In “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck one of the major motifs is loneliness. The novel is based on two migrant workers named George and Lennie. They go to work on a farm in Soledad California where they meet many people just like the in the sense of their loneliness. Lenis is a little mentally challenged and got in some problems at the last farm they worked at in weed and had to escape quickly. Most migrant workers have no family and barely anything to call their own. Most of the money they earn is spent on liquor and at the whore house. The novel has many people that have no one to talk to listen to or even talk to.
Curley's wife is mainly controlled by her husband, who does not let her speak to any of the men on the ranch. Even though Curley's wife is mentioned frequently, we never know what her name is. This just shows how people do not care for others, which leads to loneliness. I think all the men do not consider her as a normal human being but as an object. She has no female friends on the ranch, so the men are her only option, but they do not want to become friends with her. She spots out Lennie and tries to start a friendship with him as all of the others fear Curley and will have nothing to do with her. She says to Lennie "Think I don't like to talk to somebody ever once in a while?"(p76) This shows that she is trying to tell Lennie that she needs to talk to somebody because she hardly talks to anyone because they do not listen to her. I do not think that She should be as lonely as she is, because she has a husband, but he ignores her, and she can only stay in the house. I am given the impression that she is living in two lives. In reality she is living in a boring ranch, with no companionship in isolation. However, she also believes that she would make it to the movies one day. "I aint used to livin like this. I coulda made something of myself... maybe I will yet "(p.124) Because she is so lonely, she wants to think of herself as having a future...