Loneliness is common to every character in the novel. The tall but mentally handicapped Lenny and the skinny and shrewd George are left to fend for themselves as they wander. Old handyman Old handyman Candy had an accident, his hand was twisted into the machine, only a bare broken wrist was left, and his old dog was dependent on him, and the old dog was euthanized by the farm workers because of his body odor; the black Crookes in the stable was already discriminated against because of his skin color, and his spine was kicked off by the horse, and he could only live alone in the stable; the farm owner's son Curley was brave and fierce, provocative, but obviously strong and strong, and his sexual ability was very poor. His delicate new wife, who is not satisfied physically and mentally, can only flirt with any man on the farm...
Although everyone craves belonging and a partner, Steinbeck emphasizes that people do not treat each other as people, do not treat each other with sincerity, and the resulting artificial barriers are the root of loneliness. Curley's wife's loneliness is caused by Curley's incompetence and jealousy, and her loneliness leads to Curley's increasing jealousy, and as a result, no one on the farm dares to provoke her, and she has no choice but to find a brainless Lenny as a companion, which eventually causes Lenny to break her neck by mistake. The fence that surrounded Crooks was racist, and just because he was black, he was barred from entering the workers' quarters and left alone in the stables. Only Lenny and George are truly dependent on each other, and this emotional connection between them can only be truly understood by Slim, the "good hand of the cattle herder" and the "prince on the farm". The characters in the novel are without exception, everyone is lonely, but everyone has a beautiful dream. Despite the fact that there are no tiles and no cone, George and Lenny dream of one day owning their own land, no longer displaced, and living on the production of the land. This dream was as wonderful to them as heaven, as far away as heaven, and they remembered it like a prayer, and nine even the mentally handicapped Lenny could recite it backwards.
"All honest works in the world have a basic theme: trying to understand people. If people can understand each other, they can be friendly to each other. Having a deep understanding of a person never leads to hatred, but almost always leads to love. There are also more convenient ways, there are many, many more. Writing can promote social improvement, punish social injustice, and praise heroism, but the basic theme is still that: trying to understand each other. Steinbeck said.