In the novel Of Mice and Men, loneliness is part of the everyday life of the people living and working on the farm, and it expressed by Crooks when he is talking to Lennie and he says, “I tell ya’ a guy gets lonely an’ he gets sick” (73). He is letting Lennie know how he feels and trying to have a conversation with with him because he doesn’t have the chance to do so on a regular basis. Crooks was used to being alone in his room, and had to find things to do to entertain himself, as is revealed when he said, “A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’ books or thinkin’ or stuff like that” (73). Most—if not all— of the people living on the ranch experience loneliness because they are away from their friends and families, and this is corroborated by
George when he explains life on the ranches to Lennie, telling him the story of the rabbits, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (13). Moreover, people that work on ranches are typically homeless and move constantly from farm to farm and don’t have the opportunity to make close friends for the same reason. Another character that conveys loneliness is Curley’s wife, who is a minx; although she tries to be inconspicuous about it, she is definitely striving for attention. She further expresses her loneliness when she confesses to
Lennie about disliking Curley and wanting interaction with people other than him, “‘I get lonely’ she said. ‘You can talk to people, but I can’t