Of Mice And Men George And Lennie's Motivation

830 Words2 Pages

In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, there are two main characters named George and Lennie who are bouncing around from town to town trying to find a stable job to make money. The behavior of Lennie greatly impacts the development of this book and George’s life. George has had to look after Lennie his entire life and take on a parenting role. There are many factors that show the logistics behind the way Lennie thinks and what his motivation is. He has expressed multiple times that he would like to tend the rabbits once he and George achieved their dream of owning a farm. He struggled with being good in George’s eyes, but also not being able to stop his fixation with soft things, which ultimately crushed his dream due to his behavior. George’s decision to shoot Lennie at the end of the book shows his struggle with the idea of protecting him from other people or continuing to care for him throughout his life. …show more content…

In many instances, they have had to run away because Lennie can’t control himself around things that he wants to feel, like Curley’s wife’s hair, the girl's dress, mice, and the puppy. Lennie and George’s biggest motivation in this book is their dream to be able to own a farm once they earn enough money; Lennie only cares about his dream to tend the rabbits. He uses this dream to motivate himself to not do anything bad, yet he still ends up getting in trouble. Lennie’s relationship with animals and soft things demonstrates his struggle to control his instincts. He is always wanting to touch anything soft or anything that “feels nice.” Additionally, Lennie’s defense mechanisms and his dreams can explain why Lennie acts the way he does. Whenever he touches something soft, he latches on and doesn't let go. He has childlike behaviors whenever he gets stressed out or yelled at, freezing up and becoming scared. His dream of tending the rabbits can also revert back to his childlike

Open Document