Her life on a ranch in the 1930s, during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl is even worse because she is the only woman. Her life is surrounded my men who give her no respect. Throughout the story she is disrespected by them and after a series of events unfold, she ends up caught in a situation that she cannot escape. Curley’s wife is introduced into the book by the men as petty, cruel, and conceited. The men make her seem like she was a bad person, but in reality she was just lonely.
The loneliest person on the ranch has to be Crooks, who suffers from extreme loneliness because he is black and he is living in a ranch and the surrounding area which is very racist. He lives by himself, because the other men do not like him. He does not take part in any of the social activities in the ranch and is left out completely. He is so lonely that he turns to books, which soon becomes boring and
As the novel goes on we see that Crooks accepts things the way they overall are. Crooks doesn’t talk to the other men and they don’t talk to him. This causes the greatest amount of loneliness in Crooks out of all the characters. When Crooks states “I tell ya a guy get to lonely an he gets sick” ( Steinbeck; 73). This quote shows that rejection can cause most people to become crazy, as it did to Crooks.
I tell ya," he cried, "I'll tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick" (Steinbeck 72). Crooks does not have anyone to talk to, this shows another side of him. While he talks about men in general feeling lonely, he really is talking about the way he feels. Crooks is mostly affected because he is shut down from activities and the workers in the ranch mistreat him because he is black. While talking to Candy he says, ".
Steinbeck masterfully interweaves the dashed hopes and dreams of all his characters to create a community of hopeless ranch hands and regretful wannabe actresses. Crooks, Curly and Candy are among those whose lives are filled with disappointment, for reasons ranging from seclusion and exclusion for Crooks, to physical appearance and handicaps for Candy and Curly, among other things. Curly is the boss’s son, condemned to a comfortable life in high heeled boots, separated from the ranch’s other occupants by a wall of wealth and status. He is insecure with himself because of his small stature and “tart” wife and often lashes out at others, primarily big guys. Candy explains this by saying that Curly is “like a lot of little guys.
With these three elements, Richard Wright illustrates the life, hardship and influences of Bigger Thomas, and the down fall of his life in Native Son. Thomas Bigger is a dislikeable and cold character throughout the novel. We recognize that it is not his doing. The fact the Bigger is poor and uneducated; we recognize the circumstances have created his journey towards crime and his controlling bully personality. Bigger is mean to his little sister, cruel to his friends, and uncaring to his girlfriend.
Crooks, named for his crooked back, is one of the most vulnerable characters on the ranch, mostly due to his race combined with general racist attitudes at the time. He lives by himself because he is the only black man on the ranch, and he has been so beaten down by loneliness and prejudicial treatment of that he is now suspicious of any kindness he receives. Crooks is painfully aware that his skin color is all that keeps him separate in this culture. This outsider status causes him to lament his loneliness, but he also delights in seeing the loneliness of others, perhaps because misery loves company. When Lennie arrives at his room, he turns him away, hoping to prove a point that if he, as a black man, is not allowed in white men’s houses, then whites are not allowed in his, but his desire for company ultimately wins out and he invites Lennie to sit with him.
George and Lennie need each other to survive and in the novel this is clearly shown to the reader. However with every other working man this is different because everyone travels alone, works alone and lives alone no friends along the way through the challenging journey named life. “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world.” However, Lennie broke in and said, “But not us! An’ why? Because ..... Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” As the novel comes to an end so does this relationship when it is broken as George shoots Lennie in the back of the head to prevent him from being tortured and captured.
Explore the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men Whilst reading the novel, ‘Of Mice and Men’ it becomes apparent that loneliness, is one of the main themes that is carried throughout the book. This theme is symbolised in almost every character, each expressing loneliness in their own way. From Crooks, the misunderstood black man who wasn’t always discriminated against; Curley’s Wife, the only woman on the ranch who had dreams of being something much bigger, to the leading characters George and Lennie. Whether they are mentally alone or whether they have a fear of being alone, they all express loneliness. We are first introduced to the theme of loneliness when George is talking to Lennie about life on a ranch and how men on a ranch live compared to how they live, saying "Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world.
Just like his back, his life is broken. The character of Crooks foreshadows the end of George and Lennie when he taunts Lennie in the stable. Crooks scares Lennie by telling him that George will never return. In the end, Crooks prediction comes true. “Eleanor Rigby” by Paul McCartney and John Lennon also relates to loneliness because Eleanor Rigby is a lonely person who doesn’t have anyone to share her life with.