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Mice and men Relationships between other
Mice of man relationship essay
The relationship between the two main characters in of mice and men
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Of Mice and Men
What is the relationship between George and Lennie?
The writer has builds a strong relationship between George and Lennie. Their relationship is based on a dream that bonds them together and gives them something to look forward to. Throughout the story this dream is mentioned repeatedly which emphasizes their relationship.
The description of George and Lennie signifies that they are completely opposite of the name given to them. Steinbeck implies this when he writes, “Behind him walks his opposite.” The writer describes George as “small and quick, dark face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of his was defined.” Lennie on the other hand is a hugh man, shapeless of face, pale eyes and wide, sloping shoulders. Steinbeck often compares Lennie to animals like a bear and a horse. For example, Steinbeck refers to Lennie like a
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horse when he was drinking water, “drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse. Their dream was the typical American Dream, to own a little farm of their own. This was significant to the time the story took place during the depression in the 1930’s. They used this dream to set goals in their life and bonded them together that made them feel special from the others. To George this dream meant having their own place so he can feel independent and secure, being his own boss and most importantly being “somebody”. To Lennie the dream is like the soft animals he pets. It means security, the responsibility of tending to the rabbits and a sanctuary where he won’t be afraid. Nevertheless, George is trapped in his partnership with Lennie because George made a promise to Lennie’s Aunt Clare to look after him. George also has a sense of loyalty to Lennie, he is always telling lennie what to do and how to behave. George is more of a parent figure to Lennie, for instance, Lennie hides stuff from him like a little kid. Geroge is nervous that Lennie could get them into trouble any time; that’s why they agreed to meet back at the pond if anything happened. George stopped abusing the power he had on Lennie after telling him to jump in a river and then saving him from drowning. George wants to do what best for Lennie because he cares about him and wants him as a companion. Unlike George, Lennie is big and strong.
He gets confused and depends on George to help him. He loves to hear George tell the story of their dream, especially the part where he tends to the rabbits. He is also sure of his friendship with George when Crook threatens that George might abandon him, “George wouldn’t do nothing like that.” He is also protective of George and Lennie states, “Ain’t nobody goin’to talk no hurt to George.”
The emergency plan George created unexpectedly to end Lennie’s life in a peaceful way, by telling him about their dream and letting Lennie fill in the endings, because Lennie knew the story by heart. George didn’t want Curly to kill him in a cruel way; he wanted Lennie to die happy knowing that he will tend to the rabbits.
In conclusion, the writer demonstrates how well George took care of Lennie even to the end of Lennie’s life. This relationship reveals that George and Lennie were strongly bonded and made them different from the other ranch hands, “we got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us”, because we have each
other.
By having goals together for the future, this example is showing that they are making each other better people. This gives each of them a reason to work hard and to not just slack off; it holds them accountable for their actions. They have this dream in the back of their mind and it is their motivation to do the best they can in order to achieve it, thus making them better, more hardworking, versions of themselves. Another instance where readers can see how George and Lennie better each other is when Lennie is talking to George, saying how he will only eat the food with ketchup. George tells Lennie how they do not have any ketchup, and then Lennie gets angry about it. However, Lennie
... him (72). Lennie tries his best to protect George and does not let anyone talk about him also (72). George is not the only person that tries to protect Lennie. When Curly’s wife come into the barn and tries to cause tries to cause trouble, Crooks and Candy stand up for him. They tell her to leave them and also to leave Lennie alone, because they know that Lennie cannot defend himself (80). When George and Candy find out what Lennie has done to Curly’s wife, they do not want to say anything about it. Candy tells George, that Curly will kill Lennie. But George will not let anyone hurt Lennie (95). Lennie trusts in George, and believes everything that he is telling him. When George is ready to kill Lennie, Lennie reminds him that they got each other, even if they are not a family (104).
George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.
George and Lennie were as close as brothers, wishing to purchase a ranch and live independently. However, Lennie carried a mental disability, not knowing how to control his own strength, which caused him to do “bad things”. These bad things result in both men constantly on the run from authority. Lennie eventually makes a fatal mistake, strangling the boss’s wife, Curley. In the end, George must decide between taking Lennie’s life or letting him live. He peacefully shoots Lennie in the back of the head. George’s decision to kill Lennie was moral because it put Lennie out of misery and harm’s way.
Consistently throughout the story George and Lennie were there for each other; in fact towards the very beginning Lennie and George discussed how they were better off than most guys because they had each other (14). When George killed Lennie a part of him died too, George knew murdering Lennie would hurt him mentally and emotionally. However he did it because he wanted what was best for his friend no matter the cost. His actions were altruistic and that made his decision the more favorable one. Another instance when George was selfless was when he gave up his dream. Throughout the story George and Lennie dreamed of and worked towards owning their own piece of land together. However, after discovering Curley’s wife dead, George returned to reality and informed Candy that they would, “never do her” (94). After losing his friend George understood the impossibility of achieving the American Dream. Beforehand George knew he would not want to live out his dream without Lennie, so by protecting Lennie and giving up on his own dream he put Lennie above himself. Conversely, someone may believe that George's actions were selfish and that he benefits himself by killing Lennie. After George comes after Lennie, the dim-witted man asks if George was going to yell at him. Reluctantly George told him “If I was alone, I could live so easy,” (103). Although George said
Lennie’s presence in George’s life causes George to learn about his friendship. An example of this is when George talks to a friend about his relationship with Lennie. He says that “Lennie just come along with me out workin’. Got kinda used to each other after a little while” (Steinbeck, 89). George implies that Lennie is different from others, however their relationship grows despite this. It is shown that as George spends with Lennie it causes him to experience friendship and to accept Lennie’s differences. It is proven that Lennie’s presence in George’s life causes George to realize that he is a friend to Lennie. Another example that proves how George’s relationship with Lennie promotes their friendship is when George is talking to Candy about his old dog. “Well-hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him…You wouldn’t think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen” (Steinbeck, 44). Candy talks about the friendship between him and his old dog and how the time they had together assisted their bonding. George relates this to Lennie, and believes that the longer that they are together the better friends that they will become. It is shown that George sees his relationship with Lennie when he relates it to Candy and his dog. This proves that Lennie causes George to realize that he can be a friend.
In this book George is constantly taking care of Lennie and is always reassuring him that they will have their own land and be able to tend the rabbits. George doesn’t actually believe in this dream which shows how he is willing to say anything to make Lennie happy. Also, George is constantly bringing up how easy his life would be without Lennie, he said "God almighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could get a job a work, an no trouble (12). This quote shows how George is aware that Lennie is holding him back from making more money but how he choices to stay with him because they have a genuine friendship. George takes his parental figure role seriously and would never leave him.
Within the beginning of the story, the dynamic of George and Lennie’s relationship is introduced, one that is uncommon and presents a fatherly vibe. The readers are thrown into the novel at the height of the great depression, an economic catastrophe that shook the world. Within these dark time, an unlikely friendship is in full blossom and we are meet by Lennie and George setting up camp for the night by a riverbed. After the duo’s personalities are expressed, they begin to set up the idea of a commonly shared dream which exists according to Lennie “Because... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie is seen as a quite simple minded and extremely dim-witted character from just the first
The emotional symbiosis between George and Lennie helps each man. Lennie’s attachment to George is most strongly visible when Crooks suggests George is not coming back. Lennie is almost moved to hysterics and his fear does not quickly abate. George prefers to feign dislike for Lennie to Lennie’s face: “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail” (7). When pressed, George reveals his true feelings for Lennie. “I want you to stay with me Lennie” (13). They stay together because “It’s a lot easier to go around with a guy you know” (35). Both men need and value their strong emotional relationship.
... talking about killing Lennie and doing all of these horrible acts of hate to him, but George made a comment to try to help him. “I’ll come. But listen, Curley. The poor bastard’s nuts. Don’t shoot ‘im. He di’nt know what he was doing” (98). This shows how strongly George feels for his friend, Lennie.
George and Lennie take care of each other through out the story. In the story it says, “Because… because I got you to look after me and you have me to look after you, and that’s why” (Steinbeck14). This quote means that as long as George and Lennie are together, they take care of each other no matter what happens to them. This goes with the topic because they take care of
George begins to hear the footsteps of the other men. To prevent the men from killing Lennie, George decides he has to kill Lennie himself. The scene is almost parallel to when Carlson shot Candy’s dog and Candy regretted that he did not kill his dog himself, but allowed a complete stranger to do it. As George talks to Lennie about the dream farm, “.[George] raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. He pulled the trigger.
... and feels uncertain of his future in the ranch. For Crooks, it was being segregated from the rest of the workers that made him lonely. And for Curley’s wife, it was the inability to talk to anyone else other than her husband. For George, the hope of such companionship dies with Lennie, and true to his original estimation, he will go through life alone.
George’s relationship with Lennie has made him selfless; his conversations, with and with out Lennie, are generally revolving around Lennie, although in the case of their dream-ranch George seems to find fulfilment for himself as well. Due to these altruistic tendencies that he shows throughout the novel, a danger is bestowed upon George; he tends to care for Lennie far too much, and too little for himself. In occasional moments, he escapes his sympathy and compassion for Lennie, and realises the burden that he causes. This usually results in George taking his frustration out on Lennie, which can often harm his simple mind, leaving Lennie upset and forced to confess to his own uselessness, and George feeling guilty for what he has caused. We can learn very little about George through his actual conversations, which made it necessary for Steinbeck to focus the novel on him in particular, and let the reader gain an closer insight on him through his actions. Generally, he seems to be caring, intelligent and sensible, but is greatly worn by the constant attention Lennie requires. This illustrates a major theme in Of Mice and Men, the dangers that arise when one becomes involved in a dedicated relationship.
The connection between George and Lennie illustrates the adversity during their course towards achieving the American dream. Things Lennie did, either on accident or purpose, foreshadowed what was going to happen in the book and the way people acted impacted this. Like millions of other people, George and Lennie were affected during the great depression heavily, and dreamt of owning land of their own. They worked from place to place making barely any money, and didn’t have a real home. To add to this, Lennie got in trouble a lot and in the end George had to make the crucial decision to shoot Lennie so he wouldn’t have to deal with any more difficulty. George knew he had to do what was best for Lennie and himself.