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Of mice and men lennie character traits
Of mice and men lennie character traits
Analysis of John Steinbeck
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Doing careless things can lead to the downfall of an individual. In Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, Lennie does careless and thoughtless acts that lead to the downfall of himself and others around him. The careless actions of Lennie were apparent through Lennie and the pups, Lennie and Curley’s wife, and Lennie and George. Thoughtless actions appear in many ways such as animal cruelty. Lennie likes to feel soft items such as velvet, fur and items such as puppies. In the introduction to the story and characters, Lennie was carrying a dead mouse just to pet it. He was traveling with George, his best friend, who acted fraternal to him. When George and Lennie went to work on a different ranch, Lennie was promised a puppy from Slim, the grave lead skinner. The pups were tiny and were newborns. Lennie’s instructions were to leave the pups in the nest. But on a frigid night, he takes one of the pups out. George said, “You get right up and take this pup back to the nest. He’s gotta sleep with his mother. You want to kill him? Just born last night an’ you take him out of the nest” (Steinbeck 43). Lennie had disobeyed Slim and George and took out the pup from the nest. Lennie really likes to pet pups, and that characteristic gets the best of him. Taking the pup out of the nest was a thoughtless idea and eventually led to the downfall of the pup. Lennie’s actions led to the death of a pup. Lennie had disappeared to the barn where the pups and horses were. He was visiting the pups. “Lennie looked at it for a long time, and then he put out his huge hand and stroked it” (Steinbeck 81). Lennie had killed a pup by hitting it in the head when it tried to bite him. He did not think hitting the pup in the head through and it lead to the downfa... ... middle of paper ... ...George terminated Lennie for a truly unknown reason. But the event would not have taken place if Lennie had not killed Curley’s wife or gotten them fired in weed. Ultimately, Lennie’s previous actions caused the downfall of himself and the downfall of George emotionally. Inconsiderate actions can lead to a person’s downfall. Different people broke down due to the actions of Lennie with the pups, Lennie with Curley’s wife, and Lennie with George. All in all, a person might be influenced by their thoughts to formulate poor decisions.. This knowledge can affect today’s society. People should think twice before choosing to do one thing or another, for if everyone made inconsiderate decisions, the world would not be able to reform, due to everyone’s selfish choices. Everyone would turn into selfish and unsympathetic people. These careless decisions do not benefit anyone.
As we journey through life, we must make difficult decisions, even when few options exist and the situation is grim. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the decision George faces after Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife is complicated, as none of his choices are good. The importance of his relationship with Lennie forces George to look at the big picture and act in Lennie’s best interests, even though the action he must finally take will result in a weight that he will carry forever.
John Steinbeck wrote a story about two men that only had each to depend on. Many of George and Lennie's struggles come from things they cannot control such as Lennie's mental issues. George and Lennie are very poor and they work on farms together, but they have to move a lot because Lennie always does something stupid. The greatest tragedy in Mice and Men was when Lennie was left alone with Curley's wife. She was the reason why Lennie ended up being killed. She knew of to manipulate others to get her way and that is what she relies on most of the time.
The characteristics of mice are simple and feebleminded. A mouse is helpless, timid and oblivious. Few characters in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men possess such characteristics. Throughout the novel, Lennie exhibits the qualities associated with mice.
work, he states that Lennie is "…strong as a bull" and is "…a god damn
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck Lennie has many traits that define him. One trait he has is he is very forgetful. Another trait he has is he is very reliant upon George. A final trait that Lennie possesses is he is very curious. These three ideas are all traits that Lennie uses to manage his life and they help him by staying positive. Although Lennie is mentally deficient, he can still maintain a healthy lifestyle by using his happiness.
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
Lennie is depicted in a very childlike manner throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Accordingly, he acts in a manner that is persistent with a child in that his motivations precisely lead to his actions. He does not act in a pure sense of dishonesty, reflective of the purity that is peculiar to someone who is like a kid at heart.
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...
Lennie’s illness was seen as common and nothing to take concern over, which pertains to the vague yet soft sympathy from George whom “babysits” Lennie. George was an older brother to Lennie in a sense, helping him to get through life without any mishaps. However for George, Lennie’s illness determined their income and job status. In several incidences, Lennie overreacted in certain situations causing them to lose or leave their job spontaneously. At different points in the book, George became frustrated with Lennie: “You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time. An' that ain't the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out” (Steinbeck 12). This showed the overall frustration yet compassion towards Lennie, however extreme concern. According to Lennie, when he killed the puppy he said: “Why do you got to get killed, you ain’t as little as mice I didn’t bounce you hard” (Steinbeck 85). This really brought out the fact that Lennie’s illness was not to be tempered with, as he really couldn’t ever contemplate the harsh, unintentional things he’s done. When George and Lennie arrive at their new job, tension rises in the book and the author brings out that possible aspect of Lennie unintentionally doing something wrong which in turn would cause them to lose their job--or
As aforementioned they lived in the Great Depression a time where achieving the American Dream was almost impossible to do, especially with all the farms being lost in Oklahoma. Most of the character's perspectives of Lennie was that he was most simply a passive aggressive retard. Later in the novel the reader notices that he is incredible strong which serves to positive and negative effects in the story. Also, his thinking pattern is rather awkward or odd for someone of his age because what keeps him concentrated is this depiction of a farm where they will ¨tend the rabbits..build up a fire in the stove¨ (Steinbeck 14) which makes him mentally ill. When something is said to him about animals, he would instantly recognise with this desire, but for everything else, he is pretty much a useless man but other people who were willing to listen like Slim and Crooks who get to know him understood that he is if anything vulnerable which is what many characters were even
“Trouble with mice is you always kill 'em. ” This quote was taken from the famous story, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. It is directed to one of the main characters, Lennie Small, and although seemingly inconsequential can describe him and his actions almost perfectly. Through this quote, the author expresses Lennie's inability to know his own strength, the reason he accidentally kills the mice. He consistently makes mistakes like these throughout the story. Mistakes that have consequences, and help to express important ideas to readers. Lennie Small is a static character with the mind of a child, used as an effective tool by the John Steinbeck to send messages to people all around the world.
Strengths and Weaknesses play a huge roll within the story. Steinbeck explores different types of strength and weakness throughout the novel. As the novel begins, Steinbeck shows how Lennie possesses physical strength beyond his control, as when he cannot help killing the mouse. Great physical strength is valuable in George and Lennie's circumstances. Curley, as a symbol of authority on the ranch and a champion boxer, makes this clear immediately by using his brutish strength and violent temper to intimidate those who look down on him. Lennie means no harm at all. The reason why George and Lennie had to leave in the beginning of the novel was because it was believed that Lennie attempted to rape a woman there. Rape was not the case at all, when Lennie expressed his love for the touch of soft things, such as a dress or a mouse, this panicked the woman causing a chain reaction, and causing Lennie panic also. When Lennie accidentally kills the mouse, it foreshadows the future of Lennie and Curley's wife.
Of Mice and Men is John Steinbeck’s plead on behalf of those suffering with their mental health. When reading the novel, multiple incidents occur that show the Lennie’s needs. For example, when Slim, a co-worker or Lennie and George’s inquires, George says, “Sure he’s jes’ like a kid. There ain’t no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he’s so strong” (22). Lennie kills mice, a puppy, and even a woman, without any ill intentions. Lennie does not mean any harm, but simply does not know quite how to act
Lennie's greatest difficulty seems to be remembering; and it is the lack of the ability to remember that ultimately leads to his tragedy at the end of the book. In the novel, Steinbeck seems to reinforce Lennie's characteristics of strength, kindness, childlike manner, and somewhat animal-like personality. In this paper, I will focus on these characteristics. Strength Even though Lennie's last name is Small, he is, physically, just the opposite: a large man with great strength. This strength is represented numerous times throughout the novel.
Lennie accidentally killing all of his pets establishes that the theme of this novel is death and loss. These pets consist of mice, dogs, kittens, etc. Lennie loves to feel and pet animals, but he does not know his own strength. He kills them without really noticing what he has done, until George tells him that he did something wrong. After being scolded, Lennie is very remorseful about what he did. Once, after being yelled at Lennie says, “I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead- because they were so little (13).” Lennie’s remorse is probably more for upsetting George than it is for actually killing the animal.