Lennie's Characteristics Lennie, from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is one of the most important characters. Lennie never changes in the story he always has the same characteristics, so he is a flat character. I think that Lennie's main characteristics are that he is childish, really devoted, and really strong. In Of Mice and Men, one of Lennie's characteristics is that he is childish. But Lennie can't really help how he acts, because he is most likely mentally challenged. One example of him acting childish is when Lennie tries to hide the dead mouse from George. Another way that Lennie acts childish is when Lennie and George are at the river right outside of Soledad, California and George keeps on having to repeat himself over and over …show more content…
again. Another example, of him being childish is his inability to reason, especially when Crooks taunts Lennie after Lennie and Candy enter Crook's place in the stables. In Of Mice and Men, another one of Lennie's characteristics is that he is really devoted. Lennie is devoted to things, such as tending to the rabbits. Tending to the rabbits is one of the things Lennie is looking forward to the most when him and George buy the farm. Another thing that Lennie is really devoted to is George. One of the main reasons why Lennie is so devoted to George is because they've grown up together. Another reason why Lennie is so devoted to George is, because George is one of the only people that get Lennie, and is actually nice to Lennie. In Of Mice and Men, the last main characteristic of Lennie is how strong he is.
Lennie has killed more than one animal because he has petted them too hard. Lennie has also hurt people before too such as, Curley and Curley's wife. One example of Lennie killing an animal by petting it too hard, is in the beginning of the story Lennie is telling George about how when he was holding one of the mice, and the mouse but him. So, he kinda retaliates by pinching their heads and then they die. Another example of when Lennie hurt a person, is when he broke Curley's hand because Slim gets mad at Curley because Slim repeatedly asks Curley where his wife is and how she is doing. Then, Curley who wants to fight someone basically starts punching Lennie for no reason, then Lennie fights back and breaks Curley's hand. The last example of Lennie being really strong is when he killed Curley's wife. So what happens here, is Curley's wife comes into the barn and sees that Lennie is upset so she asks him what he is upset about, he is upset because his puppy died and so she comforts him. Then, Lennie mentions that he really likes to pet soft/nice things. Finally, Curley's wife lets Lennie touch her soft hair and Lennie loves it, but then she asks him to stop and Lennie doesn't stop so she shakes her head and then he breaks her neck by accident and then she
dies. Those are the three main characteristics about Lennie that I think really explain Lennie, the three characteristics again are that he is childish, really devoted, and really strong. I think Lennie was a good character, but he was viewed as a bad person. But he couldn't really help his behavior because he was mentally challenged.
John Steinbeck wrote a story about two men that only had each to depend on. Many of George and Lennie's struggles come from things they cannot control such as Lennie's mental issues. George and Lennie are very poor and they work on farms together, but they have to move a lot because Lennie always does something stupid. The greatest tragedy in Mice and Men was when Lennie was left alone with Curley's wife. She was the reason why Lennie ended up being killed. She knew of to manipulate others to get her way and that is what she relies on most of the time.
Lennie is broken and incomplete in many ways. He has a mental disability which differentiates him from the others. He depends on George for everything and cannot do things on his own even though he is a grown man.
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck Lennie has many traits that define him. One trait he has is he is very forgetful. Another trait he has is he is very reliant upon George. A final trait that Lennie possesses is he is very curious. These three ideas are all traits that Lennie uses to manage his life and they help him by staying positive. Although Lennie is mentally deficient, he can still maintain a healthy lifestyle by using his happiness.
Was George to harsh or too fast with his decision to kill Lennie? Ever since Lennie was born he has needed help “living” and it started with his aunt Clara. When his aunt Clara died Lennie needed someone to help him with his everyday life and someone that could be there and tell him what to do. Lennie starts to travel with a good family friend George. In the book “Of Mice and Men” there is many cases where Lennie just “holds on” to George. George realizes in the end of the book Lennie has done too much harm and needs to essentially go away. George then shoots Lennie in the back of the head because Lennie couldn't live on his own if he were to run away from Curly and the rest of the gang of workers coming after him. George did the right thing because Lennie was unstable and George knows lennie didn't mean to harm anything. He doesn't know his own strength and George really wasn't qualified to help Lennie learn that he is powerful beyond measure.
Lennie had a soft spot for petting animals and soft things. He is totally oblivious to the fact that he hurts almost every thing he touches. He had pet mice and ended up killing them and when he played with the 'pup' he ended up killing it too. His uncontrolled strength also caused him to kill Curley's wife. "Lennie's fingers fell to stroking her hair... he stroked harder... "Let go!" she cried... She struggled violently... and then she was still; for Lennie had broken her neck." (Page 91). With the death of Curley's wife, Lennie's innocence was taken. He had unwillingly killed. He had to pay the price, by losing his life.
Lennie is depicted in a very childlike manner throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Accordingly, he acts in a manner that is persistent with a child in that his motivations precisely lead to his actions. He does not act in a pure sense of dishonesty, reflective of the purity that is peculiar to someone who is like a kid at heart.
Crooks, Curley’s wife, and most defiantly Lennie are the outcasts on the ranch. The novel presents Lennie as a mentally challenged, but an unusually strong worker who travels with his friend George. George takes care of Lennie as if he was his own child and Lennie cares for George the same way. “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you” (14). Lennie describes how he cares for George although he honestly just messes everything up for George. Lennie has the mind of a child and does not understand how to act and be an adult. Lennie continues to pet dead mice, feel shiny and smooth objects, and not know how to interact with other people. From time to time, George continues to care and try to make improvements with Lennie, but it just does not happen. Lennie continues to have the mind of a child and can never distinguish the different between right and wrong. Throughout the novel; from being a mentally challenged; tall, muscular man; Lennie is most definitely an outcast in the story Of Mice and Men.
Due to child like qualities, Lennie is a person which would be easy prey and a vulnerable person. Lennie is a vulnerable person who is quite dumb. His has an obsession for touching soft thing and this will often lead him in to trouble. But poor Lennie is an innocent person who means no harm to anybody. When he and Curley get into a fight Lennie is too shocked to do any thing. He tries to be innocent but, when told to by George grabs Curley’s fist and crushes it. George is Lennie’s best friend and Lennie does every thing he tells him to do as demonstrated in the fight with “But you tol...
Lennie was not very smart and couldn't do much by himself. He had to be told what to do or he wouldn't do anything at all. He fits all the profiles for a retarded person. He doesn't have any self-control. When he starts to panic he gets out of control and even kills Curly's wife because she starts to scream. Lennie loves animals and can't stop talking about them. He always says that when they get their own place that he wants lots of rabbits, his favorite animal. To him George is like his father figure, since Lennie never really had any parents. He is easily amused and panics quickly.
Since the beginning of the book, Steinbeck characterizes Lennie as a man who sees the world through the perspective of a child, as if it is a dream. Lennie is a big guy, but he acts like a baby. In the beginning of the story, after George threw the dead mouse Lennie was petting, Lennie was “…‘Blubberin’ like a baby!” (9). This juvenile action demonstrates Lennie’s immaturity and childish
If someone’s actions are truly innocent, why must someone kill him? Lennie has never done something to inflict pain everything has been unintentional. Lennie was a strong young man, but with a mental illness. Lennie made multiple mistakes, he was murdered and it affected a lot of people including the killer.
A man with a child-like mind can not get far in life. Other characters recognize that Lennie is a child. Lennie has many limitations to live the American Dream, and acting like a child is one of them. On page nine in “ Of Mice and Men”, George takes away Lennie's dead mouse and Lennie begins to cry. “ “ Blubberin’ like a baby!”” (9). Lennie is called a baby because in George’s eyes, a grown man should not cry. With Lennie, he is not like every other average man. When a kid has a role model they try to act as that person. Lennie's role model is George. He will not only imitate George but he will obey him as well. Lennies imitation of George begins on page four when they
Lennie’s unintentional mistakes resulted in the sudden end for him, but was done in the best way possible. As Lennie would’ve been subjected to a life of loss, running and suffering, George correctly made the decision in euthanizing him. While contemplating whether or not to euthanize him, George knew he very well could but it wasn’t the easiest decision to make on his part. If George wouldn’t of made the decision he did, Lennie would’ve had to run for the rest of his life with no account of what happened or what to do due to his mental illness. He would’ve been seen as a criminal and hunted down like animal which is inhumane and cruel. Although his mishaps weren’t meant to be as extreme as they were, the consequences were foreshadowed throughout
Even though Lennie's last name is Small, he is, physically, just the opposite: a large man with great strength. This strength is represented numerous times throughout the novel. We first read about Lennie's strength in the opening scene, when Lennie accidentally kills the pet mouse in his pocket by petting it too hard. We also learn that, in fact, Lennie has killed other pets in the same manner in the past.
Lennie apologized to George for killing the mice; he told him that the reason for killing the mice was because “they bit my[Lennie’s] fingers” but he only “pinched their heads a little”(Steinbeck 10). Lennie’s guilt drives him to apologize about the mice but he appears to underestimate his own strength because he claimed that he vaguely pinched their heads, but Lennie being a vast man, that couldn't have been the case. He didn't know the consequences of pinching the mice even after he had done it so many times. This shows the lack of perception he holds, meaning he can't become cognizant of the things happening around him on his own, causing the reader to initiate sympathy for Lennie. Lennie’s immaturity is so big it can be misunderstood for cleverness. George sharply asks Lennie to give him the object from his pocket but he claims “ I ain't got nothin’”but later on admits he has a dead mouse but [George] insists to “ have it”,but George insisted to have the mouse then he “slowly obeyed”(Steinbeck 5-6). It appears as if Lennie was being clever but by handing the mice to George, his childish behavior is revealed. His ingenuous acts portray identically to a child influencing the reader to gain sensitivity to the way Lennie is treated. The way Lennie understands the world and process thoughts makes him mentally stable, for a child. Not only is he innocent but he is also ironically characterized.