Curley, while a detestable character, is definitely a lonely person...like most of the characters in this novel. Despite his success, he has no friends, his wife can't stand him and looks down on him, and even his workers steer clear of him. Candy says, "Curley's like a lot of little guys. He hates big guys. He's alla time picking scraps with big guys. Kind of like he's mad at 'em because he ain't a big guy." Curley's self esteem issues alienate him from the esteem and love and admiration that he seeks.
