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Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men appear to be “lonely” to an extent, although, the theme of loneliness is extremely noticeable in Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife. These three characters all can be related together because they are all similar in that they are the same type of lonely, a physical lonely. Objective loneliness refers to the physical state of being alone or socially isolated. Subjective loneliness, on the other hand, refers to the feeling of being alone — even if you're not alone. It's an emotional rather than physical state. These three characters undergo severe issues and they each demonstrate their way of coping with it. Two words that fit perfectly on Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife when looking at them are practically isolated when it comes to a reality check.
When the name Crooks is mentioned what often comes to mind is the 3 words of unfairness, inhumane, and racialism. Crooks is seen being segregated from the other white workers on the farm and enduring racial discrimination. To illustrate this, on page 75 of chapter 4 Steinbeck is seen saying 'Well, I got a right to have a light. You go on get outta my room. I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse, and you ain't wanted in my room.' 'Why ain't you wanted?' Lennie asked. ''Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.' This is Crooks being discriminated against for his skin color because this conversation between Lennie and him would have never happened if there wasn’t a clear issue with the way Crooks was being treated. Further in this chapter, Crooks states 'If I say something, why it's just a nigger sayin' it.' It is clear from this statement that Crooks knows what others think of him and believes he is as worthless as his opinion is.
Candy is a significant character in the theme of loneliness being conveyed in Of Mice and Men because he believes that after the loss of his hand he is unable to work as well as the other men and further “hold his weight” with the other men and in conclusion would be downgraded to the job of assisting operators and other crew members with manual labour-related tasks. Candy is convinced he is treated almost differently in a quote from chapter 3, page 87 “An' they gave me two hundred an' fifty dollars 'cause I los' my hand” (Candy states to George and Lennie.) Further on Slim states (to Candy about Candy's dog) “That dog ain't no good to himself” page 72, chapter 3 implying that if you're old and disabled then you're better off dead (Candy and his dog). Once his dog has been shot Candy has little else to live for and is desperately looking for someone or something. Candy is in shock and afraid of what is to come next. In conclusion, the loss of his hand leaves him unable to work with others, while the loss of his dog causes a need for a friend in someone or something. This need ultimately causes the feeling of Candy to feel lonely.
The thought of Curley's wife is very young, this is conveyed throughout the story by one of the men portraying her as “the kid.” Her age also can illustrate and explain why she is so flirtatious towards the men in the story. “Curley’s wife” is her official name throughout the book and does not have a name because she does not have her own identity. She is just Curley's wife and she has no real sense of purpose. The word lonely connects to Curley's wife because she is the only woman on the ranch. She is even seen saying “’ I get lonely, you can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley, else he gets mad. How’d you like not to talk to nobody?’” (page 87). It shows that she spends all her time alone in her house as the men are out or in labor in the fields. She is unhappily married to the insecure, intimidated Curley and so she feels like she has been living alone all her life. This forces her to talk to anybody she finds. To further explain she even starts to talk with Lennie, telling him 'Don't you worry bout talkin' to me. Listen to the guys yell out there. They got four four-dollar bets in that tenement. None of them ain't gonna leave till it's over” (chapter 5). She also tells Lennie how she could have been an actress in the movies and other dreams of hers. This feeling of loneliness ultimately takes her life because as she continues to talk to Lennie (because she's lonely) he grabs her and she panics as he crushes her in his hand.
To conclude, many of the characters in Of Mice and Men appear to be “lonely” to an extent, although, the theme of loneliness is extremely noticeable in Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife. These three characters all can be related together because they are all similar in that they are the same type of lonely, a physical lonely. With time aging and a horrific incident happening to Candy’s hand, is becoming less useful, realizing that his time will be up on the ranch and may have to sadly be laid off entirely. Crooks is picked apart because he is simply black and no other reason for it. Curley’s wife is simply the only woman around leaving her with no one to relate to.
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