Friendship is Lonely: The Novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

“S’pose you didn’t have nobody. Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody- to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody near him.

” (72) In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men Curley’s wife, the only women on the ranch and an attractive one, somehow seems unhappy no matter what. Curley’s Wife often expresses how alone she is with Curley as her husband. In her search for friendship she actually ends up ironically alone due to her untimely death. Curley’s Wife over and over again throughout the novel explains how she feels alone and expresses her dislike towards Curley, her husband, by saying things such as, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I oughtn’t to.

I don’t like Curley. He ain’t a nice fella.” (89) She confides in Lennie, a mentally handicap worker on the ranch, even though she claims she has never confide in anyone else before with this information including her own husband. She continues to explain to Lennie that even though she is supposed to be in a loving relationship all she feels is alone. Curley’s Wife finally begins to befriend Lennie, to cure her loneliness but instead her seeking a functional relationship with another person ends up resulting in her demise. She explains, “I get lonely.

You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to nobody but Curley. Else he gets mad.” (87) Curley’s wife starts trying to trust in Lennie, she tries to make a bond with him as they swap stories about their dreams. At one point Curley’s Wife begins talking to Lennie about her hair ans says, “But mine us soft and fine. ‘Course I brush it a lot. That makes it fine.

Here- feel right here” (90) She believes that she is building a relationship with this stranger when in reality that was in fact the first step towards her death resulting in the end of the friendship. Both friendship and loniness are closely related. Curley’s wife is the epitome of the definition between friendship and loneliness in this book. She defines the fine line between the two terms and how easily you can be surrounded by people and still feel so lonely. This is an idea that can be related to many lives, it is often the cause of suicide and addiction in the lives of those who surround us.