The Relationship Between Two Itinerant Workers in Of Mice and Men

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John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’ focuses on the relationship between two itinerant workers: George and Lennie. The average itinerant worker moved from place to place to find work, travelling alone. They led very lonely lives, and the majority had no family and didn’t belong anywhere. But George and Lennie travelled together, the simple desire for company and friendship; as well as their dream binded John Steinbeck’s main characters together. George and Lennie’s dream is to live on a farm with a bit of land and a few animals; somewhere that they can call their own. John Steinbeck based ‘Of Mice and Men’ on the American Dream, which was thought to be every man’s goal in American in the 20th centaury. People wanted to feel fulfilled and respected, to belong somewhere and feel safe, happy and content. The dream was rooted from The Wall Street Crash of 1929 that was followed by The Great Depression in the 1930’s. Many people lost their jobs and were forced to travel to different places to find work. ‘Of Mice and Men’ shows just how unachievable and unrealistic this shared dream really is. The title of the book is based upon a line from Robert Burns poem ‘To a Mouse’ it quotes “The best laid plans of Mice and Men will always go astray” suggesting that however much you plan and however hard you work things can always go wrong.

George and Lennie are photographic opposites of each other. George Milton is a small, trim, determined man with defined features and a sharp mind. Lennie Small is huge and shapeless with a childlike mind (slightly mentally retarded) but very physically strong. The two men are held together by their dream (the American Dream to have their own place and be their own masters. As they sit by the river Lennie convinces George, in a childlike manner to tell him about their dream of their own little place. “Come on George. Tell me please George. Like you done before.” Although George seems reluctant we can tell that he enjoys talking about the dream from this quote: “George’s voice became deeper, he repeated his words rhythmatically as though he had said them many times before.” This quote also tells us that George and Lennie discuss their dream a lot. Lennie interrupts, his enthusiasm overriding his self-control; again demonstrating his childlike mind and how frequently they must discuss their dream for him to remember the details when he so often forgets other things.

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