Of Mice And Men Relationship Between George And Lennie

A tumultuous relationship can be seen between two characters in a novella by Steinbeck titled Of Mice and Men. This relationship, like many has it’s variety of ups and downs between the characters George and Lennie. To a normal person, it may seem unusual for a so called friend to put the other person in unsafe and mindless predicaments, but there seems to be an underlying tone of attachment and care under all of their differences in the part of George for Lennie. When I think of a great friend, I visualize a person that will care for you, protect you, and always remain by your side and that is exactly what George did for Lennie many times. The hardships that Lennie put George through could have easily seen the demise of their friendship,

but I believe that George remained a good friend to Lennie throughout the story.
Throughout the novella, George constantly sticks by Lennie’s side through tough times that could have sacrificed their friendship.

Lennie can not be left alone in the world because it is evident that he cannot sustain a somewhat normal life without somebody constantly guiding him in life. Abandonment was never the issue between George and Lennie, however it was not beneficial that Lennie always seemed to get himself into frustrating situations. In the book, George portrays the qualities of a good friend when does not let Lennie get run out of town by himself (Steinbeck 41-42). Lennie was caught in a situation that was misunderstood by the men of the town of Weed and had no choice but to leave or get lynched. George had no part in the misunderstandment but still decided to take matters into his own hands and protect Lennie from the town’s men. By doing this, we know George is a good friend towards Lennie by having the generosity in not leaving Lennie alone to suffer the deadly

consequences.
Another example is when Lennie plans on leaving George alone, but George insists on Lennie not leaving (Steinbeck 13). Once again, this shows that Lennie is not burden but a true friend of Georges and does not want him to be left alone.
Lennie was often confronted with situations that he could not have dealt with himself or not safe if he was alone.

This is where his friend George comes in to ensure his overall safety and well being. A prime example that conveys Georges loyalty as a friend is when he gave Lennie advice on how to avoid problems with another character in the story, Curley (Steinbeck 29). Curley had no apparent reason to not like Lennie or the way he treated him. The cause of all of the hate towards Lennie was later revealed, however it did not excuse the way Curley treated Lennie. Lennie had no clue as to why Curley treated him the way he did and George made sure that Lennie knows that he did not do anything to deserve that attitude from Curley. Who knows what would have happened if Lennie thought that he has done something wrong to Curley. George talks to Lennie and gives him advice on how to avoid issues with Curley. Another example of this is when George save’s Lennie from drowning in a river (Steinbeck 40). Although it can be argued that George cares for Lennie out of guilt, I believe that George did not want to intentionally hurt Lennie in any way or endanger his

safety.
Some will argue that George is not a good friend to Lennie because George decides kills him. When a person hears that, they immediately think of the negative that came out of losing a friend, but I believe that it is the intentions behind the killing that matters the most. Those who believe that George was not a good friend to Lennie claim that killing Lennie was the easy way out and a sinister solution to his problems. That is an understandable concern, however I believe that George killed Lennie out of the best intentions and consideration for the both of them. Lennie was the source of all problems in George’s life and at times made it very difficult to live a normal life. Killing his best friend must not have been an easy thing to do and could have been his only option at that point. Lennie’s issues have drastically progressed from killing a pup to killing an actual person. Although these actions are inexcusable, George knows that Lennie would not hurt a fly, but this does not excuse his actions in the eyes of others. The killing was in George’s best intentions because he knew that the others would not take the killing a lightly that George took it. Lennie had no say in his own killing, but it was for the best, not only for George’s life but also Lennie’s life.
This friendship should not be judged by the minute things that seem irrelevant in the long run but should be judged in the the way that tough situations were handled. Although George had the misfortune of killing his best friend Lennie, it was not an easy decision on George's part and he knew that nobody would of taken Lennie's actions as lightly as George did. His love for Lennie never changed throughout the story and everything George did for Lennie was out of love and consideration for everyone involved.