Write your impression of the theme of chapter four which takes place in Crooks's room.

Loneliness is the major theme of chapter four in Steinbeck's novella. The four characters who appear in the chapter all deal with loneliness in one way or another. Lennie is lonely because George has gone into town, Crooks is lonely because he is segregated from the other men on the ranch, Candy is lonely because he has lost his dog, and Curley's wife is lonely because her husband doesn't pay any attention to her.

The chapter takes place in Crooks's room, which is, in itself, a symbol of loneliness. Because he's black, Crooks is not allowed in the bunkhouse and so he has his own private room in the barn. Throughout the chapter he suggests that it isn't so great that he has his own room. When Candy comments how nice it would be to have a private room, Crooks comments ironically:

“Sure,” said Crooks. “And a manure pile under the window. Sure, it’s swell.”

Lennie is temporarily lonely because it's Saturday night and George has gone into Soledad with the other men. We may assume that even these men are lonely as they go into a town whose name is Spanish for solitude. Although he feigns disapproval as Lennie enters his room, Crooks is happy to have the company. During the chapter he expresses his loneliness:

“A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you. I tell ya,” he cried, “I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an’ he gets sick.” 

To prove his point, he suggests to Lennie that the big man would be lost if George never came back, but relents when Lennie becomes angry. Candy too is lonely and he seeks out Crooks and Lennie. All he can talk about is the farm that he and George and Lennie plan on buying. While Crooks is initially scornful of the idea he eventually becomes interested and says he would "lend a hand" if they wanted him. Like Candy, the dream of the farm represents an end of loneliness. It would be a place where the four men could not only be free but also where they could share their lives and experiences.

Finally, the disgruntled Curley's wife enters the scene. She immediately reveals her intense loneliness. She is obviously bitter over her life and her marriage to Curley. She yearns for conversation and companionship. She tells the men,

"Think I don’t like to talk to somebody ever’ once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time?” 

Curley's wife's loneliness is ultimately her undoing as she encounters Lennie in the next chapter and he accidentally kills her as they sit talking in the barn.