Of Mice and Men Essay written by John Steinbeck. A major theme in Steinbeck's novel “Of Mice and Men” is loneliness. The characters Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife each suffer from this although the severity of their seclusion varied. The old swapper, Candy was victimized by isolation as a result of two main factors, one being his disability and the other being his age. For example, throughout the book we find the farmhands out bucking the barley while Candy is left behind to sweep and clean the ranch. He lost his hand after getting it caught in a piece of machinery and as a result he is forced to stay behind. This being one of the major factors that leads to his loneliness. Furthermore, Candy's age adds to his feeling of uselessness. Because he thinks that he is old he puts 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 that's wasting away his last few years. Not only is it the way that others think of him but also the way he thinks of himself that forces him to find solitude. Candy has only his dog as his one companion. Upon the killing

The most evident case of loneliness is Curley's wife. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't fit in. For example, when she tried numerous times to talk to George and Lenny she was either ignored or told to leave. Because of her reputation for being a flirt none of the farmhands wanted to talk to her. It was the threat of getting in trouble with Curley that caused many workers to avoid her. In addition, because of Curley's insecure feelings he neglected her and forced her to seek attention anyway she could, even it meant flirting. Both the farmhands and her own husband ignored her and because of this she was being forced into loneliness, the one thing she fought so hard against. Curley's wife is so overwhelmed by her loneliness; she seeks friendship from other men. She seeks out the friendship of Lennie for all of the others fear Curley and will have nothing to do with her. "Think I don't like to talk to somebody ever' once in a while?" Curley's wife's loneliness was different to Crooks and Candy, as she tried her hardest to become friends with the other guys on the ranch. Unfortunately she portrayed the wrong image and appeared to be a very flirtatious woman. She didn't want a relationship with the other guys; she simply wanted someone to talk to and someone to trust. She was the only other person on the ranch looking for a friendship similar to George and Lennie's. As she was the boss’s son's wife it was worse for her as they saw her as 'jail bait'; if anyone were to fall into her trap they'd get th

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