Candys offer to contribute financially in George and Lennies dream farm is his way of getting rid of his isolation because of his age. On the ranch he is useless like his dog was, as described by Carlson as ‘This ol’ dog jus’ suffers hisself al the time’
Candy is worried there will be a time in the near future that he will get to old even for putting wash basins out and that he would be useless and no-one will shoot him like his dog to put him out of misery he goes to say later in that he wishes that somebody would shoot him when he useless. His isolation also that he had one hand and that he was paid more than the rest of the ranch hands because he lost one of his hands before. He realises that the only way he’s going to get live in peace is with somebody who has their own farm. So when George and Lennie are talking about their dream house he immediately breaks his silence and offers everything he has to offer to George to be apart of his dream. There is no other way forward for Candy he is missing a hand he’s old he’s not good for anything. Before the offer Candy can’t see a way forward apart from living with people felling sorry him. George and Lennie offer him a chance to keep on working not too much but enough to make himself useful and feel appreciated. He straightaway gets appreciated when George is happy and realises
The prospect of having their dream made into a possibility as soon as a month. This makes which a few days earlier merely looked like a dream and that it would always be like that into a real possibility.
Crooks brings a different type of loneliness and isolation into the novel he is isolated by his race. Crooks is by nature proud and reserved, but he is also lonely and he decides that he can tell Lennie secrets by way of their conversation which will not then be revealed or turned against him later on. Crooks is another character like Candy whose life is isolated and unsatisfying. He clearly states that he hates it; he secretly wants to be a part of the rest of the workers he wants to make friends and have company. He shows this in his conversation with Lennie, he is surprised at Lennie coming into the room despite telling to go away initially, he lets lennie cumin and 'set’ He is so starts of by telling how fells about his privacy and willingness to try and fit saying ‘ I aint wanted in the bunkhouse and your not wanted in my room’ this shows that he feels so left out that it has become a way of life for him he then goes on to say to reply to lennies question ‘Why ain’t you wanted? While Lennie and Crooks are talking Crooks takes a test of George and Lennies relationship by supposing what if George did not come back he tries to get Lennie to realise what it is like for him being on his own, ‘Maybe you can see now…’ quotes like this illustrate Crooks loneliness. Crooks craves companionship because he knows that human contact acts as a confirmation of what a person thinks and believes. Without regular contact with other people, Crooks feels hat ‘he got nothing to measure by’. He replies quite clearly ‘Cause I’m black’ he says what he feels, he is an intelligent man. Part of his isolation from ‘white’ people is due to his father. Is father made is isolation worse by not letting him have white friends as a kid.
Curley’s wife brings another type of loneliness into the plot. Being the only female on the ranch and all the ranch hands afraid of getting into trouble because she is the Bosses daughter-in-law, she has no one to talk to. This is a cause for her constant flirting with the other workers as soon as she cones into the novel she says ‘I’m looking for Curley’ we soon learn that this was a mere excuse to have a look at the men on the ranch. ‘She put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door- frame so that her body was thrown forward’ this further illustrates her wanting attention. No one seems to like her on the ranch apart from Lennie, which is why she kind of targets him; this eventually leads to her death. The ranch hands refer to her as ‘lulu’ which was Candys smelly old dogs name this shows that they think so little of her that they refer to her like a dog. After the first time George sees Curleys wife he straightaway gathers that she is a danger to Lennie and calls her a ‘bitch’. Also in the whole novel her name is not given she is referred to as Curleys wife his shows Steinbecks view of women. Like George and Lennie Curleys wife has her own dream of being an actress. Her willingness to flirt with men on the ranch and her targeting Lennie ends up getting her killed. It’s her own fault that she gets killed, she brings it on herself, she picks the precise time when George is not around and Lennie is at his most vulnerable.
Amongst the above main types of Loneliness and isolation there is other less significant things like Curleys isolation being the boss’s son no-one talks to him. Also because of his size he has grudged against big people i.e. Lennie; he comes to regret it though. The only time he has backing from the ranch workers is when they go to find Lennie after he had killed Curleys wife.
In general Loneliness and isolation plays a key role in Of Mice and Men because of it Curleys wife dies. Because of the loneliness of the characters they try and find an alternative like Curleys wife. Without the Loneliness and isolation of the characters there would be no plot, this demonstrates the importance of the Loneliness and isolation to the story.
