Theme Of Isolation In Of Mice And Men

"Language has created the word loneliness to express the pain of being alone, and the word solitude to express the glory of being alone.” - Paul Tillich. With this intention, the only way to break isolation and loneliness is to become bold and put oneself out there. Of Mice and Men is a story about two men that are very different but comes together and shares the same dream. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, the author John Steinback shows that due to personal choices, social norms, and fear, characters including Crooks, Curley, and Curley’s wife experience isolation and loneliness.

Crooks is the only black stable-hand in the novel, he displays how he is isolated and discriminated due to his race, however, he fears others when they approach him because he doesn 't want to become more lonely. The other ranch-hands discriminates against him “‘cause [he’s] black. They play cards in there, but [he] can’t play because [he’s] black. They say [he] stink[s]” (68). However, when Lennie came to Crooks, he was very careful and defensive towards Lennie because of the thought that Lennie would also be like the other workers and discriminate him. He is scared if people come to his door because they will make a fool out of him and he doesn’t want to be more isolated and he originally is. Additionally, he doesn’t want to show how he is isolated as well. Crooks knows that because he is black and everyone treats him unfairly, he cannot express his emotions. When Lennie came to George, “It