First off, I would say you have cast your net a bit too wide. Narrow down your essay to one of your three topics. While I won't write a thesis statement for you, I can suggest some ideas that encompass the three ideas you already have.
The importance of companionship, or friendship, is indeed a major theme in Steinbeck's book. George and Lennie have a very close relationship and the major characters in the story...
First off, I would say you have cast your net a bit too wide. Narrow down your essay to one of your three topics. While I won't write a thesis statement for you, I can suggest some ideas that encompass the three ideas you already have.
The importance of companionship, or friendship, is indeed a major theme in Steinbeck's book. George and Lennie have a very close relationship and the major characters in the story are often envious of the bond between the two men. Crooks is not able to seek companionship on a regular basis because he is black and thus segregated from the white workers. Nevertheless, he is obviously happy when Lennie comes into his room to "sit awhile" and talk. Crooks pours out his heart to Lennie about how important a companion is. He says in chapter four,
"I seen it over an’ over—a guy talkin' to another guy and it don’t make no difference if he don’t hear or understand. The thing is, they’re talkin’, or they’re settin’ still not talkin’. It don’t make no difference, no difference.”
Curley's wife also aggressively seeks companionship. She is not happy with her husband and Steinbeck suggests he neglects her and even mistreats her. Unfortunately, she cannot find anyone to talk to her on the ranch. The men treat her with derision and call her unflattering names. When she does find companionship with Lennie, it proves fatal. Candy is initially content with his old dog, but when the dog is taken away he is distraught and gravitates to the dream of George and Lennie. For a time, until the tragic ending, he is set to contribute his money to the project and is excited about leaving the ranch and going to the "little piece of land."
Companionship in the book is tied to the idea of the American Dream. On George's idyllic farm, everyone will be happy. George can take in his own crop and have pigeons in the windmill. Lennie can "tend rabbits" and Candy could "cook and tend the chickens and hoe the garden some." Even Crooks includes himself for a short time and says,
“ . . . . If you . . . . guys would want a hand to work for nothing—just his keep, why I’d come an’ lend a hand. I ain’t so crippled I can’t work like a son-of-a-bitch if I want to.”
Freedom goes hand in hand with the dreams, and each man would be a free agent, able to set his own work hours and make his own decisions. The dream of the farm is ultimately like paradise. The dream, however, proves delusional as Lennie again "does a bad thing" and, as the title suggests, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray."
The idea of the dream is definitely attractive to these men, who could be considered misfits in regular society. Lennie is mentally challenged, Candy is old and missing a hand and Crooks is black with a crooked back. Curley's wife describes them derisively,
“—Sat’iday night. Ever’body out doin’ som’pin’. Ever’body! An’ what am I doin’? Standin’ here talkin’ to a bunch of bindle stiffs—a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep—an’ likin’ it because they ain’t nobody else.”
Another important theme in the book is the pain of loneliness, which is closely related to the theme of companionship. Crooks and Curley's wife could be considered the loneliest of the characters in the book and they express that loneliness, Crooks in chapter four, and Curley's wife in chapter fours and five.
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