Throughout the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, one of the most prominent and well-explored themes is friendship. In the book, we observe many relationships between characters such as George, Lennie, Candy, and Curley’s wife. George and Lennie, the main characters, give a prime example of the upsides and downfalls of a close, dependant relationship. But Lennie is not to George as George is to Lennie. Their relationship could be better described as teamwork than friendship; both bring a different skill to the table. Steinbeck portrays different friendships between different people. Human interaction under harsh conditions can often have debatable outcomes. At the beginning of the book, Steinbeck introduces us to only one friendship: …show more content…
George and Lennie. The opening scene tells us a lot about them. He described George first, since he was the one leading into the clearing, “small and quick” (page 2). And then following behind him came Lennie, “Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man… and he walked heavily,” (page 2). Then George attempts to exercise authority over Lennie to protect him, “Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much... You gonna be sick...” (page 3). This collection of events proves that George is the smarter one of the pair, and the leader, who watches out for Lennie while Lennie is strong and useful. However, their relationship survives not without its grudges. George resents the fact that he has to take care of Lennie, “if I was alone I could live so easy” (page 11) and perhaps for good reason, he would have had a much easier life if he wasn’t constantly losing his job because of Lennie’s mistakes. Before the book starts they’re running from the authorities because Lennie scared a girl in another town. In a nutshell, they could be a better pair, but they care for each other at heart. Later on in the book their band expands to include Candy when they devise a way to make their dream of buying a plot of land and living off of it come true. It happens somewhat like this: Candy overhears Lennie and George fantasizing about their dream and asks them about it, “How much they want for a place like that?” (page 59). They start talking and soon have a plan to buy it. The place is selling for $600, Candy has $300 saved up and will get another $50 at the end of the month, as will both George and Lennie, making $300 between them. George recons they could bargain and buy the house for $450. Hardships often bring people together, and so the two became three. At the end of the book friendships fall apart as George is forced to make a tough decision regarding Lennie’s fate.
It all starts with a short-lived and tragic pouring out of the soul by Curley’s wife to Lennie, “Well, I ain’t told this to nobody before. Maybe I ought’n to. I don’t like Curley.” (page 89). Their conversation goes ok until Curley’s wife makes one fatal mistake, “But [my hair] is soft and fine… Here- feel right here.” (page 90). Lennie’s mental disability coupled with his addiction to touching soft things ends in a tragedy for Curley’s wife. He pets her harder and she protests harder until she is trying to scream, and Lennie holds a hand over her mouth and shakes her to try and get her to stop. He breaks her neck. “I done a bad thing.” (page 91). Lennie realizes what he has done and becomes suddenly scared of what George will do, “George’ll be mad.” (page 92). Lennie and Curley’s wife’s brief relationship goes terribly awry, one of the two best examples of Steinbeck’s theme, the second being Lennie’s own death. However, Lennie did trust George enough to hide in the bushes like he had told him to. Now comes Candy and George’s final interaction. Candy finds Curley’s wife dead in the barn and immediately shows George, who instantly realizes what Lennie has done. Candy goes into denial and asks if he and George can still achieve their American dream together, “You an’ me can still get that little place, can’t we George?” (page 94) but George loses all hope after
he discovers that Lennie will not be a part of it. Then he has a very tough decision to make: does he try to help Lennie escape yet again, betray his location, or something else? In the end, he made the ultimate display of friendship and courage by shooting Lennie in the back of the head to spare him from what almost certainly would have been a more painful and traumatizing fate at the hands of Curly, the authorities, or nature. In conclusion, Steinbeck understood what it means to be a true friend in the extremes of life and that being friends doesn’t necessarily mean being similar. Through the examples of George and Lennie, he illustrated a melancholy tale of friendship that redefined love and compassion.
Curley’s wife represents her broken dreams of becoming an actress. Lennie and George represent a dream in progress, it is uncertain if their plans will work out as intended or plummet before takeoff, even Crooks and Candy see the appeal in Lennie and George’s fantasy and join them. The dream in progress gives hope to Lennie and George and continued to even after losing previous jobs. Curley’s wife is constantly restricted, she married Curley so that she would no longer be alone but now is in the same state as before, just on a ranch of men. She tries to talk to the other men but she is then seen as "jail bait" and avoided, making her even lonelier. Her dream of being an actress has failed because she chose a quick way out and married Curley. She is now living in her failure and has no longer a dream to aim for. Perhaps the most important part of the story is the the part in which Lennie has accidentally killed the puppy given to him by Slim, and is grieving over him in the barn, “This ain’t no bad thing like I got to go hide in the brush. Oh! no. This ain’t. I’ll tell George I foun’ it dead.” He unburied the puppy and inspected it, and he stroked it from ears to tail. He went on sorrowfully, “But he’ll know. George always knows. He’ll say, ‘You done it. Don’t try to put nothing over on me.’ An’ he’ll say, ‘Now jus’ for that you don’t get to tend no rabbits!” (Steinbeck, 85) He feels powerless to his own strength, he believes that he will never achieve his dream because of his mistake. George and the other men are out once again and the only person who comes to his emotional aid is none other than Curley’s wife. “Don’t you worry about talkin’ to me. Listen to the guys yell out there. They got four dollars bet in that tenement. None of them ain’t gonna leave till it’s over.” “If George sees me talkin’ to you he’ll give me hell,” Lennie said cautiously.” (Steinbeck, 85) He
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.
Yet what most fail to see is that Of Mice and Men portrays both aspects of human life through the mutual friendship of two uncommon men, George and Lennie, the dream they both share, and the sudden calamity that befalls them. Relationships are an important part 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.
In life, there are circumstances when being a good friend is difficult. All in all, it is essential to recognize that in Of Mice and Men, the characters become good friends, though both come out from different situations but share a common perspective; however, sometimes friendship must come to an end for the better. At this point, the reader should learn that different people from different environments can become friends no matter what color, religion, size, etc. they are as long as both share a similar common belief or point of view. George became good friends with Lennie while the dog was Candy’s longtime companion, although each pair were different from one another in terms of personalities.
In life, friendship is something that everybody needs. It allows people to function better and be more successful. Some people think that all friendships are the same and do not differ from the next. However, I believe that each friendship has its own quality that makes it different from all of the other friendships while still retaining all of the characteristics that make the relationship a friendship. Today, this essay will highlight the qualities that are the same in the friendship of Maurice and Laura from An Invisible Thread and the friendship of Lennie and George from Of Mice and Men while also identifying the differences between them as well as illustrating the very attributes that define a friendship.
Friendship is a key theme in the novel written by John Steinbeck, titled Of Mice and Men. The friendships that some of the men have with each other contributes to how well they cope with everyday obstacles. The men with greater friendships seem to be happier and have certain goals for their future. The presence or absence of friendship in Of Mice and Men affects characters in their actions, relationships, and their happiness.
This excerpt from Of Mice and Men emphasizes the power of friendship, which is one of the story’s main themes. Two migrant works from California are motivated by their will to experience the “American dream” and they can only do so by working their hardest. Their long days of hard work are accompanied by loneliness, fear, and betrayal. The reality and corruption of society during the Great Depression is revealed. The story explains the vicious and hostile way in which social power has a propensity to manifest itself.
Strong essay- Well chosen quotes with Is friendship really necessary in life ? In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck the main characters George and Lennie are best friends who travel through California looking for a stable job and a stable place to live during the time of the Great Depression. Throughout the book both George and Lennie’s friendship is questioned because of Lennie’s mental disability and during this time everybody works for himself to save money and settle down. Another reason they are questioned is because everyone during this time is very cranky and looks out for themselves. Everyone needs a good friend in life no matter what circumstances.
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
Friendship is a bond that brings society together as a whole. The article, “Friendship in an Age of Economics” by Todd May describes six friendships that pertains to life. In the Of Mice and Men excerpt, the reader meets two characters, George and Lennie, and their friendship is shown. Of the six friendships, in “Friendship in an Age of Economics,” the true friendship, developed by Aristotle, is used in Of Mice and Men through George and Lennie’s relationship because of how they act towards each other, and how they take care of one another through many different ways.
After an unforeseen event occurs before retrieving $250, the trio’s dream of getting a piece of land has demolished unspokenly. As George leaves with his solitaire hand, Candy is left to face reality. After the death of Curley’s wife, George faces reality that he and Lennie can’t live the life they dreamed of. “He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would” (Steinbeck 94) “And he tried to reassure himself. ‘Maybe they’ll lock him ‘im up an’ be nice to ‘im” (Steinbeck 94) Inadvertently snapping Curley’s wife’s neck, Lennie panics and flees to the brush where he was instructed to go to by George.
In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, an exploration of idealized male friendship unfolds amid the Great Depression. Set on a ranch in Soledad, California, we see the profound companionship between George Milton and Lennie Small progress in one weekend full of comedy and tragedy. Their characters and love for each other display brotherhood, loyalty, sacrifice, and the search for belonging in a world of loneliness. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck explores the vital significance of companionship amidst the challenges of the Great Depression. The story follows two unlikely companions, George and Lennie, as they travel to a ranch in California to get the funds to buy a ranch.
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.
Friendships are important to everyone. People meet horrible friends, temporary friends, and true friends. True friends are rare because not everyone is going to support you through thick and thin. Some people are leeches. A leech is basically someone who prevents you from moving forward in life. In Of Mice and Men, there are two characters that go by the names of George and Lennie. These two characters are different types of friends. George is like a father to Lennie because without George, Lennie probably wouldn’t be anywhere. On the other hand Lennie just brings George down. George believes that he could be living in higher standards if it wasn’t for Lennie.
Although it seemed like George and Lennie’s relationship was not very equitable, a thorough examination of their interactions, conversations and time spent together revealed 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, the 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 Steinbeck?