Thesis: Steinbeck illustrates how people cope with loneliness through Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife which shows that meeting inner needs brings validation.

Curley’s Wife
Candy
Crooks
Claim: Curley’s wife copes with loneliness by flirting with men in an effort to to feel validated.
Evidence: “She had rouged lips and wide-spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages. She wore a cotton house dress and red mules, on the insteps of which were little bouquets of red ostrich feathers. ‘I’m looking for Curley’, she said. Her voice had a nasal brittle quality” (31).
Reasoning: Curley’s wife’s red fingernails and mules symbolize her need for attention because red is a known flirtatious and seductive color. Flirting with guys makes her feel accepted and helps her cope with …show more content…
Evidence: “Ever’body says what a game guy Curley is. And s’pose he does the same thing and gets licked. Then ever’body says the big guy oughtta pick on somebody his own size, and maybe they gang up on the big guy. Never did seem right to me. Seems like Curley ain’t givin’ nobody a chance” (26).
Reasoning: Candy thinks that he is powerless because he is not needed, and in order to cope with being alone he tries to feel needed on the ranch by creating companionships. Candy believes that by gossiping he is creating friendships, but in reality the interaction with others is creating a sense of false camaraderie. The result of how Candy made friendships shows situational irony because the expectation was that he would make friends by gossiping, but the outcome is contrary to that because he creates false companionships.
Claim: Crooks copes with his isolation due to his race by ignoring his own prejudices.
Evidence: “‘Come on in. If everybody’s comin’ in, you might just as well.’ It was difficult for Crooks to conceal his pleasure with anger”