The Theme Of Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice Of Men

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Friendship sits at the top of life’s greatest gifts. Friendship can be defined as being there for someone when they need it. It is always having your best friends back. But friendship is also something taken for granted. It is the feeling of safety and a sense of belonging. True friendships are not easy, nor are they hard, to find. In the novel Of Mice of Men, John Steinbeck describes the difficulty that owing a friendship can cause for two ranchers. Ranching was an unsuccessful and increasingly stressful job for both characters. Their friendship was not making it easier; however, George and Lennie rise above these hardships because of a special bond the two have shared since childhood. Steinbeck exemplifies that friendships can be complicated, …show more content…

Crooks as a kid never realized how race can affect relationships. He had friends but when he grew up he had to become accustomed to how the world really was. Crooks once said, “I didn’t mean to scare you. He’ll come back. I was talkin’ about myself. A guy sets alone out here at night, maybe readin’ books or thinkin’, an’ he got nothing to tell him what’s so an’ what ain’t so. Maybe if he sees somethin’, he don’t know whether it’s right or not. If some guy was with me, he could tell me I was asleep. An’ then it would be alright” (Steinbeck 73). He wants to have that accountability that friendship brings and be able to rely on someone. Loneliness is not having a friend and Steinbeck displays this with Carlson being an …show more content…

Friends lift you back up when fallen, they bring joy when there is darkness, they can be the figurative light that is needed to keep going. George slowly explained that, “You an’ me. Ever’body gonna be nice to you. Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em” (Steinbeck 106). Friendship is full of happiness, but there can always be sorrow and despair. We choose which type of friendship we have. We choose the effect that we have on people. What we choose to do with that, it is left to the future and you to

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