John Steinbeck's Idea Of Loneliness

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John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a story of two men, Lennie Small and George Milton, who work at a ranch in the hopes of achieving their dream of buying land and building a life for themselves. At this ranch, they meet other men who share similar dreams and worries; all of which, exemplify some of the narrative’s ongoing ideas. Crooks, the crippled black stable buck, contributes to Steinbeck’s idea of loneliness as man’s worse foe and that dreams often go awry because of society’s nature. His impact on these ideas are expressed when he says to Lennie, “A guy needs somebody - to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody.” Prior to telling Lennie why a man needed a companion, Crooks had taunted Lennie with the prospect that George, …show more content…
While explaining to Lennie that his and George’s dream of buying a piece of land wasn’t possible because “nobody gets no land” and “ it’s just in their head” Candy comes and joins the conversation. It is only when Candy elaborates to Crooks how he, George, and Lennie almost have enough money and how they already picked out the land does Crooks suggest, “...If you… guys would want a hand to work for nothing - just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand.” When Crooks saw how close Lennie, George, and Candy were to making their dream a reality, he altered his attitude because it provided him with the opportunity to escape his isolation and the fear of being thrown out for being useless. Although, this dream disappears as fast as it appears when Curley's wife comes and reminds him that a negro has no place in the world dominated by white men. Crooks is important to the narrative because it is through him where society’s stance and the logic behind George keeping Lennie around is apparent. Like many of the other men on the ranch, Crooks had a dream, but because his situation and the situation of those around him, he couldn’t achieve
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