Loneliness And Alienation In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Loneliness and Alienation in “Of Mice and Men”
In John Steinbeck’s novel, “Of Mice and Men”, many characters were plagued with loneliness and alienation, and most characters were in need of acceptance. The harsh time period of the Great Depression affected three characters in, “Of Mice and Men” greatly. Three characters that are plagued by loneliness and alienation and are in need of acceptance the most include George Milton; the protagonist of the novel, Crooks; the negro stable buck with a crooked back, and Curley’s wife; a young woman who just wants somebody to talk to. In this essay, you will learn why George, Crooks, and Curley’s wife were the loneliest and why other characters were not plagued with loneliness and alienation as much as these three characters.
George Milton is the protagonist of the novel. He is a hard worker and a great friend to Lennie Small; the man whom George travels with. He is an unintelligent man who is as strong as a bull. George and Lennie travel alone from farm to farm. George often gets angry with him because he is like a child, always gets into trouble, asks idiotic questions frequently, forgets everything, and cries over anything. George became plagued with loneliness and alienation because he only had Lennie.

He lives alone in the harness room; a little shed that leaned on the side of the barn. He was segregated from all the other men, and he quickly became plagued with loneliness and alienation. Crooks just wanted to be accepted by the other men. In chapter four, Lennie went into Crook’s bunk because the other men went into town. Crooks told Lennie what it is like to be a lone black man and some of his everyday struggles. Lennie asked Crooks “Why Ain’t you wanted?” Crooks replied “Cause I’m black” he also told Lennie, “I tell ya a guy gets lonely and he gets sick.” The explanation supports the fact that Crooks was plagued by loneliness and alienation and he wanted