Not all the men on the ranch are sceptical of George and Lennie’s relationship. An example of this is Crooks – he is isolated because he is black, and he is not allowed into the bunk-house with the other men. Eventually, Crooks is likely to be thrown off the ranch because he is black and a cripple. Sooner or later the other men on the ranch will discard him because he is more or less useless. He has his own room and spends his time reading books, especially the California Civil Code. He says:
“’A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make a difference who the guys is, long’s he’s with you. …I tell ya a guy gets too lonely, an’ he gets sick.’”
The reason that Crooks understands George and Lennie’s companionship is that he is lonely himself because he is ostracized as a result of his skin colour. Nobody ever enters his room apart from Slim.
Slim is the dominating figure on the ranch. As soon as we are introduced to him, we get the impression that he is the principal character – he is the master of all the other men. He is respected by everyone, but he does not demand reverence. He is always in control, even in a crisis situation, like when Lennie crushes Curley’s hand and when Lennie is shot by George. He looks after his “team” at all times. Slim is not too arrogant to pay a visit to Crooks – he treats him like all the other men on the ranch and gives him respect.
Candy lives in the bunk-house with the other men, but they are not real companions to him. His only real friend is his dog. He takes refuge in this relationship. Whenever Carlson suggests that Candy’s dog should be shot, Candy is mortified, because even though he realises it is cruel to keep the dog alive, he needs it for support, much in the way that George needs Lennie, but realises that Lennie cannot handle difficult situations because of his limited mental capacity.
Once Candy’s dog has been shot, Candy instantly wants to be a part of George and Lennie’s dream for the future. Now that he is without his dog, he has to look elsewhere for company and motivation. He regrets not shooting his dog himself, and tells George:
“’I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.’”
This makes George understand that he should shoot Lennie himself towards the end of the novel – he wants Lennie to have a peaceful and painless death, and when Carlson shows Candy how he would shoot his dog without it feeling a thing. George shoots Lennie because he understands the seriousness of his crime and he understands that it is better that Lennie dies peacefully than to suffer a painful death at the hands of someone else.
Candy is more than likely to suffer the same fate as his dog. He realises that he is of no use to the other ranch-workers and will get the sack in a few years time. For this reason he wants to come with George and Lennie to get a house and be with his friends before he is cast off.
Curley’s wife is also lonely. She uses her sexuality to gain attention from the men, but not necessarily sexual intimacy. She is dressed inappropriately for a ranch, but this is just one of her methods of being noticed and getting admiration. She is lonely because she has no companion – she dislikes her husband Curley, and the men on the ranch all have negative opinions of her.
One of the few people she can talk to is Lennie. He is intrigued by her appearance and sexuality, and she willingly tells him how she feels because she knows he is not smart enough to actually process any of the information she tells him. She says:
“’Well, I ain’t giving you no trouble. Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while?’”
Being the only woman on the ranch, she is immediately outcast. Most people dislike her because they think she is a “tart”. I feel that this is an unfair thing to say because Curley’s wife is simply lonely, and her way of getting around this is to get attention – her best way of doing so is by using her sexuality. In the end, however, it is her sexuality and attention-seeking that kills her. She is irresponsible enough to get too close to Lennie, and in the end Lennie panics and ends up accidentally killing her. This is paralleled to the girl in Weed, who also wore red clothes and was nearly killed by Lennie in much the same way.
We never find out how Curley really feels, therefore we do not know if he is lonely or not. Carlson keeps himself occupied with his obsession with guns, and Whit is kept busy with his cowboy magazines. They have no companionship other than the cat-house. It is likely that they turn to drink for support, and it is interesting to note that after the death of Lennie, George also turns to prostitutes and drink for companionship because he has lost his friend. He realises that this is not something to be proud of, but I feel that he has given up his dream and has resorted to living in the same way as the other men on the ranch. The men are also kept amused by playing cards and horse-shoes, and they release their tension and frustration through violence.
Slim is the only character that is never really lonely. The reason why is that he has a job that he loves. He voluntarily does work that is not even necessary, and because he enjoys this work, he is never really bored. He finds his companionship in the work that he does, and the Prince of the ranch, by his attitude, shows that while not all are lonely, if you are, then life has little true happiness to offer.
