How does Steinbeck present the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men?

Within the novella 'Of Mice and Men' Loneliness is a prominent theme. Individuals who are lonely tend to be isolated, meaning they lack relationships with other individuals. Loneliness affects these individuals negatively by making them feel sad and remote from others. This essay will now question how Steinbeck addresses loneliness within 'Of Mice and Men'.
At the very beginning, Steinbeck establishes the theme of loneliness in of mice and men by setting the novella in 'Soledad' this translates from Spanish to solitude. The majority of characters within the novella are ranchmen, these were traditionally lonely because they constantly had to travel around to various places to find work. Therefore, Steinbeck is highlighting the repetitive lifestyles of workers during the Dustbowl and the Great Depression, where there was considerable unemployment, which resulted in many individuals feeling worthlessness and isolated.
Strikingly the only characters within Of Mice and Men who are not lonely are George and Lennie. George and Lennie however, travel around together since they came from Weed and moved to this new ranch. Their relationship makes others such as Curly very suspicious of them. Even George highlights that they differ with all of the other individuals in the novella as he states "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family...with us it ain't like that. we got future". The use of "they" and "we" suggests the emphasis George places on the difference between them, and the ranchmen, and how uncommon at the time their companionship was. While they demonstrate a strong bond throughout the novella, at the end George must kill Lennie because otherwise he would be seriously harmed by Curly for killing his wife. Similarly to Candy and his dog, the scene where George kills Lennie parallels since when Lennie dies George becomes lost since he not only loses his companionship but his unique purpose in life and so Geroge reaches ample loneliness. By the end of the novella, none of the characters have companionship and so are stricken with loneliness.