliness of the outcast black man, the loneliness of the subjected woman, the loneliness of the old, helpless cripple and it provokes curiosity in the characters that they encounter, Slim included.
And this makes the reader becomes curious as to their friendship as well. Lennie would call George a friend, but George would perhaps be pushed to admit the same of Lennie. As he tells Slim, he has simply become so used to having Lennie around that he "can't get rid of him". Despite his annoyance, George also demonstrates protectiveness, patience, and pride when it comes to Lennie. He is perhaps motivated to stay with Lennie by a sense of guilt, or responsibility, or pity, or a desire to not be alone himself. Most likely it is a combination of all of these motivations. Yet it seems strange that George would choose to remain with Lennie, given the danger that Lennie causes for the both of them. George is not blind to the fact that life would be easier without Lennie, and he often aches for independence when Lennie becomes troublesome, creating a major source of tension in the novel. This tension is not resolved until the final gunshot by the riverside, when the strain of Lennie's company makes it impossible for George to survive with his companion.
By killing Lennie, George removes a huge load. The tragedy is that George, in effect, is forced to shoot both his companion, who made him different from the other lonely workers, as well as his own dream and admit that it has gone hopelessly wrong. His new problem is now hopelessness and loneliness, the life of the homeless ranch worker. Slim's comfort at the end "You hadda George" indicates the sad truth that Lennie has to surrender his dreams in order to survive, not the easiest thing to do in America, the Land of Promise.
