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Of mice and men themes Frenship
Themes and characters in the novel 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck
Themes and characters in the novel 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck
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As made evident in many aspects of life, there are both good and bad relationships. This can also be seen in a variety of literary works, especially Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men demonstrates that relationships often are composed of a strong and a weak person. However, this does not mean that all relationships are negative. To start, the main relationship shown in this book is between George Milton and Lennie Small. These characters demonstrate a good relationship, as they are dependent on each other and they greatly help each other out. George is definitely the stronger one in this relationship, as Lennie depends on George in almost all aspects of life, such as finding work. Their close relationship is seen when Lennie says, “Because . . . because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why” (Steinbeck 14). This quote greatly demonstrates how close George and Lennie truly are. Most migrant workers in this time period looked out for just themselves. That trait is not evident in neither George nor Lennie, as they both look out for each other as they share the …show more content…
Although they did not know each other for a lot of time, George is quick to open up to him about his relationship with Lennie. Slim shows sympathy toward their situation. Their new, close relationship is shown when “’Funny how you an’ him string along together.’ It was Slim’s calm invitation to confidence” (Steinbeck 39). This quote shows how Slim was very quick to start a conversation with George, even though they have not known each other very long. George quickly starts talking about his childhood and relationship with Lennie. This conversation they had led to a quick bond between the two being formed. Overall, George and Slim demonstrate a good relationship due to their conversation when George was relatively new to the
George chooses to stick with Lennie, despite his mental disabilities. They are loyal to each other, even though they are different: “Even in the open one stayed behind the other” (2). Their desire to spend time together in fellowship indicates the theme of true friendship. Later on in the novella, George and Lennie are introduced to Slim, the jerkline skinner on the ranch. Because his job requires him to move around, Slim, like most migrant farmers, is lonely. He observes George and Lennie’s unusual friendship and questions it saying, “You guys travel around together?” (34). George and Lennie’s loyalty to each other protects them from the loneliness of their work, revealing one important benefit of true friendship. Near the end of the novella, Lennie is in the barn with
Lennie Small, a mentally impaired man, is first introduced to us traveling with George. George, however, is not related to Lennie. Lennie travels with George because no one else understands him like he does. Lennie says, “Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you…” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie believes if George ever left him that he could live in a cave by himself and not bother anyone again (Steinbeck 12). Lennie realizes he would be alone without George, but he never has known anyone else to depend on but George, and from that, they have a bond, a friendship. This shows Lennie’s need for his relationship with George.
It is amazing how much Biology has in common with the social world when it comes to the relationships among human-beings. Symbiosis is the interaction between two different organisms living in close physical association with each other and they include mutualistic, parasitic, and commensal relationships. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and the movie The Mighty, the key relationships of symbiosis are executed in many of the characters’ interesting adventures throughout both of them. The characters relationships in the book and the movie can be traced back to symbiosis in a way that shows how the mind works when people create relationships. The novel Of Mice and Men and the movie The Mighty show symbiotic relationships that are visible to the eye.
Imagine being discriminated against because of your ethnicity; or being the only woman on a ranch, stuck in a loveless marriage, when all you really want is someone to talk to. What about having to kill that friend, and bury all chances of breaking free from the life of the average migrant worker? How would you feel? These scenarios in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men illustrate the need and desire for companionship in life. There's Crooks, the negro stable buck; Curley's wife, whose marriage to Curley hasn't exactly been lively; and George and Lennie, whose friendship is strong enough to get them to a better life and out of the negetive cycle that the average migrant worker became trapped in during the Great Depression.
It is very apparent that each of the four characters in the two friendships feed off of each other. In Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie are very different, yet they need one other. George is a very independent, loyal, and caring person who takes care of Lennie because Lennie is unable to take care of himself. Although George makes it seem like he would be better off without Lennie, George makes it clear that without him he would be better off. This is evident because of this conversation h regularly had with Lennie” I could go get a job an’
As the story continues on and the pair arrive at their job, the character chart begins to branch as we are introduced to Slim, another worker on the farm. After learning of the two’s past together, he openly expresses, “Ain’t many guys travel around together... I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other” (Steinbeck 35). There is a unique value to George and Lennie’s relationship which the world lacks. Rather than combining their might, people would rather watch their own back with one set of eyes than having a second set to keep watch. There is mistrust between people and the idea of backstabbing and swindling is very present due to the economic decline and the loss of wealth for all social classes. Due to Lennie’s mental decline, however and the fact that if it were not for George, Lennie would not be alive, there is a strong bond apparent. To be separated from one another would mean becoming the rest of the world, sad and lonely. Neither of the two would like to bring sorrow to one another or let each other go through
The physical symbiosis of George and Lennie is beneficial to Lennie but detrimental to George. Although George used to hurt Lennie, Lennie now needs George to bail him out of trouble. Lennie also profits because he needs a person to tell him what to do. “He can’t think of nothing to do himself, but he sure can take orders” (39). Lennie is “a hell of a good worker”(22) and able to “put up a four-hundred pound bale” (22) but is likely to get himself in trouble without George’s protective influence. George likes Lennie but would be better off without him because “you (Lennie) can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get” (11). Lennie hinders George while George helps Lennie.
Although Slim is indulgent, compassionate, receptive and is looked up to as the “ideal man.” He does hold a form of loneliness which is portrayed through solitariness. The reader can deduce Slim’s loneliness once George and Lennie found a job at the bunkhouse. Where, George and Lennie were given positions as migrant workers to be part of Slim’s team as they’ll soon be partners. Once George and Lennie have met Slim, they conversated and Slim asked them a few questions regarding their relationship, were Slim’s solitariness is illustrated. "Ain't many guys travel around together," he mused. "I don't know why. Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other"(35). At this moment George and Lennie’s friendship grant Slim’s
In all of these quotes George is looking after Lennie similar to how a brother would look after a younger sibling. From when he is talking to Slim about Lennie’s work ethic on page 39 to when he is trying to keep Lennie from getting into trouble with Curley and his wife on pages 32 and 29, George is always looking after Lennie in some way. Alongside the last example, Steinbeck illustrates a caring relationship between George and Lennie. “ [George] ‘They ain’t got nobody in the worl’ that gives a hoot in hell about em-’...[Lennie] ‘But not us’” (104). George and Lennie always come back to the subject of looking out for each other. This is demonstrated when Lennie is talking to Crooks about George and Crooks says, “jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then” (72)? Just the mention of George doesn't come back or being hurt makes Lennie defensive about George, “Suddenly Lennie’s eyes centered and grew quiet, and mad. He stood up and walked dangerously toward Crooks, Who hurt George” (72). Lennie is attached to George, to Lennie, he is the only person in the world that actually cares about his well being.They have been together for years, which is quite similar
George Milton and Lennie Small are both introduced in the novel at the same time as being close companions. They are both poor, migrant workers who constantly struggle to keep their jobs
"Were born alone we live alone die alone. Only through love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that were not alone” Orson Welles. In this novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses on the loneliness of California ranch life in the 1930’s. One of the most important things in the life is to have a friend, without friends people will suffer from loneliness like in this novel, not everyone in the novel has the same connection and special friendship like George and Lennie’s. Of Mice and Men is the story about lonely men who travel from ranch to ranch not really communicating with other ranch hands. Candy, Crooks and Curley’s wife all were lonely and dealt with their loneliness in different ways.
This is the main conflict. As the two men move throughout the novel, it is apparent they are clinging together in the face of loneliness and alienation. George and Lennie are insecure, with no permanent jobs, no real home, and separated from their families. Also, in the end, it was society which leads to George into killing Lennie. After Lennie gets into the debacle with Curley’s wife, he runs to the oasis described at the beginning of the book. George fears the men will tear Lennie apart and murder him. He also knew he would be institutionalized, or “caged” if he survived the attacks. He had the moral clarity that lets him see that killing Lennie is the what is best for him. When George kills Lennie, it’s a kind of mercy killing. It’s clear that killing Lennie is the right thing to do, and George is manning up by pulling the trigger. We know this because Steinbeck gives a contrasting example of Candy, who says that he "shouldn 't ought to of let no stranger shoot [his] dog" (39). Second, Slim says, "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda" (107), and Slim is the novel 's ideal man. His Struggles against society carry on even after Lennie’s death. He now faces living alone without friendship or hope. It is also the death of his dream; owning a shack on an acre of land that they can call their own.
George spent most of his life looking after Lennie. It is shown in multiple ways that George is very smart, and it’s a realistic possibility that he could have made something of himself had he not dedicated his life to taking care of Lennie. Towards the beginning of the book, George is talking to Slim about his and Lennie’s lives before Soledad.
Slim befriends Lennie and George, and makes them feel welcome. Lennie and George are quite the opposite to the rest of the characters, as they don't have a family, and they finish off physically fighting for work, because they need it so badly. In the second chapter all the other characters sound like commoners
What is your definition of a true friend? Well, to me, a true friend is someone who understands you, accepts you for who you are, and is willing to do anything for you. While reading John Steinbeck’s classic, Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie maintain a true friendship despite all the ups and downs they encounter. After Lennie Small, a man as gigantic as a mammoth with a pea-sized brain is caught touching a girl’s dress in the town of Weed, he and his best friend, an average migrant worker, George Milton, travel a strenuous journey to the town of Soledad and start working on a ranch. The young men come to realize that they have a true, brotherly bond and nothing can separate them. Even though the book has its rough spots, Steinbeck portrays the true bond of friendship that even people as close as siblings have. Throughout the story, George