Loneliness in Of Mice and Men

George is lonely because while he has a companion he doesn’t have somebody who he can actually talk to. He feels more like a babysitter, “God a’ mighty, an’ work, an’ no trouble.” pg 50. George often gets frustrated with Lennie because he constantly has to keep him out of trouble. In the sense of George having somebody to really relate to, he has no one, but he appreciates having the company he has more then he would if he was alone. He is not the loneliest character in this book.

Lennie is a big man with a small mind. A man like that can be easily lost in the confusing world of the Great Depression. Lennie is often misunderstood and scared easily. His mind never progressed passed a child’s while his body seemed to grow without end. The only person Lennie has is George and without him he wouldn’t be able to survive. Lennie has never been able to relate to people the same way George has and his life has been incredibly lonely. I think that is part of the reason he cares for animals so much because he wants to feel important and show George he’s responsible and can be like him. “If you don’ want me I can off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away anytime.” pg 12. This shows he doesn’t have anywhere to go, he is entirely alone without George.

The loneliest character in the book is Crooks, the stable buck. He lives by himself in a small room on the side of a stable with close to no company. Crooks finds comfort in reading by his small lamp but other then that doesn’t really have much to do. The only time he really associates with other people is when he’s playing horseshoes, but he’s usually too busy to play for a long time. “You got no right to come in my room. This here’s my room. Nobody got any right in here but me.” This quote seems to show that crooks is a lonely man who tries to protect what little he has because he’s afraid it will be taken away.

These paragraphs don’t come close to describing how lonely these characters really are. Living in the great depression and being alone with no permanent place to live seals your fate of how your life will be. Being alone for so long can drive anyone crazy. Getting through all of this alone shows the mentality that these men really have. Crooks and George might be a little hostile, but for good reason. They want to protect what’s theirs. Lennie never gave up trying to find a friend, unfortunately his quest for companionship was eventually his downfall. Everybody can relate to these characters and hopefully learn from them too.