Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life that not even the strongest can avoid. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates the loneliness of California ranch life. Throughout the story, the reader discovers the many sources of solitude, primarily being discrimination and prejudice, resulting in loneliness and isolation. I feel that loneliness is a sense of insecurity and emptiness in one's life and the only way to overcome this is to become optimistic towards life instead of always being pessimistic. In Of Mice and Men, there were several characters that went through loneliness. George is one of those characters, he and Lennie are extremely close friends. However, there is still a sense of loneliness inside of George because he feels Lennie is restricting him from living his life. Crooks is another character that feels tremendously lonely throughout the novel because he is a black man and they were treated very poorly during those times. Candy is an old crippled man working on the ranch and feels very lonely because his only friend is his aging dog. Throughout the novel, George, Crooks, and Candy experience a sense of loneliness somewhat different from one another but essentially they are all trying to avoid loneliness.
             George and Lennie have a unique friendship, they are very different, physically as well as mentally. Even though they talk to each other, it is still evident that they are both on a different level. George is a smart, quick-witted man, who seems to need mental stimulation from a companion, which he cannot have in his relationship with Lennie. Lennie is an oversized man with the intelligence of a child, who cannot take care of himself. Even though they have each other, there is still a sense of loneliness, especially for George. He feels handicapped when Lennie is around because he has to take care of him and is always getting him out of trouble. George is somewhat like Lennie's older brother, even ...