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How steinbeck deals with strengths and weaknesses in of mice and men
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What does a good relationship look like? Is it rushed or does it develop over time? Is it making the decisions based on what is best for both parties, or just best for oneself? All of these questions are answered correctly by George and Lennie’s relationship in the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. In this story, it is clearly illustrated that George and Lennie’s relationship is stronger than Romeo and Juliet’s relationship from the play Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. In the book Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie are best friends that stick together while going out and working. The pair look out for each other. George is the smarter of the two and has to do a little more looking out for Lennie, than Lennie has to do for George. …show more content…
This is the third reason George and Lennie’s relationship is stronger than Romeo and Juliet’s. This is shown when they talk about the money that they are trying to save to buy their own farm. George talks to Candy about the money that they have saved so far and what they still need to save: “‘We got ten bucks between us.’ Then he said thoughtfully. ‘Look, if me an’ Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing, we’ll have a hundred bucks. That’d be four fifty’” (60). This quote reveals to the readers that George and Lennie are planning how they are going to be able to stay together for at least a very long time, if not the rest of their lives. They are saving all of the money that they have just so they can be together. The second place in the text that shows how they are planning for their future is by planning to buy a farm so that they can be their own bosses. This occurs when George and Lennie are talking about the farm and how nice it will be to be in charge of themselves: “‘when it rains in the winter, we’ll just say the hell with goin’ to work, and we’ll build up a fire in the stove and set it around it an’ listen to the rain comin’ down on the roof [. . .]”’ (15). By George saying that they will not be going to work if they do not want to, shows how they intend to be in charge of their own lives from the time they buy the farm and on. If they work for themselves, …show more content…
The first reason that they have for this is that Romeo and Juliet are in love. Many are in disagreement with that statement by saying that they were never in love, it was just infatuation. This is shown in Romeo and Juliet when Romeo sees Juliet for the First time and describes her “‘as a rich jewel in an Ethiop’s ear-- / Beauty too rich for use, for Earth too dear. [. . .] Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight / For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night”’( 1.5.53-60). The way that Romeo describes Juliet here is not love. This is obviously infatuation. One way this obviously shows infatuation is because Romeo only talks about how pretty she is and right away says that he is in love. No one falls in love just based of the first second of seeing another person. They could think they are attractive, but attractiveness is not love. The second reason that many people believe Romeo and Juliet’s relationship was stronger than Lennie and George’s is that it was love at first sight. To refute this statement, the relationship was just very rushed because they were only ignorant children and did not know what they were doing. This is shown when they decided to get married after two days of knowing each other (2.6.35-37 ). They got married after two days showing how they could not be capable of love
In chapter one, George and Lennie are introduced onto the scene and you get to know them a little bit and you get to see how they are related/ their relationship. When I read this first part, I could tell that George was pretty much Lennie’s caretaker and it was his job to find Lennie a job and make sure he ate enough and stayed a live. He kind of resented having to drag Lennie around (pg 11~12: “Well we ain’t got any!” George exploded. “Whatever we ain’t got, you want. If I was alone I could live so easy… But wadda I got? I got you. You can’t keep a job and you loose me every job I get.”), because Lennie’s a bit slow and he messes up a lot. He tries really hard to be good and listen to what George tells him to do, but in the end of every situation, Lennie forgets what George told him beforehand and sometimes it creates a little trouble (pg 45~46: “Well, he seen this girl in this red dress. Dumb like he is, he likes to touch ever’thing he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on ‘cause that’s the only thing he can think to do. Well, this girl just squawks and squawks. I was jus’ a little bit off, and I heard all the yellin’, so I comes running, an’ by that time Lennie’s so scared all he can think to do is jus’ hold on. I socked him over the head with a fence picket to make him let go. He was so scairt he couldn’t let go of the dress. And he’s so strong, you know… Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she’s been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie. So we sit in an irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day.”). But when you look at them, you can tell that George is...
Just as looking after each other is important, another component of a healthy relationship is being able to make each other better people. With no surprise, George and Lennie are able to do this for each other constantly. The first way that George and Lennie make each other better people is because they have common goals between each other. George and Lennie explain to readers how their goal is to own a farm with each other. Their farm will take up an acre of land, and it will have a shack on that land that they can live in. They will own chickens, pigs, cows, and rabbits that Lennie will be able to tend. (Steinbeck 105-106)
is in the air. Animals begin to scatter. Two men have arrived on the scene,
Two characters to be analyzed in terms of their male relationships are George and Lennie. An article describes the friendship between men, and how most of the time it is more than just a normal friendship. The author states, “The heroic friendship was a friendship between two men that was intense on an emotional and intellectual level” (McKay). Guys have a stronger relationship than just being able to hang out and have fun. They have a bond that they are emotionally involved in, meaning they really love each other but not in anything more than friends. They also are connected on an intellectual level, which means they know everything about each other and they are able to open up whenever they need a friend. There are a lot of scenes from Of Mice and Men that show George and Lennie’s friendship. One scene is when George is telling Lennie how most people are alone trying to get through life, but they are different. They have each other. George says, “ If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us! An' why? Because… because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why. He laughed delightedly” (Steinbeck 40). This quote from Of Mice and Men shows that George and Lennie connect on an emotional and intellectual level. They both know that they have each others back for no matter what they go through
It is very apparent that each of the four characters in the two friendships feed off of each other. In Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie are very different, yet they need one other. George is a very independent, loyal, and caring person who takes care of Lennie because Lennie is unable to take care of himself. Although George makes it seem like he would be better off without Lennie, George makes it clear that without him he would be better off. This is evident because of this conversation h regularly had with Lennie” I could go get a job an’
Of Mice and Men - George and Lennie seem to have a very close friendship throughout the story. Of Mice and Men George and Lennie seem to have a very close friendship throughout the story. This is strange because they are completely different from each other mentally, as well as physically. The author tells us that George is a small, quick and defined man. He is the leader of the two men and makes all the plans.
The physical symbiosis of George and Lennie is beneficial to Lennie but detrimental to George. Although George used to hurt Lennie, Lennie now needs George to bail him out of trouble. Lennie also profits because he needs a person to tell him what to do. “He can’t think of nothing to do himself, but he sure can take orders” (39). Lennie is “a hell of a good worker”(22) and able to “put up a four-hundred pound bale” (22) but is likely to get himself in trouble without George’s protective influence. George likes Lennie but would be better off without him because “you (Lennie) can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get” (11). Lennie hinders George while George helps Lennie.
In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck discusses Lennie, George, and Crooks. In this book Steinbeck wants the reader to understand how life was portrayed in American society back in the day. Steinbeck wants the reader to understand how people were treated differently because of their race and by their mental state. Steinbeck wants the reader to understand how the mindset of Lennie, George, and Crooks affects the story. Steinbeck wants the reader to understand why Lennie was always mistreated and why George was there to take care of him. Steinbeck wants the reader to understand why George answers for Lennie and why he tells Lennie what to do because Lennie could not do anything on his own without getting into trouble or messing something up. Steinbeck wanted to show the reader how African Americans were treated back then by putting Crooks into the mix. Steinbeck wants the reader to understand that Crooks was left out of activities and other things in the book because of his race and because of his crooked back.
chance I get I’ll give you a pup” (p14) then he gets George to re tell
There are a variety of relationship of people can have with other people. In John Steinbeck's novels, relationships between characters can be difficult, but are always important. The central relationship in Of Mice and Men is between Lennie and George.
Relationships are an important essence of life. Humans need relationships because we are dependent on each other to survive. Babies need their mothers to feed and nurse them, and friends need each other to support, comfort, sympathize, and understand them. The friendship between George and Lennie outlined the core of Of Mice and Men, and although it’s sometimes idealized and exaggerated throughout the novel, there is no question of its sincerity. Lennie thinks of George as his only friend, his guardian, someone who he can trust and depend on, someone who had accepted him for who he is despite his childlike tendencies. Every time he did something wrong, his only thoughts would be of George’s disapproval. “I done a real bad thing. I shouldn’t have did that. George’ll be mad. An’… he said…. An’ hide in the brush till he come. He’s gonna be mad.” (pg. 92) On the other hand, George thinks of Lennie as a constant source of frustration, and as he frequently mention in the novel, “God, you’re a lot of trouble. I could get along so easy and nice if I didn’t have you on my t...
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.
Lennie is stuck in a childhood state, and is the main reason the farm exists. “Now Candy spoke his greatest fear, ‘You a’me can go there an’ live nice, can’t we, george?’...George said softly, ‘-I think I know from the very first, I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.’” They realize that without Lennie, there is no farm. As Lennie dies, so does the dream of a farm.
The characterization of George and Lennie’s friendship shows the importance of having a friend to be staunch for you. Here, when George and Lennie argue, they resolve to do whats best for eachother. “I was only foolin’, George. I don’t want no ketchup. I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me.” Lennie later adds: “I’d leave it all for you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn’t touch none of it.”(Steinbeck 12) Lennie, although mentally disabled, still does what he can for George and only wants him to be happy because he knows how much George does for him. He can’t help himself, but when it comes to George he’ll do anything for him, because George gives him hope. Lennie gives George the ambition to succeed because George knows he has to succeed to support both of them. Lennie is later told by Crooks what it’s like to be lonely: “A guy needs somebody―to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick.” (Steinbeck 72) Without a friend, Crooks doesn’t have the brightest light for a great future because he has nobody to depend on like Lennie and Georg...
Although it seemed like George and Lennie’s relationship was not very equitable, thorough examination of their interactions, conversations and time spent together reveal that they indeed had a true friendship. Thus, the men were always there to back each other up; they accepted one another; and George always knew the right decisions for Lennie. In conclusion, Steinbeck shows us that a true friendship can be a bit difficult at times, but in the end two can come together to make the perfect team that will always have each other for support. When the time comes for you, and you find “the perfect friend”, you should think to yourself: Would this person ever be as close to me as George and Lennie were in the book, Of Mice and Men by John