Loyalty and Protection in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

Loyalty and Protection in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

I feel that loyalty and protection play a big part throughout the

whole of this story, from the start right up to the very end.

The first sign of loyalty in the book is when George tried to stop

Lennie from drinking too much of the pond water in case he became ill.

This showed that he felt responsible for Lennie's well being. "'Lennie

for God' sakes don't drink so much' Lennie continued to snort in the

pool and the small man leaned over and shook him by the shoulder

'Lennie. You going to be sick like you was last night.'"

The novel goes on to explain that slow minded Lennie had cost them

their previous jobs because he became innocently fascinated with a

young girl's dress and frightened her. So the two men had to leave

town quickly before a lynch mob found them. George could easily have

left Lennie to the consequences, but he gave up his job to protect him

and took him off to find another job in another town, Soledad.

George also told Lennie that if anything bad should happen in the new

town they were heading to, he must come back to the pond and hide in

the brush until he came and got him. This shows the protection he felt

for him. "Hide in the brush till I come for you. Can you remember

that."

When they got to their new ranch, George ordered Lennie not to speak

so that people would not realise how slow minded he was. He wanted

them to see how hard he worked before making judgements on him.

George told the new boss that Lennie was his cousin and he promised

his aunt that he would look out for him as he had been kicked in the

head by a horse when he was younger. This was a lie, but explained why

they travelled together, which was unusual in that type of work. "He's

my…cousin. I told his old lady I'd take care of him.