Chapter 4

Loneliness hurts everyone; some more than others. In chapter 4 one of the characters that deals with loneliness is Crooks. Crooks deals with loneliness because of his colour. Crooks is the only black person on the ranch. But what makes Crooks situation even worse is the fact that he is also crippled. Crooks is the only worker on the ranch who has his own room. To have your own room is a huge deal, but not in Crooks' case. Crooks only has his own room because he is black. Crooks is not welcomed in the bunk house with all the other workers. So Crooks get his own room in the barn area. "Scattered about the floor in Crooks room were a number of personal possessions; for, being alone, Crooks could leave his things about, and being a stable buck and a cripple, he was more permanent that the other men. This room was swept and fairly neat, for Crooks was a proud, aloof man. He kept his distance and demanded that other people keep theirs." ( Steinbeck, 66-67, 1937) Crooks seems to deal with the loneliness, but deep inside the loneliness is killing him.

Lennie, Crooks, and Candy are the outcasts on the ranch. When George, Slim, Carlson, and Curley went to the whore house they left behind Lennie, Candy, and Crooks. Lennie, Candy, and Crooks must have felt badly about themselves when they knew that they were left behind because they were different. Lennie, Candy, and Crooks all have something which makes them different and also makes them lonelier. Lennie has a mental disability, which makes him unable to interact as well with the people on the ranch. Candy is old and has only one hand. Candy's age makes the rest of the workers feel unable to interact with him. Crooks is black and a cripple. Crooks' colour separates him from everyone. Also being crippled makes him less able to move around and interact with the workers. George, Slim, Carlson, and Curley should not have left George, Candy, and Crooks behind. Everyone is already lonely as it is; they should not make some people feel even lonelier than they already are.


Being friendly and inviting someone out even if they are different, can make that person feel so much better about themselves. Everyone on the ranch is dealing with loneliness in some way,shape or form. But Candy, Lennie, and Crooks are the loneliest people on the ranch. They face loneliness every minute of their lives.