"Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck.

Loneliness from the American Heritage Dictionary means without companions or solitary. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, many of the characters are lonely. Curley's wife and Crooks are but two of the many characters in the novel who suffer from loneliness. Both Curley's wife and Crooks deal with being alone differently. On one hand, Curley's wife tries to open herself up to the ranch workers while Crooks does the opposite and shuts himself up from others.

Curley's wife was affected by loneliness in a profound way. When she was younger, she wanted to be a star and see the world, but she believes her mother crushed that dream. She then married Curley because she wanted to get out of the house and to spite her mother. Now by marrying Curley, she became isolated. She was isolated because she couldn't find comfort in her new husband who she didn't like very much and also because there were no other women on the ranch.

English: John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men

Grave site of John Steinbeck and family

She had no one to talk to. She dealt with being alone by opening up to others. She tried to talk to the workers on the ranch but they made her feel even more isolated because they would tell her that they don't want any trouble and to leave them alone. They believed that she was trying to cause trouble for them. In reality, she just wanted someone to talk to. Curley's wife just wanted a friend or a companion. Because of her loneliness, she tries to use her sexuality to get attention, good or bad, from the men. Her loneliness also causes her to be desperate enough to want to talk to Lennie, who is mentally disabled. She knows that Lennie does not want to talk to her but she keeps badgering...