The novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, discusses the importance of friendship in a man's life. Friends are more than just people to hang out with. They may be a necessity and many times man depends on friendship for his own survival. The name of the location of the farm from the novel gives us a quick reflection of the lack of friendship since it is named "Soledad", meaning loneliness in Spanish. The characters in the novel break up into two groups: the few that can depend on a friend and the ones that are lonely or are living through a dysfunctional relationship. As the theme of friendship develops throughout the book, Steinbeck argues that man cannot survive without friendship.
Although this novel presents a microcosm in which almost every individual lacks friends, it also includes a few examples of close friends. One of these examples is the friendship between Candy, an old, one-handed man and his dog, a smelly, equally old animal. Although Candy's dog depends on Candy for protection, shelter and food, Candy depends on his dog for friendship and company. Candy and his dog only have each other to depend on since the other men are indifferent to him. Nobody at the farm wants to interact with candy and the ranch workers considers him old and useless. Another example is the friendship existing between George and Lennie. Although they were recently chased out of Weed, they still have each other which gives them some relief. They survive throughout their immoral life dreaming of a nearby future with no trouble at all. As we can see, although the characters in the novel live through a nasty ambience, struggling to survive due to the lack of food, poor shelter and societies cruel discrimination, a few have friends that support them emotionally. Friends are an assurance that people can also count on others and not just on themselves.
Alternatively, a few characters in this novel are lonely, not having anyone to depend among or trust.