Throughout the novella, "Of Mice and Men," John Steinbeck makes a point to emphasize the concept of loneliness and its damaging effects through the lives of his characters. Crooks, the discriminated black stable buck, along with the nameless and friendless wife of Curley, suffer from the same extreme and distressing loneliness. Both are unwelcome by the other men; both long for attention and to simply be accepted, yet both respond to this suffering through completely opposing methods.
In the story, Crooks' scarring loneliness is forced on him as he is greatly segregated by the other men on the ranch. Being the only black man on the ranch, his workmates are cruel towards him by ignoring him and refusing him access to the bunk house. After spending half or more of his life in his lonely, isolated mind, Crooks finally comes to the conclusion that-since the other men treat him so much lower than themselves-he will treat them just as hostile and show them that he does not need their kindness to live. Crooks reveals this state of mind when he states firmly to Lennie, "I ain't wanted in the bunk house, and you ain't wanted in my room" (68). Crooks' first defense against the other white workers is to appear angry and independent of them and wants to erase any doubt the other men have of his feelings. He doesn't want to appear weak by expressing his thoughts or by being welcoming to companionship. The reader can see Crooks' true feelings when it was "difficult for [him] to conceal his pleasure with anger" (75) as Candy stood in his doorway. Steinbeck adds Crooks' inward thoughts as an example to prove the point that, even though he appears tough on the outside, he has a secret inner desire for company-even if it is only an old man and a guy with a few screws loose.
On the other end of the ranch is Curley's wife who experiences isolation in a very similar way as Crooks'.
