ware that this quarter belongs to him only. Steinbeck specifically uses minor characters like Crooks to help bring forward the theme of loneliness to the reader because it strikes the reader as they realise how the flaws in society can also affect ranch workers that are as insignificant as Crooks and create pathos for their situation.
             The characters all have a dream; especially the itinerant ranch workers who have a shared dream. The central dream in the novel is George and Lennie's dream of being able to buy a farm with animals and living of the fat of the land. Candy's eagerness to become part of this dream demonstrates that this is a dream which most ranch workers share. Even minor characters in the story grip onto their own visions of a better life for comfort and a sense of security. For Crooks, the lonely Negro, this vision is a nostalgic memory of his childhood, when he lived with his brothers and father on a chicken ranch, a place where he was not the only black man. He also allows himself the pleasant fantasy of hoeing a patch of garden on Lennie's farm one day. Before her death, Curley's wife confesses her desire to be a movie star. Even Curley, the most unappealing and unsympathetic character in the novel has a dream, which is to gain respect from the other men on the ranch. Steinbeck puts this forward by dedicating a whole page to how Curley tries to prove that he is strong to the other men, "He's alla time picking scraps with big guys."
             Slim is the only character that does not seem to need an illusion to defend him against the harsh realities of the world. Instead, the reader is led into thinking that his skill in his work and how his fellow ranch workers see him is what brings him peace and satisfaction, "...the prince of the ranch...for Slim's opinion were law." To emphasise this even more, Steinbeck uses a precise list to describe Slim's abilities, "...ca...