Lennie Character Analysis

As of one of the protagonist and the tragic hero Lennie Small plays one of the most important parts in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck. Lennie Small was a flat character due to the fact that all the way to the end of the novel and his life he never gave up on his dream with George to own a farm and have rabbits. Lennie also never lost his innocence and his childish presence and behaviour throughout the text. Lennie passed away happily, thinking of his dream of the farm and having rabbits. In the novel, Lennie had a strong, undying friendship with his friend George Milton. They traveled together from job to job dreaming of owning a farm with a variety of animals including the rabbits yearned by Lennie, to motivate them to work hard and achieve their dream. Lennie was said to have no family other than his Aunt Clara who passed her caregiving duties onto George Milton. As a loving caregiver and friend George Milton made sure Lennie was happy until his end.
Lennie is described as a large, powerful and mentally disabled man. He is also interpreted by his physical appearance he is strong and intimidating. The author portrays Lennie as “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes and wide sloping shoulders.” John Steinbeck addresses Lennie as a complete opposite of George. In the text the author refers Lennie to a bear. This is due to the way he walked “heavily dragging his feet a little, the way a bear does his paws,” with his arms hanging loosely at his sides. Lennie is also referred to parallel to Old Candy’s dog. They were both found replaceable, dependant, and useless.
Lennie Small was different from many men in that time period. He was often described as nice, kind and innocent. These were charac...

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...sive obsession to touch soft things played a part in this as well. This is due to the fact that he only touched the puppy because its fur was soft and only touched Curley’s wife because she offered her hair for him to touch. Combined these flaws lead the deaths of Curley’s wife, the puppy and himself.
Lennie is an important and interesting character in the novel. He plays the tragic hero of this text and one of the protagonists as well. He is unique from other men due to his mental illness and his compulsive obsession to touch soft things. In the end these factors add up to the character Lennie Small. From his terrible flaws to his physical appearance. Overall, Lennie Small is a great character that reminds people that even people with mental illnesses shouldn’t be left out, a message important to many people today.

Works Cited

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck