The Predatory Nature of Human Existence focused on "Loneliness".
In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, most of the characters, such as Crooks, Candy and Curley's wife, confront the certain kinds of loneliness. Steinbeck demonstrates that often times, a victim of isolation will have an endless search to fulfill a friendship. It is the only dignified and satisfying way to overcome the loneliness that pervades the world. .
Crooks, Negro stable buck who lives alone in the barn, is a black man that experiences isolation because the society in which he lives is racist. Crooks has a "relationship" with loneliness. He knows that when people get lonely, they will get sick. Crooks is ignored from every group of people and cannot socially interact with others. Although discrimination is still present in this novel, Crooks still attempts to make friends. He is the one who admits that he is extremely lonely. From the novel, he said, "'A guy needs somebody to be near him.' He whined, 'A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.' (Chapter 4, page 12) From the above quote, Crooks reveals how easy it is to feel crazy when you are alone. Others treat Crooks unjust because he is different from others that he is black. He does not know how to treat others because of the way others treat him; with disrespect. In additions, he does not know how to vent his frustration and as a result, lashes out at others because they are cruel to him. Crooks is not allowed to participate in daily events with white people. He is treated unfairly and therefore acts the same way toward the white people. Nobody likes to be forced to live in a barn, let alone to work only with the horses. Crooks spent most of his nights reading and he keeps away from others because of the way he is treated and this leads to his very own emotional downfall. He is treated as an outcast and is forced to find friendship the only way he can, through the books that he reads.
