Of Mice and Men: Loneliest Character on the Ranch
WHO IS THE LONELIEST CHARATCTER ON THE RANCH?
Steinbeck has written of Mice and men in a time period where men travelled alone and rarely sent time with other people. This is reflected in the characters of the novel, who are all lonely however some are lonelier than others. These include Crooks, Candy, Curley and Curley’s wife. They all have the hope of achieving their own dreams, which is the cause of their loneliness.
It can be argued that Crooks is the loneliest character in the novel. This is because he is segregated due to his race. He is the only black person on the ranch so has absolutely no one to talk to. The other characters think of him as being dirty and inferior to white people and Crooks himself has become so used to being alone since his child hood that he doesn’t even bother talking to anyone else. He has his own living quarters unlike the other workers as they think he stinks therefore he can’t play cards or do other social activities’ with anyone. Others threaten him such as Curley’s wife who says, “You know what I can do to you if you open your trap”, showing how powerless Crooks is and he has absolutely no freedom. Even the law is against him so he can’t even escape. It is also quite strange how a woman has more power than a man, especially in this very sexist time period. It shows how racism is much more severe than sexism. He also says “A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody” this is seen by his cruelty towards Lennie as he takes advantage of his stupidity, showing how loneliness has turned Crooks into a cruel man.
Candy may also be the loneliest character as he is old and has very few people who like to talk to him. The only companion he had was his old dog, until the other ranch workers decided to shoot it. Now Candy has no one to talk to or have company with. He is very old as is discriminated against because of his age. The relationship between George and Lennie is similar to the relationship between Candy and his dog as they both lose
Steinbeck has written of Mice and men in a time period where men travelled alone and rarely sent time with other people. This is reflected in the characters of the novel, who are all lonely however some are lonelier than others. These include Crooks, Candy, Curley and Curley’s wife. They all have the hope of achieving their own dreams, which is the cause of their loneliness.
It can be argued that Crooks is the loneliest character in the novel. This is because he is segregated due to his race. He is the only black person on the ranch so has absolutely no one to talk to. The other characters think of him as being dirty and inferior to white people and Crooks himself has become so used to being alone since his child hood that he doesn’t even bother talking to anyone else. He has his own living quarters unlike the other workers as they think he stinks therefore he can’t play cards or do other social activities’ with anyone. Others threaten him such as Curley’s wife who says, “You know what I can do to you if you open your trap”, showing how powerless Crooks is and he has absolutely no freedom. Even the law is against him so he can’t even escape. It is also quite strange how a woman has more power than a man, especially in this very sexist time period. It shows how racism is much more severe than sexism. He also says “A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody” this is seen by his cruelty towards Lennie as he takes advantage of his stupidity, showing how loneliness has turned Crooks into a cruel man.
Candy may also be the loneliest character as he is old and has very few people who like to talk to him. The only companion he had was his old dog, until the other ranch workers decided to shoot it. Now Candy has no one to talk to or have company with. He is very old as is discriminated against because of his age. The relationship between George and Lennie is similar to the relationship between Candy and his dog as they both lose