First published in 1937, Of Mice and Men is a classic American novel by John Steinbeck. George and Lennie are two ranch hands that travel together, with George watching over the mentally inferior Lennie. When they start work at a new ranch, several different characters are introduced. One affliction that seems to face several characters is loneliness, created by factors such as the character's lifestyles and by social standards of the time period. This loneliness is because of the intolerance of society on those who are different. Steinbeck's theme that loneliness is unhealthy and dangerous to a person's well being is emphasized throughout the novel. This specific theme of loneliness is demonstrated throughout the novel through the lives of the characters such as Candy and Crook, in contrast with the relationship of George and Lennie and the bases in which their relationship is depended upon.
             This underlying theme is first introduced in the novel when George talks to Lennie about the advantage they have over other itinerant workers of the time. George described how other ranch hands like themselves who traveled alone had nothing to look forward to, and no one to look after them. He told Lennie how other workers would just work up a stake and blow it at a bar because they had no where else to go, no one else to look after them. George explained how Lennie and he were different from those lonely workers when he said, "With us it ain't like that, We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us" (Steinbeck 15). Because of Lennie and George's relationship they are able to focus on their dream of having their own farm someday, instead of falling into a routine of moving from ranch to ranch and wastefully spending their pay at the end of the month. In addition, although Lennie is a burden, George accepts their relationship to fight his own loneliness. As he explains to Slim, "I...