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How does steinbeck explore friendship in Of Mice and Men
Friendship in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men
Isolation and its effects
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Everyone feels lonely at some point in their life. Loneliness can be felt by loss of a family member, friend or loved one. It can also occur when a person is at a difficult point in their life. Regardless of the reason, loneliness can have many negative effects on a person’s well-being. Negative results can be insanity, depression, or even sickness. These complications could lead to even worse mental health issues. In order for humans to be happy, friendships and connections are vital; as well as never keeping oneself isolated from the world. The characters George, Lennie and Crooks are all tortured by loneliness and isolation, in Of Mice and Men. The results affected these characters’ personalities in different ways. In Of Mice and Men, …show more content…
His problems are due largely to his obligation to caring for Lennie, not leaving time for himself. Ever since George was a kid, Lennie was the only one there with him. Consequently, George expresses his conflicted feelings when he complains, “It ain’t so funny, him an’ me goin’ aroun’ together.” This quote expresses how the weight of Lennie is always on George’s shoulders. The act of caring for Lennie is much more like a chore. George is never able to develop friendships, as Lennie restricts him. In fact, George’s loneliness is what causes him to lash out at Lennie so often. The loneliness weighs on, putting negative thoughts in his mind. Throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck develops George’s character from being lonely, to coping with loneliness. John Steinbeck also illustrates how friendships keep someone sane. Lennie and George have been together since they were children. Although, George would eventually have to cope with Lennie not being there with him. With George being a ranch worker, he always believed that the men who work on the ranch are the loneliest people, without friends or family. George addresses how the ranch workers are the loneliest people when he contemplates, “Guys like us, that work on the ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.” George drives himself crazy worrying about Lennie and these struggles left him in a poor mental
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...
George says that none of his other friends are quite like Lennie. They did not have a true relationship with him. George also says that Lennie is an annoyance most of the time, but he got used to it and eventually could not get rid of him. This shows that George is lonely, due to the loss of Lennie. It is proven that Lennie causes George to realize his need for others in his life.
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.
Mother Theresa once said, "Loneliness is a man's worst poverty." Without friends and companions, people begin to suffer from loneliness and solitude (Dusenbury 38). Loneliness is an inevitable fact of life and cannot be avoided, as shown prevalent through each of the characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Each and every character in this novel exhibits loneliness. Lennie was isolated for being mentally handicapped, Candy was isolated for being old and disabled, Crooks was for being black, Curley's wife for being a woman, and George for having to care for Lennie and being unable to socialize with others because of Lennie's consistency of getting into trouble from town to town.
In terms of emotional stability, there is only one thing in life that is really needed and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from loneliness and solitude. Loneliness leads to low self-esteem and deprivation. In the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, the characters, Crooks, Candy, and Curley's wife all exhibit some form of loneliness. They are driven towards the curiosity of George and Lennie's friendship because they do not have that support in their life. Through his novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck demonstrates that often times, a victim of isolation will have a never-ending search to fulfill a friendship.
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
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...
Loneliness and Companionship are one of the many themes that are conveyed in the novel Of Mice and Men, By John Steinbeck. Many of the characters admit to suffering from loneliness within the texts. George sets the tone for these confessions early in the novel when he reminds Lennie that the life of living on a ranch is among the loneliest of lives. However Lennie, who is mentally disabled holds the idea that living on a farm very high. "Tending the rabbits" is what Lennie calls it. Often when Lennie is seaking encouragement he askes George to tell him how its going to be. Men like George who migrate from farm to farm rarely have anyone to look to for companionship and protection. George obviously cares a lot for lennie, but is too stubborn to admit to it. The feeling of being shipped from place to place leaves George feeling alone and abandoned.
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.
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 the great work, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck makes clear that George is faced with many struggles. Steinbeck writes of a character that has many internal and external conflicts. Yet, through those conflicts, the reader learns the purpose of the novel; what the true meaning of friendship
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
The famed nurses study from Harvard found “Not having a close friend is as detrimental to your health as smoking.” Lennie and George’s friendship is necessary to keep the better for each other. Throughout the story, Lennie and George need each other and look out for one another no matter what. Lennie and George’s friendship and journey throughout the story symbolizes the struggles to achieve the American dream. Steinbeck, in the story Of Mice and Men, combines characterization and symbolism to prove friends do whats best for eachother.
The two men are forced together by shared needs more than real/honest feeling of love, hate, guilt, etc. Lennie, of course, depends completely upon his long-time friend, and the thought of George leaving alone (and forgetting)him sends the child-like giant into panic. It is clear from the start that Lennie could not possibly function in the harsh world that they live in without George, who has his friends work card and talks for him. Lennie would end up chained like a dog in an institution for the weak-minded. Lennie wears the same clothes as George and even pretends to be his (hand/arm movements)/actions.
Friendship can be very strong,so you do not want to break it. In the novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck’s theme is friendship. In the novel, Of Mice and Men Lennie and George Travel, and try to find a job to keep(and not get fired from).They try to save up money so one day they can fulfill their dream and own their own land. Because Lennie got in trouble, their friendship was not strong enough. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck Tells why friendships are so important and need to be kept.