In Chapter one George tells Lennie ”Guys Like Us, Who Work On Ranches, Are The Loneliest Guys In The World.” How Does Steinbeck Develop The Theme Of Loneliness In The Novel

On top of the loneliness Steinbeck also show the other ways in which life on the ranches was hard. The workers had to live in a cramp and dirty bunkhouse all together in one room. They work every day and spend virtually all their time on the ranch they have little or no social life and the only contact they have with women, apart from Curley's wife who they are not meant to talk to, is at Suzy's place on Saturday nights. The workers have no family and no friends off the ranch. They do get some spare time where they sometimes play games, like in one section all the workers, except Crooks and Lennie, are playing horseshoes but this is the only incident in the book where the workers appear to be having any fun. At one point George is playing solitaire this is significant because it is a one-player game and it shows that even when they can the men do not always socialise.

A lot of the characters on the ranch find the relationship between George and Lennie strange because it is so unusual to see to ranch workers travelling round together. It is unusual to see workers going round together because it makes harder to get a job because they have to find a ranch that is willing and able to take two workers instead of just one. Some characters also find their relationship strange because the two are such a mismatch. George is quite smart for a ranch worker while Lennie is slow, dim witted and needs George just to survive. George may feel some resentment towards Lennie because Lennie keeps on getting in trouble and forcing George to move on with him. Lennie is also holding George back from getting a better job possibly off the ranch. George stays with Lennie thought because he feels responsible for him and maybe a bit of pitiful. Because of Lennie being so dumb George is in control he makes all the decisions and can tell Lennie to do what ever he wants him to do. George and Lennie have a dream to owner their own small plot of land and to live on what they produce themselves. This dream life would be infinitely better than the life they lead now. Candy becomes George and Lennie's friend because he is one of the loneliest characters on the ranch after his dog is shot.

Apart from George some of the other characters on the ranch are particularly lonely. These include Crooks, who is lonely because he is black and America at the time the book was set was a raciest place, although Steinbeck himself is not raciest. He is forced to live in a separate room and the only character he ever talks to is Slim. Candy, who is lonely because his only companion on the ranch, his dog, has been killed because it was old and decrepit. Curley's wife is lonely because her husband Curley will not let her talk to any of the men on the ranch, and does not give her the attention she needs. Candy's character is one of the loneliest characters on the ranch. He is an old man and his only companion is his old dog. Unfortunately his dog is shot in the early part of the novel. The other ranch workers persuade Candy to let them shoot the dog as it is old and decrepit and is only suffering. Although Candy eventually lets them soot his dog you can tell he does not want them to kill it. After his dog is killed he becomes even lonelier.

Crooks character is probably the loneliest character on the ranch. He is a total outcast, mainly because he is black and in the time the book was set America was a racist place. He has to live in a separate room attached to the barn. He rarely sees the other workers and the only one he ever talks to is Slim. He is the stable buck, which means he looks after the horses and virtually never goes out into the field where the other workers are. He has a crooked back from when he was kicked by a horse. He is very bitter towards the other men on the ranch because they persecute him because of the colour of his skin.

Another of the main characters that is lonely is Curley's wife. She is quite beautiful and dresses all in red. The way she acts and dresses makes the men on the ranch think she is a tart so they insult her a lot and voice their discussed at what she acts like. She quite often tries to come on to them but they do not want anything to do with her because they are worried Curley might have them fired for going near his wife. She is always flirting with the men on the ranch because she is lonely and bored with life on the ranch. She is lonely mainly because Curley will not let her talk to any of the men on the ranch and does not give her much attention. Although the workers think she is a tart she is not really she is just lonely and desperate for attention. The way she behaves as a result of her loneliness leads to Lennie accidentally killing her at the end of the novel, this also then leads on to Lennie's death.

Lennie was in the barn playing with the puppies but accidentally killed one. As he tried to cover up what he had done Curley's wife walked in looking for some attention. Lennie did not try to ignore her like the other workers because he does not find her a threat. She enjoys the attention that Lennie gives her. She invites him to stroke her hair, and he does, but when he will not let go she begins to try to get him off. In a panic he tries to keep her quiet so George doesn't find out about the puppy. As she tries harder to get free he starts shaking her in till he breaks her neck. George knows he will go to jail so to help Lennie he kills him.

I think George will most likely become very much like the other workers, alone and miserable he will continue to move around the country looking for work. Although it may give him a good break not having Lennie holding him back, He may be able to get off the ranches and get a better job.