In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men,
Slim's mention of fear is more directly associated with the themes of isolation and
alienation.
After the Great Crash of 1929, the economy is
destroyed. People lose jobs, life savings, businesses, and their homes. Many people take
their own lives because they cannot face their losses. During the Great Depression,
these circumstances cause thousands of people to leave their homes and cities (generally
forced out) to find a better way of life. The movement is continuos as people try to
find work—when the work is finished, they move on to find other
jobs.
This (and Lennie's unpredictable nature) are what
bring George and Lennie to the ranch. Crooks reports the passing of people to the ranch
and then on their way. Crooks is afraid of being alone. No one deals much with him
because he is black. He fondly remembers the days of his youth surrounded by his
brothers. He must live in a shack because as a black man he cannot bunk with the white
men. This deepens his sense of isolation. And when Lennie and Candy discuss their dream
of owning a place, Crooks desperately wants to go with them so that he may be connected
to other people.
Curley's wife feels the same way. She is
"only" a woman, and a trouble maker at that. Most of the men stay away from her in order
to avoid getting into trouble with her husband, Curley—the guy in charge. She greatly
resents her husband's lack of attention and having no company, and is always finding an
excuse to hang out where the men are. She is a lonely young man, living in isolation on
a ranch in the middle of nowhere.
Slim would seem to be the
man least likely to be lonely. He is considered something of a god—very talented in his
work: he is an excellent mule driver and can kill a fly with his whip. He is admired by
others, but is grounded and understanding of others. His quote refers to the loneliness
of people in general.
Slim looked through George and beyond him. "Ain’t
many guys travel around together," he mused. "I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the
whole damn world is scared of each
other."
Because Slim does not
seem to experience the fear he describes, his comment is an observation. He has seen
people pass through, as Crooks remarks, and he realizes by studying them—with his
ability to measure a person—that with the world the way it is, without any guarantees
and a great deal of uncertainty, that people are afraid of one another. Perhaps it is
why George and Lennie traveling together makes the most sense to Slim. They are able to
harness their fear of isolation and loneliness in watching out for each
other.
Loneliness and isolation are the things that people
fear, not fear itself.
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