George And Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the reader follows a pair of characters known as George and Lennie, who right off the bat are described to be complete opposites.George is a small, lean man with defined features. Lennie is a huge, heavy man that is typicallyfound dragging himself along. They are also polar opposites in terms of intelligence, shown by the fact that Lennie tends to act without thinking and George does not. Them traveingl togetheris a good idea on paper, but it is not without it’s flaws and complexities.To begin, one element of George and Lennie’s relationship are the difficulties they face. One being the fact that Lennie has a (sometimes)suppressed, violent, and dangerous personality that

clashes with the innocent front that he puts on. The aforementioned innocence is what tricks people into being comfortable around him, and then his violent side forces him to pounce. This happens in full force when Curley’s wife lets her guard down around Lennie, and it goes sour:”Don’t you go yellin’,” he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck.” It goes without saying that this caused an extreme amount of trouble and even lead to Lennie’s untimely death. Another is the fact that George is always forced to pay for Lennie’s actions. This is displayed when Curley starts a fight with Lennie and George tells him to retaliate, but he quickly regrets it:”Curley’s fist was swinging when Lennie reached for it. The next minute Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie’s big hand. George ran down the room. “Leggo of him, Lennie. Let go.” This only fuels Curley’s hatred for Lennie and yet again, leading towards Lennie’s eventual death.Furthermore, another element of their relationship is that they are completely different than the people on the farm. Right off the bat, some people (like Slim, for example) can’t help but notice that they’re a bit odd:”Slim looked through George and beyond him. "Ain't many guystravel around together," he mused. "I don't know why. Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other." This is because most of the time people working at the farm don’t come in pairs, so it makes them stand out. Another thing that makes them different are their unique personalities. Most other characters on the farm are either one-dimensional or not fleshed out very well, while the book highlights the fact that Lennie is more than someone who is dumb and innocent and George is more than someone who is cold and stern. For example, another side of George is revealed with this quote:”Lennie said, "I thought you was mad at me, George." "No," said George. "No, Lennie. I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know." The reader is led to believe that George regrets having Lennie travel alongside him, but he clearly cares for his best friend who is simply too far gone.Finally, the last of element of their relationship is what keeps them together. This isn’t the first time Lennie and George have gotten themselves in trouble,so there are certain aspects of their pairing that make it work. One reason why it works is because George is the brain, while Lennie is the brawn. George uses Lennie’s strength to entice to the farm’s boss, landing them the job:”He can do anything you tell him," said George. "He's a good skinner. He can rassel
grain bags, drive a cultivator.

He can do anything. Just give him a try." Then from there George devises a plan on how to own land:Then he said thoughtfully, "Look, if me an' Lennie work a month an' don't spen' nothing, we'll have a hunderd bucks. That'd be four fifty. I bet we could swing her for that. Then you an' Lennie could go get her started an' I'd get a job an' make up theres', an' you could sell eggs an' stuff like that." Another reason is that George seems to have an obligation to look out for Lennie for his Aunt Clara:”George said, "I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody'd shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. No, you stay with me. Your Aunt Clara wouldn't like you running off by yourself, even if she is dead." It seems to be George’s main drive as to why he is traveling with Lennie. In conclusion, the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck follows an unlikely pair of main characters that as the story progresses, it is revealed that the characters are morecomplex than we are led to believe. One thing that contributes to this is their relationship dynamic, which is an ever-evolving topic throughout the story. Elements of this dynamic include their hardships, their uniqueness, and what keeps them together. Of Mice and Men was an enthralling tale with thought provoking text and an impactful

ending.