He is so desperate for company and for someone to talk, even though he does not really show it. "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't matter no difference who the guy is, longs he with you. I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an he gets sick" (page 105. Crooks) In a way, everyone needs someone to talk to, whether it is a friend, family member, or even a pet.Crooks does not have any of these sources.
Of Mice and Men gives many examples of isolation, rejection, and loneliness. One strong example of loneliness in “Of Mice and Men” is Crooks. Crooks is a black stable hand with a crooked back from being kicked by a horse. Crooks experiences isolation because in this time period society is racist against blacks. Crooks doesn’t have anyone to open up to, because no one listens to him.
We can see that Curley’s wife is portrayed by Steinbeck as a ‘tart’ in the beginning of the book, she is not cared for or liked by many of the men on the ranch at all as she irritates them and they think that she is not loyal towards Curley. However, by the end of the book the reader feels sorry for her as we see deeper inside her and see how lonely she is, she only has the image of a tart because she is so alone and the only way she knows to make friends is by being a flirtatious person. The first mention of Curley’s wife is in chapter 2 when George and ‘the swamper’ are talking about her. They say that she is ‘Purty ... but- well-she got the eye’. They mean that she is always looking and flirting with other men.
Crooks is lonely because he doesn't live with the white people and is usually alone all day. Curley's wife is lonely because she's always around the guys, looking for Curley or looking for something that she left there as an excuse to talk to someone. At one time Slim and Whit must have been lonely, but they're friends when we meet them. As you can see, loneliness is one of the key factors to this story. Many of the characters in this story were lonely.
Lennie is a social outcast because he is socially awkward. In his innocence and mental disability, he often gets into trouble, often violent trouble on account for not understanding his own strength. Candy is the aging ranch hand, fearful that he will be too old to work (in the eyes of others) and therefore he feels like a potential outcast (being fired) in the future. All three are treated as different, “other”, or unwanted in some way. Crooks is black, Candy is old, and Lennie is mentally challenged.
He’s quite cruel towards Lennie and torments him. He keeps telling Lennie that George might not come back. The feeling given here shows that Crooks wants Lennie to feel just as isolated as he does. Loneliness is also shown when he offers to go and hoe the garden if Lennie and George accomplish their dream. He desires to be involved with other people and he hopes he can be a part of their dream.
He then declines the offer of wanting the job on the farm anymore, saying “I didn’t mean it. Jus’ foolin’. I wouldn’t want to go to no place like that.” (p 83) Crooks lost all hope of living a better life because of discrimination. He believes he is not worthy of this freedom, and that others will always value him
When Curley does this, Curley's wife seeks attention from the other men on the ranch. When she tries to talk to them they ignore her and try to push her away, fearing that they would be caught by Curley. She gets angry with the constant rejections and says "Why can't I talk to you? I never get to talk to nobody. I get awful lonely"(86 Steinbeck).
Women also had very few rights, like Curley’s wife had to be dependent on Curley’s dad and him for shelter. There are many different levels of prejudice exhibited in Of Mice and Men. Through these prejudices the characters such as Crooks, Lennie, and Curley's wife became intensely lonely, but they were hopelessly put in powerless positions. These prejudices can still be seen in the world today. George is sure that if the boss realizes Lennie is mentally disabled, they’ll be discriminated against and not hired.
The writer portrays him to be lonely through the quote “S’pose you couldn’t go into the bunk house and play rummy ‘cause you was black” as he is segregated from rest of the ranch men. The quote suggests that he can’t go to the bunk house and do activities that other men do. The author uses colloquial language in this quote to show that all the ranch men are equal, which is in contrast with racism faced by Crook’s, Through the word “you” the author is indirectly involving the readers so that they could understand Crook’s feelings. Steinbeck also shows loneliness in crooks life by describing his possessions and his room. The quote “ And scattered about the floor were a number of personal possessions; for, being alone, crooks could leave his things about...and he had accumulated more possession than he could carry on his back” signifies the fact that he was completely lonely.