One character that's lonely but doesn't seem to be is George. George is lonely because he's always yelling at Lenny. He's also lonely because he can't talk to Lenny the way he wants to in an adult manner. Usually when the two have a conversation, George has to repeat everything he says two or three times to Lenny so that Lenny understands and doesn't forget. George makes friends with Candy, Slim, and Whit to hopefully have a conversation with someone of his intelligence. He puts up with Lenny because he knows that if he's left alone, Lenny will probably die.
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 more lonely 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.
Another character which is lonely is Crooks is lonely because he's black and no one wants to be near him. This was when blacks were segregated from whites. No one ever went to visit him. Also, because he's black, he has his room out in the stable with the horses. The other (white) guys have their bunks in a one room house type of building. The loneliness affects Crooks so that he remains in his room when he has some books to read. He also usually rubs his own back with liniment because a horse kicked or threw him when he was younger. Another thing that showed his loneliness is that he had his personal belongings scattered around the room. He also had this stuff scattered around the room because he was crippled and was a stable buck, which meant he was more permanent then most of the other people. Also, because he was alone he demanded that other people keep their space too.
Another lonely character is Curley's wife. Curley's wife is found running around looking for Curley. Mostly, she's trying to find someone to talk to. She would usually only see Curley after he was done with his job and for her that's too long to go without talking to someone. What she did was hang around the guys and try to start a conversation with them. The guys don't talk to her because she's nothing but trouble. When Lenny shows up, she tries to make friends with him and does. On the other hand George stays away because he knows that she's nothing but trouble. She's trouble because if Curley found her flirting with the other guys, he raises hell about it.
Although many of the characters in this book are lonely and they seem to be searching for a friend to talk to. Some of them do make friends but some don't make friends. The lesson we can learn is to be careful who you talk to and make friends with. Some are there to help you and some are there to hurt you.