To be isolated is to be separated from other persons or things according to The Random House College Dictionary Revised Edition. Isolation is the result of not being able to interact with peoples other than those directly around you. As illustrated by many classic authors, such as Edith Wharton and Ernest Hemingway, being isolated for long periods of time can often lead to insanity and bitter endings. John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men is a story consumed in isolation and all of the characters portray this in their own unique way. George and Lennie are isolated from normal life because of Lennie's mental illness, while Curly's wife is isolated because she is the only female on the ranch. Crooks is isolated because he is black and crippled, in a time when blacks had few rights and segregation was prominent. Candy is isolated because of an injury that has left him unable to work, and the loss of his only companion; his dog.
George's isolation in this novel is a direct result of problems that he has in his life. The first is Lennie; a mentally challenged traveling companion that George has been taking care of since Lennie's Aunt past away some time before the novel takes place. The second problem George has is that he can't hold a job long enough to save up enough money to buy his own house for Lennie and himself because Lennie gets in too much trouble. Because of these problems George leads a lonely and bitter life.
George reveals his state of loneliness in his narration of himself and Lennie at the beginning of the novel: "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place - (Steinbeck 13-14). The nature of George's profession as a ranch hand leads to isolation. "Migrant workers, like George, rarely have anyone to look to for companionship- (D'Souza). George is isolated because he is unable to stay in one place for any period of time, and he is rarely able to go out with other men and have a good time because of his situation with Lennie.