This excerpt from Of Mice and Men emphasizes the power of friendship, which is one of the story’s main themes. Two migrant works from California are motivated by their will to experience the “American dream” and they can only do so by working their hardest. Their long days of hard work are accompanied by loneliness, fear, and betrayal. The reality and corruption of society during the Great Depression is revealed. The story explains the vicious and hostile way in which social power has a propensity to manifest itself.
Of Mice and Men is a fiction novel written by John Steinbeck; the narrator tells the story knowing the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters, using third person omniscient point of view throughout the story. Sentimental, tragic, and moralistic are the most commonly used tones in the story, but they change as complications arise. The two protagonists, Lennie and George, experience both internal conflicts with their own disabilities and external conflicts with the world around them.
Lennie is directly characterized by the description of his features: huge body, large pale eyes, and wide sloping shoulders. The following protagonist, George, is also directly characterized by small, dark of face and restless eyes. “Snorting into the water like a horse” (Steinbeck 4). A few seconds later, George yells; “Lennie!” he said sharply. “Lennie, for God sakes don't drink so much.” Lennie, You gonna be sick like you was last night.”(Steinbeck 5) Steinbeck indirectly states that Lennie has a mental disability and is incapable of controlling his own actions. The author also makes it known that George is there to look after Lennie and cares for his safety. "O.K. Someday—we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have...
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...ie had a special bond and friendship that may not have been understood by most of the other men on the ranch. Lennie is a static character because from the beginning of the story, up until his death, his love and intentions remained pure. George, on the other hand, is a very dynamic character. George’s complex relationship with Lennie is the ultimate factor that changes him; despite loving Lennie like a brother throughout the story, he begins to accept that he had to kill Lennie in order to do the “right” thing. “If I was alone I could live so easy” (Steinbeck 90). This line expresses verbal irony, because no matter how much Lennie annoys George he would not be the same man without him. “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why” (Steinbeck 65). This line represents the true companionship that was present between George and Lennie.
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.
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.
Within the beginning of the story, the dynamic of George and Lennie’s relationship is introduced, one that is uncommon and presents a fatherly vibe. The readers are thrown into the novel at the height of the great depression, an economic catastrophe that shook the world. Within these dark time, an unlikely friendship is in full blossom and we are meet by Lennie and George setting up camp for the night by a riverbed. After the duo’s personalities are expressed, they begin to set up the idea of a commonly shared dream which exists according to Lennie “Because... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie is seen as a quite simple minded and extremely dim-witted character from just the first
George’s love for Lennie is simply an unconscious effort to make up for Lennie’s mental weakness, yet at the same time his sentiment and kindness is out of sympathy. In chapter one, it is apparent to the reader that Lennie does have a slight mental impairment, but we do not yet know how acute it actually is. For example, when George asks Lennie what he has in his pocket, Lennie responded, “Ain’t a thing in my pocket,” (Steinbeck 5) as if he were intelligent. George knew something was in Lennie’s pocket, yet Lennie still tried to act as if there was nothing there. This gives the reader just a quick glimpse into the thought process of this complex character that is actually quite unpretentious.
The relationship between George and Lennie shows the limitless reaches one would go for his fellow man on a microcosmis level Steinbeck uses these two characters to represent strong one-on-one relationshiips that one experiences throughout their own personal life. Although George and Lennie are two individual men, the qualities that one lacked, the other possessed: "Behind him[George] walked his opposite" (mice, pg.2). Consequently, over the years George and Lennie created such a bond that they completed each other. Through George, Steinbeck represents the sacrifices that are made in the best interest of a loved one. These sacrifices presented George with many hardships and frustrations throughout his life. "If I was alone I could live so easy." (mice, pg. 11) Because Lennie was unable to think in a logical manner for himself, George gave up his own dreams and created a single dream for both himself and Lennie: "OK, someday we're gonna get the jack together and we'...
George’s struggles with himself become apparent at the beginning of the novel. Steinbeck clearly lets the reader know that George has conflicting feelings about Lennie. He believed, “ ...if he was alone he could live so easy. He could go get a job an ' work, an ' no trouble” (11). George is basically telling Lennie that sometimes, he wishes he could live
Many characters are introduced in the opening chapters of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, and they all change as the events of the book unfold. Two of the most dynamic characters in the book are George and Lennie; their characters change throughout the novel because of the way that they react and adapt to the situations they face.
Steinbeck believed that friendship was important. Lennie knows that George will always have his back, although Lennie cannot really protect George he feels like he can (Steinbeck 14). Even though George says, he does not want Lennie with him, he does not want to leave him by himself (Steinbeck 13). When Lennie and George first get to the ranch, the boss starts to ask them questions. George answers all of them even if they were asking Lennie. He knows that if Lennie talks, he might say what happened in Weed (Steinbeck 22). The boss, at the new farm, thinks that George only wants to take Lennie money. But George tells him that he only wants to take care of Lennie. The boss tells George that he had never seen two men traveling together like him and Lennie (22).
Lennie is a very large, and mentally disabled man. George often complains about having to take care of Lennie, but it can be seen through the story that George is very devoted to Lennie. George complains, "I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl;" (Steinbeck) but as Lennie often threatens to leave George alone, it can be inferred that George loves Lennie because he stays always rejects Lennie’s offer. George describes that, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world...with us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.” (Steinbeck) George’s purpose in the story was to take care of Lennie. Lennie is what kept George going. George states that, men like them were lonely, but Lennie and him did not have to be because they had each other. This point is also expressed in Lennie’s quote, “Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." Although Lennie is very dependent on George, the reader can also conclude that, in a way, George also needs
The two had heavy reliance on each other both physically and mentally. Throughout the story, Lennie is always relying on George to make sure that he is not doing something bad that might get him in trouble. This was shown in many instances, such as when Lennie scares the women at the old ranch. Instead of bailing on Lennie, George hid him to make sure that they were not found. This shows how committed George is to Lennie and the same goes for Lennie. Lennie almost always follows what George says. George is an idol to Lennie, almost like a father figure which is why Lennie is so obedient to George. In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck writes “Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes, the way George's hat was” (3,4). Lennie repeats almost everything that George did and it shows Lennie’s strong connection to George. This may have not been much use if Lennie were like any ordinary guy, but he is far from it. Lennie is a large man which helps them throughout many parts in the story. Because of this, Lennie is very useful to George to the point that he can use Lennie in many situations, such as helping them get in a ranch to work or even fight as shown in Of Mice and Men; where Steinbeck
George and lennie's Friendship were based on lies as george said lennie was kicked in the head by a horse and made him as he was, but lennie says this wasn't true. Even though george and lennie are not cousins or even related, George takes care of lennie for unknown reasons. George says he promised his Aunt Clara but its was never confirmed, its possible george knew lennie wouldn't last long on his own and end in a asylum or worst hanged or shot in the gut. When chapter starts George is shown teaching the dangers of drinking still water and carrying a dead mouse and apologizes for upsetting. A key in the entire story is lennie keep asking george about the Rabbits and george retells the story. We also find out bits of details of what happened in weed as the story goes on, Lennie was mesmerized by a velvet dress that a lady was wearing and grab too hard and scared the girl and himself, he grabbed harder and didn't let go, this resulted in george hitting lennie with a fence picket to make him let go, the girl want to the police and says she was raped by lennie and resulted in a mob going after lennie.
Friendships are important to everyone. People meet horrible friends, temporary friends, and true friends. True friends are rare because not everyone is going to support you through thick and thin. Some people are leeches. A leech is basically someone who prevents you from moving forward in life. In Of Mice and Men, there are two characters that go by the names of George and Lennie. These two characters are different types of friends. George is like a father to Lennie because without George, Lennie probably wouldn’t be anywhere. On the other hand Lennie just brings George down. George believes that he could be living in higher standards if it wasn’t for Lennie.
According to Steinbeck, “They fell into a silence. They looked at one another, amazed. This thing they had never really believed in was coming true. George said reverently, “Jesus
One would not expect a friendship to be one of the most risky things in life. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is an example of a risky friendship. Both characters show a trust and bond for one another in a time where true friendship is hard to come by. While friendships can make people vulnerable, it can also add significance to their lives and make it improve. People in friendships can be vulnerable because of themselves, another person, or their own goals.
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.