Of Mice And Men George Milton And Lennie's Relationship

451 Words1 Page

The relationship between George Milton and Lennie Small is an unusual one. On most occasions, their relationship is like a parent and a child. George carries the parental role, while Lennie carries the child role. Lennie Small is not as mentally “sharp” as most people are. George Milton watches over Lennie’s basic survival needs, and tries to prevent him from getting into trouble with the law. Lennie does not understand that the consequences of his innocent actions are very serious. Others do not know Lennie’s situation, therefore, they do not view Lennie’s actions as innocent. In the story, Lennie wants to feel of how soft that a strange woman’s dress is, but he doesn’t understand that if he feels of it, it can be misinterpreted as a violation. …show more content…

George is a farmworker who is smart, quick, small, and dark in the face. George Milton has more to him than just a quick brain and smarts. Although he may not show this side much, he is a good-hearted man. George is not nice to Lennie at all, but he really cares about him. Lennie benefits from their relationship, but he isn’t the only one. George gets the enjoyment of companionship, and the chance to dream. George and Lennie shared a dream of owning a huge farm, and they talked about it often. After George killed Lennie, he realized that the dreams were silly. George also thought of himself to be crazy for ever believing that their dreams would come true. With children around, the future seems brighter, and grown people tend to release their inner child. With George and Lennie’s parent-child relationship, it was easy for George to be a dreamer. Lennie’s innocent intentions finally got him into some real trouble this time. Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife. Curley put out a death threat for whoever that had killed his wife, and George knew that he meant it. George knew that Lennie’s intentions were innocent, and he also knew that Curley would hurt Lennie terribly. George knew that he had to protect Lennie, so he shot Lennie in the back of his head. George did not want to kill Lennie, but he thought he had to in order to keep Curley from hurting

Show More
Related

  • Emotionally and Physically Crippled Characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lennie's stupidity and carelessness constantly causes him to unintentionally harm people and animals. When he gets into sticky situations, George is there to help him get out of them. Ever since Lennie's Aunt Clara died, George has felt that he has a sense of duty

    Read More

  • How Does Steinbeck Make Difficult Decisions In Of Mice And Men

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    George felt though an extremely difficult choice, killing Lennie himself was the right decision. Curley was gonna get his revenge and George did not want that because he did not want Lennie to die painfully. “‘I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot him in the guts.’”(Steinbeck 96). When Lennie killed Curley’s wife, Curley wanted to give him the most painful death. Curley wanted to shoot Lennie in the stomach which wouldn’t kill you at first, Instead you would bleed out slowly and painfully. George didn’t want Lennie to suffer so he knew he had to get to Lennie before Curley did and kill Lennie the fastest and least painful death he could which he did. Lennie would be arrested and thrown in jail for

    Read More

  • Why Is Lennie Wrong

    690 Words  | 2 Pages

    George realizes in the end of the book Lennie has done too much harm and needs to essentially go away. George then shoots Lennie in the back of the head because Lennie couldn't live on his own if he were to run away from Curly and the rest of the gang of workers coming after him. George did the right thing

    Read More

  • The Vulnerability of Innocent Characters in Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to child like qualities, Lennie is a person which would be easy prey and a vulnerable person. Lennie is a vulnerable person who is quite dumb. His has an obsession for touching soft thing and this will often lead him in to trouble. But poor Lennie is an innocent person who means no harm to anybody. When he and Curley get into a fight Lennie is too shocked to do any thing. He tries to be innocent but, when told to by George grabs Curley’s fist and crushes it. George is Lennie’s best friend and Lennie does every thing he tells him to do as demonstrated in the fight with “But you tol...

    Read More

  • The Ultimate Sacrifice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    In fact, near the ending of the story, he unintentionally snapped Curley’s wife’s neck trying to quiet her (91). Failing to recognize his own strength, Lennie accidentally took her life, proving that he was perilous. By shooting Lennie, George prevented Lennie from accidentally injuring or killing anyone ever again. His verdict was correct in view of the fact that he sacrificed his friend’s life with the intention to protect the lives of others. Furthermore, George’s decision protected Lennie. As a punishment for his deeds, The workers wanted Lennie executed. George realized this and told candy, “Curley’s gon’ta wanta get ‘i'm lynched. Curley’ll get ‘im killed,” (94). In consequence of killing Curley’s wife, Lennie unknowingly put himself in harm's way. Curley’s motive for wanting to kill Lennie was spite and revenge. So, instead of allowing Lennie to be murdered alone and afraid, George took matters into his own hands and made sure his friend died knowing he was cared for and full of hope. Through it's ironic, George’s choice protected Lennie from the malice of others, thus keeping him unafraid and unharmed. However, others may believe

    Read More

  • Symbiosis between George and Lennie in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    589 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Essay On George's Love For Lennie Sympathy

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... talking about killing Lennie and doing all of these horrible acts of hate to him, but George made a comment to try to help him. “I’ll come. But listen, Curley. The poor bastard’s nuts. Don’t shoot ‘im. He di’nt know what he was doing” (98). This shows how strongly George feels for his friend, Lennie.

    Read More

  • George and Lennie in the First Three Chapters of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    1397 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Did George Kill Lennie Justified

    630 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many readers would agree that George killing Lennie was a vicious act of murder. However, others might say it was an act of friendship. There are more ways to justify it as an act of kindness than an act of hate or selfishness. George was looking out for him, he never seemed to be after his pay or anything he owned, but wanted the best for him. He was only trying to be a good friend. George killed Lennie for Lennie’s own benefit because it was simply better for a friend to kill him, George killing him spared Lennie from dying scared and tortured, and Lennie would not have been able to survive in jail.

    Read More

  • How Is Lennie A Sympathetic Character In Of Mice And Men

    849 Words  | 2 Pages

    He is the role model for Lennie, and leads him in the right direction when it comes to staying out of trouble, and making the right decisions. George has been through a lot throughout the plot of this book, including all of the situations Lennie had accidentally caused. When George found out that Lennie killed Curley’s wife and the puppy he got for him, he was shocked and unstable. He knew that Lennie could not control his emotions, and was sure what the outcome of the circumstance would end up being. George had to decide whether to let actions play out or give Lennie and clean and abrupt death. Lennie had been George’s friend since their childhood, and did not want his friend in a bad state. He did not want to see Lennie suffer when he did not mean any harm when it came to Curley’s wife and his

    Read More

  • Of Mice And Men George And Lennie Friendship

    508 Words  | 2 Pages

    George is a good friend to lennie, because he cares for Lennie. This is like when he helps feed lennie by the river, because lennie cannot make food for himself. Like when Lennie asks, “‘Ain’t we gonna have no supper?’ ‘Sure we are if you gather up some dead willow sticks. I got three cans of beans in my bindle’” (steinbeck 8). This shows that he has to carry food for lennie when they are going from ranch to ranch.

    Read More

  • John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    They are a textbook example of loyal friends. They, together, are like peanut butter and jelly in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Lennie gives George someone to talk to and someone to keep him on track. George gives Lennie insight into the world and someone that will respect him even though he isn’t intelligent. They, more importantly, give each other something to live for.

    Read More

  • Character of Significant Growth in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

    885 Words  | 2 Pages

    George understands that he can’t hide Lennie from the world forever and that the natural order of things is that the strong pick off the weak, and he will eventually have to let Lennie go. This motivates him to seize reality, meaning he had to kill Lennie, which itself was a sign of tremendous growth in himself. Killing Lennie had many effects on George; one of them being that he became one of the men he’d tell Lennie stories about. George believed that he and Lennie were not like the other migrant workers – travelling alone and spending all their earning on a whim. When George would te...

    Read More

  • The Importance of Lennie and George’s Friendship in Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck

    658 Words  | 2 Pages

    The connection between George and Lennie illustrates the adversity during their course towards achieving the American dream. Things Lennie did, either on accident or purpose, foreshadowed what was going to happen in the book and the way people acted impacted this. Like millions of other people, George and Lennie were affected during the great depression heavily, and dreamt of owning land of their own. They worked from place to place making barely any money, and didn’t have a real home. To add to this, Lennie got in trouble a lot and in the end George had to make the crucial decision to shoot Lennie so he wouldn’t have to deal with any more difficulty. George knew he had to do what was best for Lennie and himself.

    Read More

  • Of Mice And Men - The Importance Of George

    1823 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Of Mice And Men George Milton And Lennie's Relationship

Open Document