The theme of loneliness runs deep through the fabrication of the novel, Of Mice and Men tying a majority of the characters together both male and female. When the concept of loneliness springs to mind, not only do we instantly think of solitude and isolation but a deeper feeling of perhaps loss and a wanting for something to fill the void. Loneliness is often a deprivation of contact with another either physically or mentally and this feeling is experienced and triggered unconsciously by sights, sounds, smells and other related senses around them. This is felt by many characters, affecting them in various manners yet constantly showing their lack of companionship. The extent of the seclusion differs from person to person, often giving the reader an insight into the characters environment attitude of others around them. .
Crooks is the only black man in the novel and it is through attitudes towards his character that we are able to gain an understanding about the positions of blacks in America at that time. Crooks does not live with the other hands in the bunkroom and instead, he lives isolated in his own room in the barn. He is openly referred to as "nigger", which exemplifies the casual racism towards him by others. They do not however, set out to hurt him intentionally, but the usage of the term "nigger" tells us the reader that black men, like Crooks, were constantly degraded both verbally and physically by whites. Because of the seemingly hostile environment that surrounds Crooks, he retreats inside himself and lives in solitude not wanting to have to see what he is denied. Companionship. The emotional bleakness that Crooks experiences forces him to take on a bitter side because others are exactly the same way to him. "You got no right to come in my room. This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me." Crooks owns a copy of the California civil code suggesting that he knows his rights even though he probably is not treated the way men are supposed to be treated in the book.
