In the book of mice and men there is a constant theme of companionship and or alienation. There are many examples inside the book that proves this theme legit, like Lenny and George, Candy and his dog, Curley’s wife, and many others. First off you can clearly see the companionship between George and Lenny.

They are like brothers in a sense, travel and live everywhere. In the book they are referred to as travel buddies by the other workers.George is always looking out for Lenny if he gets in trouble or not, or if he is doing something wrong and might get in trouble. Even though this may seem bothersome to some people they share a bond like brothers that always has George looking out for Lenny. Another good example of companionship is between Candy and his dog. Candy loves his dog very much and it is shown very well.

In the beginning of his book he is always with his dog and petting it and such.In the scene when Carlson said “if you want me to, I’ll put the old devil out of his misery right now and we can get over with. Ain’t nothing left for him. He can’t eat, can’t see, can’t even walk without hurtin’/” (pg 40) his co-workers want to get rid of the dog for several reasons and because they “can’t sleep with him stinkin’ around in here” (pg. 40).

the author expresses how candy feels about it very well. Candy doesn't want to let him go but he knows that it is better to put him out of his misery.You can tell candy is disturbed and sad to lose his close companion because first he asks them if they could wait until tomorrow but when that fails he just curls up onto his bed silently and his dog is taken out to be shot. An example of alienation is also clear in the story. Curley’s wife is a very good example of alienation.

Whenever Curley’s wife is around there seems to be trouble and people don’t seem to like her. For example later in the book the author relates her to Crooks, Lennie and Candy, and how they are similar and there at the ranch and that everyone is away at a cathouse.Curley’s wife is also always alone and it is shown very clearly that she is always lonely and not with anybody. Nobody tries to talk to her because they don’t want to get in trouble with Curley. So therefore she is always alienated. The examples above show that the author has the theme of companionship and alienation running throughout the story.

The examples of George and Lennie, Candy and his dog, and Curley’s wife shows it strongly. Although there are many other themes this theme is one of the most prominent.