In John Steinbeck’s novel, “Of Mice and Men,” George Milton is a very important character. George Milton is a migrant worker who has taken on the responsibility to care for his friend, Lennie, a strong kind man that has a disability. Throughout the novel, George and Lennie travel from farm to farm together looking for work to gain enough money and experience to achieve their overall goal of owning a farm of their own. Throughout the novel, George displays many strengths, weaknesses, and encounters many conflicts due to Lennie’s actions. While George is quick tempered, he is also very loyal to Lennie, responsible and is deeply a good man. George has Lennie by his side encouraging him, giving him hope for his future, and keeping him company …show more content…
George takes upon the parent role to Lennie and often gets frustrated with him as many parents do with their children. When George loses his temper he is often insensitive of Lennie’s disability, and often reminds him how much better his life would be if he were not apart of it. For example, in chapter one of the novel Lennie repeatedly asks for ketchup with his beans and George gets mad, “Well, we ain’t got any. Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy..” (George pg. 11) George also lets his temper get the best of him on page seven, “God you’re a lot of trouble… I could get along so easy and nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl.” Based on the comments George has made to Lennie, it doesn’t make much sense that George would stick with Lennie, but he has his reasons. Most ranch workers are lonely and bitter men, but George has Lennie, and he loves and cares for him deep down …show more content…
After reading the novel it is very apparent that Lennie is obsessed with touching soft things. The last job Lennie and George had Lennie was caught inappropriately touching a woman’s dress, all of the men were after him. George took ahold of the situation by quickly leaving with Lennie to look for more work. This is a great example of his loyalty to Lennie. Whenever they come across trouble, George stays with Lennie to move on to the next place instead of abandoning him. George continues to travel with Lennie helping him get jobs and helps protect him once he’s on the job. An example of George protection Lennie on the job is found on page 22 when George and Lennie arrive on the farm. “The boss pointed a playful finger at Lennie. ‘He ain’t much of a talker, is he?” (pg. 22). George does all of the talking for Lennie and explains how he doesn’t talk much but how he is a strong, hard worker. George does this because he knows Lennie cannot verbalize his points well. Immediately Slim recognizes their friendship and wants to have the same type of relationship with someone as they have with each
Although Lennie was unattractive and has the tendency of accidental violence, compassion was still something readers had for him. Steinbeck constantly reminded us that he has a mental disability which automatically makes someone feel pity for him. Additionally he was ignored and made fun of by other characters, “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you”(Steinbeck 10). Him getting in trouble was beyond his control because of his mental disability which is something else that makes a reader feel sympathetic for him. Also, the readers are solicitous towards Lennie because of how much he looks up to George. This is portrayed when Crooks asks Lennie what he would do if George never came back, “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”(Steinbeck 70). Because of his inability to comprehend information, he got extremely defensive and said, “George is careful. He won’t get hurt” (Steinbeck 70). This scene is crafted in such a way that it automatically
The novella Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck introduced the reader to the character George. George is faced with the difficult decision of whether or not to kill his best friend. His best friend, Lennie has a mental disability that resulted in his brain not fully developing. In the 1930’s no one respected people with a disability. George had to constantly run around trying to get Lennie out of trouble and he never had time to himself. Finally when Lennie was getting hunted down by a lynching party for the second time, George thought maybe it was best if Lennie wasn't around anymore. George was devastated that he would no longer have his companion by his side but he could no longer look after Lennie. His decision was tough but he killed Lennie out of love.
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.
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’
In the book Of Mice and Men George takes care of Lennie affects his life by making things a lot more stressful. He constantly has to look after Lennie, and make sure that he doesn’t say/do something that will get him into any trouble. With all the added stress of taking care of Lennie makes him snap at Lennie many times throughout the book, for example, when he yells at him for asking about ketchup when they were eating dinner. George’s life would also be a lot more lonely without George though, because even though he is stressful to take care of Lennie, he constantly keeps George company.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about the friendship between George Milton and Lennie Small, who travel together due to the fact that Lennie suffered a childlike mental illness and someone needed to take care of him. Lennie only listens to his friend George, no matter what George may say. This novel shows characteristics of their true friendship and George's compassion towards his companion. George shows acts of love and kindness out of sympathy for Lennie, yet he also seems to show an unconscious effort to make up for Lennie’s mental impairment.
The novel of mice and men by John Steinbeck is a heartwarming story about two men George and Lennie. George is a small stocky man who prides himself on his ability to be independent, and often taunts Lennie by saying "God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want.” (pg12). Lennie on the other hand is a very large childlike man who is very dependent of George. These two have stuck together for a long time and over that time have developed a dream of owning their own ranch. Steinbeck uses a variety of techniques to display the theme “even the best laid themes can go wrong”
He never understood things the way “normal” people do. He is like a giant baby, not able to make any decisions himself and pure at heart. George is wise and witty is fully capable himself, yet he sticks around Lennie regardless. “… if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’work, an’no trouble.” George expresses his frustration of how much trouble Lennie cause him. And how if wasn’t with Lennie he would have a simple live and wouldn’t have any trouble. However, when Lennie ask George if he should leave George says no. This is because he cares for Lennie despite how much work he is. The means that there is now way George would have even though of killing Lennie if he thought I wouldn’t be the best and only possibility for him. He always cared for him and knew that if Lennie did go live alone he wouldn’t be able to
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...
In John Steinbeck's classic novella Of Mice and Men George acts as a father figure towards Lennie in multiple ways. When George and Lennie get booted out of Weed they must relocate to a new ranch where they will work in order for them to get their 600$ dream home and the happy life they have always desired. Unfortunately many things attempt to inflict with their hopes of a new home including Lennie's strong body and young kid like mind . On their way towards their dream place George must nurture, protect, and show many valuable lessons to Lennie and without a doubt George nurturing for Lennie is the biggest factor of the three.
From the beginning of the story, we learn that George has sacrificed a lot of his enjoyment of life to care for Lennie. George has given up a normal lifestyle to give
George, a character in Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck was “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.” (Steinbeck, Pg.2) George was Caucasian and it looked as if he had stepped out of an old movie containing drifters, better known as migrant workers. Although physically George was very small, he had complete control over his companion Lennie, the way a father controls a son.
During the beginning, Lennie is characterized as childish. He is very small minded. Steinbeck indirectly states that he has a mental disability. Readers notice this because of his child-like actions, specifically on page 3, “Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all, and then he sat up on the bank and his hat dripped down on his blue coat and ran down his back.” This disability forces George to sacrifice his freedom to help survive with his disability. George gets frustrated with Lennie’s playful personality easily, as a father might with his son. On page 11, George lets his anger out on Lennie. “I wisht I could put you in a cage with
George cares a lot about Lennie and makes sure that he doesn't have to worry about anything. Even though Lennie is mentally ill George doesn't abandon him, but takes him everywhere. Though Lennie can't really do anything to help them with money wise George still lets Lennie tend the rabbits at there dream ranch. Lennie likes touching soft things and goes too far whenever he pets something soft and George knows that so he doesn't let him touch any of the animals on the ranch or on the way to the ranch but it is all out of care for Lennie. George also doesn't want Lennie to kill any more animals too. George also sometimes uses Lennie to his advantage. He uses him like a shield since Lennie is strong, enormous, and masculine and George is small and the brains of the duo. George doesn't have what it takes to defend himself so he uses Lennie to do so like the time when Curley picked on Lennie he told Lennie to get him even though he knew Lennie could kill him. All the things George does is like any father towards his son, Lennie, so their relationship not any ordinary best friend relationship. It is actually more than
Even from the very start of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, the uniqueness of George, as a character, is already noticeable. He is described as “small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp strong features” and has an obvious dominance over the relationship between Lennie and himself. This lets the reader know from a very early stage in the book that George is different, and probably the essential character. George’s character seems to be used by Steinbeck to reflect the major themes of the novel: loneliness, prejudice, the importance of companionship, the danger of devoted companionships, and the harshness of Californian ranch life.