How is the theme of Loneliness portrayed in Steinbecks novella Of Mice and Men

By Angus Lau 9E (13)

In Of Mice and Men, the theme of loneliness plays a pivotal role in the construction of the plot and the
shaping of the characters, as Steinbeck echoes it throughout the whole novella. Steinbeck uses a variety of
methods to convey this theme, and the most important ones include the ranch, the characters personalities, and
dreams.
In Section One of the novella, the theme of loneliness is already shown in the settingthe ranch. The fact
that Steinbeck created the ranch to be in Soledad, which is Spanish for loneliness already tells us that the
whole story would be surrounded by loneliness. Not only that, but Steinbeck also deliberately created the ranch to
be in a place where George and Lennie had to walk a long way to reach. From this, we could infer that the ranch
is secluded and isolated, thus the limited amount of itinerant workers do not have much interaction with the world
and are lonely, as seen from when a lot of men on the ranch spend their money at the cathouse. On top of that,
the idea of itinerant workers and the time frame, the American depression, already brings in the theme of
loneliness as the ranch workers do not have a permanent home and have to constantly go from ranch to ranch
just because they need a job to earn a living. We could also see from the story that even though the itinerant
workers have mentioned people who came and went, yet the readers are bound to the ranch. This might mean
that Steinbeck has purposely manipulated the readers to feel empathy for the itinerant workers and to make the
readers feel hopeless when they could not warn characters like Lennie from danger.
In Section 2, the characters strongly reflect the theme of loneliness. Firstly, when George and Lennie
approach the ranch, we could see that the boss is suspicious of George as he thinks he is stealing Lennies work
money, as seen from page 43: I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another. We can infer from this
that the most of the workers who work on the ranch are loners, and it is rare to see such a close friendship
between them, which links to the theme of loneliness. In this section, Slim also says that it is rare how two guys
can travel together and are such close friends. Secondly, when Candy told George that the previous person who
had Georges bunk just quit just wanted to move, we could see that there is no connection and friendship
between the itinerant workers on the ranch, bringing the theme of loneliness. Thirdly, we could see how directly
Steinbeck has shown the theme loneliness when George tells Lennie guys like us are the loneliest guys in the
world, with no family and nothing to look forward to. This means that as early as in section 2, the characters
loneliness already start to show.
In section 2, we are also introduced to Candy, who firmly reflects loneliness through the death of his dog. We
could see from this section that Candys dog is Candys only family and friend, and Candy has grown to have
emotional connections with it, as seen from I had him since he was a pup and he was the best damn sheepdog
I had ever seen. However, we know that this is the only thing that Candy has, yet the other ranch workers see his
dog as a nuisance as they do not have an emotional connection with it and only feel that the dog is smelly and
useless. Thus, Carlson has suggested that he kill Candys dog, and give one of Slims pup to Candy. Even though
Candy is reluctant to accept this request, he finally gives in, and at that moment the atmosphere is very tense, and

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every little sound can be heard. This could link back to loneliness as the workers in the bunkhouse did not say a
word to each other, and we feel that all of them are isolated, especially Candy. Also, Candy regretting not shooting
his own dog out of love gives us a sense of loneliness as we feel that Candy has lost his only friend because
others thought it was disturbing. Therefore, Candy offers money to George and Lennie, hoping he could be part of
their American dream and become less lonely, and he said, I aint got no relatives or nothing. This shows that he
is lonely and he wants friends, people who could accept him. We could link it back to the theme dreams, as it is
Candys dream to be accepted in a group. Candy knew that theyll can me purty soon I wont have no place to
go and if he got canned, it would be more loneliness until he dies, because he knew that his crippled arm meant
that no ranch would want to employ him. Therefore when he finally got accepted by George and Lennie, he told
this to Curleys wife, we got frens, thats what we got showing that he has completed his dream of being
accepted and does not have to be lonely anymore. However, at last Candy was still lonely, as George shot Lennie
and it symbolized that their American dream would never come true.
Crooks, as the only black man living on the ranch, is the most segregated from the others, and reflected the
most loneliness. This was due to the intense level of discrimination against black people in the 1930s. Crooks
could not be in the bunkhouse with the other ranchmen, had to live with the horses, though he was the most
intelligent of them all. He even said Spose you didnt have nobody when George and Lennie went into the barn,
and proceeds to tell his story of how the American dream was taken from his family just because they were black.
Thus, Crooks developed the most cynical and realistic view on the American dream. We could also see that
Crooks is lonely because he thinks that if people were going to discriminate against him, he would discriminate
against them too, as seen from Crooks saying I aint wanted in the bunkhouse, and you aint wanted in my room
to Lennie. This also shows that he wants to isolate himself in his solitary room in the barn and read, thus he is very
lonely. He also reads books for company yet says they are no good and A guy needs somebody and I tell ya if
a guy gets too lonely and he gets sick. We could also see that he is lonely because the ranchmen do not accept
him, and they beat him up as entertainment on Christmas day, and as Crooks said, I cant play because Im black.
They say I stink. Thus, Crooks is an important character in the construction of the theme loneliness.
Another character that was crucial to constructing the theme of loneliness was Curleys wife. In the novella,
we know that she is the only woman, wearing wrong clothes and has a wrong attitude. This means that she does
not fit in with the others, and it was a way Steinbeck wanted to create loneliness and hollowness in this character.
On top of that, the ranchmen doesnt even see her as a person, but merely Curleys possession, as seen from her
not even having a name. Still, she know that as her American dream was to be noticed and to be appreciated by
others, she always says Im looking for Curley as an excuse to try and talk to the ranchmen, hopefully getting
some company and appreciation. Yet, only Candy, Crooks and Lennie talk to her, as she is also an impaired
individual in the story. Curleys wife still appreciates their company as she says that they aint nobody else. We
could further see her wish of being appreciated and how lonely she is when she says Think I dont like to talk to
somebody once in awhile? Think I like to stick in that house all the time? and I never get to talk to anybody. I get
awfully lonely. Also, the ironic part in her marriage also reflects loneliness as she married Curley and hoped that
she would have his appreciation and to get away from her mother yet she gets even more isolated and lonely. She
only completes her dream of being appreciated only when Lennie kills her.

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Last but not least, loneliness is also shown through George and Lennie. Even though we know that they are
not like the other ranchmen and have a close friend, and got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us,
and they have a special American dream that would only be complete with each other, we know that when George
has to shoot Lennie out of love, he is lonely. It is because his American dream would now be the same like the
other ranchmen as Lennie is not there to share it with him, and he doesnt have a person to rely on. Also, his
dream was always about being with Lennie, but not always only about living the fatta the land.
In the novella Of Mice and Men, we could see how Steinbeck has used the main characters in the story and
the setting of the story strategically to construct one of the main themes loneliness. By creating the main
characters all as impaired individuals, we know that they have their own disabilities and are not accepted by
society, which is portrayed by the other ranchmen, and Steinbeck uses these characters to create this theme.

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