Loneliness
- Slim: "Hardly none of the guys ever travel together. Never seem to give a damn about nobody." (pg39) Slim sees this as odd, and must not have friends like George and Lennie and is lonely.
- Candy: He loses his only friend. Candy allowed his dog to be shot, and didn't even get to say goodbye.
- Crooks: Candy says, "Ya see, the stable buck's a nigger." (pg 20) Crooks is singled out and discriminated against. He has his own separate bunk room and isn't allowed to bunk with the workers. He has to live alone.
- George: Very similar to Candy's story. He had to shoot his only true friend and will never be able to fulfill his dream of owning land now that Lennie is gone.
- Curley: Curley has no respect, and no one likes him, not even his wife. He is mean towards others and a bully towards Lennie and George because of their friendship.
- Curley's wife: She is the only woman on the ranch. She is married but never seen with her wife. One reason that Curley's wife has no name is because none of the ranch hands stick around long enough to get to know her. People never want to talk to her for fear of Curley's wrath.
- Lennie: Lennie's only friend is George, and he feels that he makes George unhappy a lot of the time. "If you don't want me, you only just got to say so, and I'll go off in those hills there--- right up in those hills and live by myself." (pg 13)