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Have you ever wondered what characteristics a “good friend” has? Maybe read the controversial, yet, intriguing novel “Of Mice and Men”. This novel was set in the time of the Great Depression and it follows two Californian migrant workers, George and Lennie. George is responsible for Lennie because, Lennie may not be as mentally stable for a man his age. In “Of Mice and Men” George is a good friend to Lennie. For example, George cares for Lennie, he gets him out of trouble, looks after him, and because he shoots him.
We know that George is a good friend to Lennie because he shoots him when he is in danger. There could’ve been more painful ways for Lennie to die. George could’ve done many other things, like turn him into the police, told
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Lennie to run off to a cave and live in the wilderness, or let the mob get to him. We know that Curley was planning on killing him because in the novel it states; “I’m going for my shotgun. I’ll kill the big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot him in the guts. Come on, you guys.” He ran furiously out of the barn. Carlson said, “I’ll get my Luger,” and he ran out too” (Steinbeck 96). This shows that Curley was very wrathful towards Lennie. Friends are people who will always be there to support you and look after your.
This shows to be true in Lennie and George’s friendship. In the novel, George is always telling Lennie right from wrong, some people might say that George acts like a father figure or a caretaker and I could agree with that. In the article “A Father Like None Other?” it states; “...Often used by most parents and adults as some sign of authority. He would rather calmly say what is right and what is wrong.” This connects with George and Lennie because George always seems like he is in charge of everything they do and sometimes when George gets mad at Lennie, Lennie things he has done something wrong and he asks George if he would rather be on his own and for Lennie to leave. Because of this, George has to be very calm in telling Lennie what to and not to …show more content…
do. George cares for Lennie.
It is unusual for two migrant workers to travel around together. Yet George looks out for Lennie because Lennie cannot take care of himself. Lennie is strong and loyal, but not intelligent. He has the mind of a child, and George has to take care of him. They have traveled around together for a long time.One quote that shows their friendship is "He wont do nothing like that.I know George. Me an' him travels together " (Steinbeck 102). This is an example of how Lennie trusts George and knows George wont hurt him and is always there for him.
George also gets Lennie out of the problems he tends to run into when people don’t understand him. When Lennie needs help talking to someone or escaping a town George is there for him. For example, when he gets run out of town because he touched a girl’s dress, George gets him out safely and gets him a new job." With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us"(36), This example shows how strong George and Lennie's friendship is, and how George will find a future for
them. George is a true friend to Lennie because he looks out for him. George acts as a father to Lennie, and he cares for him. He is a true friend because he shot Lennie when he was in danger, which was a very hard decision. Additionally George is a true friend to Lennie because he gets him out of trouble, and he looks out for him.
In chapter one, George and Lennie are introduced onto the scene and you get to know them a little bit and you get to see how they are related/ their relationship. When I read this first part, I could tell that George was pretty much Lennie’s caretaker and it was his job to find Lennie a job and make sure he ate enough and stayed a live. He kind of resented having to drag Lennie around (pg 11~12: “Well we ain’t got any!” George exploded. “Whatever we ain’t got, you want. If I was alone I could live so easy… But wadda I got? I got you. You can’t keep a job and you loose me every job I get.”), because Lennie’s a bit slow and he messes up a lot. He tries really hard to be good and listen to what George tells him to do, but in the end of every situation, Lennie forgets what George told him beforehand and sometimes it creates a little trouble (pg 45~46: “Well, he seen this girl in this red dress. Dumb like he is, he likes to touch ever’thing he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on ‘cause that’s the only thing he can think to do. Well, this girl just squawks and squawks. I was jus’ a little bit off, and I heard all the yellin’, so I comes running, an’ by that time Lennie’s so scared all he can think to do is jus’ hold on. I socked him over the head with a fence picket to make him let go. He was so scairt he couldn’t let go of the dress. And he’s so strong, you know… Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she’s been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie. So we sit in an irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day.”). But when you look at them, you can tell that George is...
George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.
This can be identify George as a good friend or a bad friend to Lennie. In my personal opinion I think that George is a good friend to lennie. Because that I think that george need to kill Lennie, the first reason is that if Lennie get caught by Curly and the others he will still died but he will be torture to death by them. Another reason is that Lennie kills a person so he will get caught eventually and he will end up the same way as he get caught now. So George kills lennie out of caring, out of the relation that they had. that is why I think that George is a good friend to Lennie
Lennie has always been told what to do by George. George really helps him through problems that keep happening during the book. Lennie is incapable to live because he does not know his strength and George has to play the role as a living assistant for Lennie. Lennie does not mean to harm but because of his condition he essentially harms people. In the book it explains the
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.
For example, Lennie confidently encourages George that their support of each other will lead to the success of their American dream. In the novella Lennie states, “...’because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you’…” (Steinbeck 14). The quote means that Lennie and George have each other to rely on and support throughout their journey. This proves that friendship affects Lennie because despite his size and strength, Lennie needs George to make sure he does not get in trouble for doing something harmful that he did not mean to. Another example of how friendship affects Lennie is when he tells George he could leave him alone so he would not be bothered anymore. “‘I could go off in the hills there. Someplace I’d find a cave’” (Steinbeck 12). Then, George asks Lennie, “‘How'd you eat? You ain’t got sense enough to find nothing to eat’” (Steinbeck 12). In the quote, George says if Lennie went off on his own, he would not be able to survive. This proves that Lennie is not capable of doing anything by himself in order to survive which is why he relies on his friendship with George to protect him. By depending on George for responsibility, Lennie is affected by friendship because George is always there to get him out of
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 and Lennie take care of each other through out the story. In the story it says, “Because… because I got you to look after me and you have me to look after you, and that’s why” (Steinbeck14). This quote means that as long as George and Lennie are together, they take care of each other no matter what happens to them. This goes with the topic because they take care of
Lennie and George’s companionship meet and transcend all the needed requirements. They are a textbook example of loyal friends. They, together, are like peanut butter and jelly in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Lennie gives George someone to talk to and someone to keep him on track. George gives Lennie insight on the world and someone that will respect him even though he isn’t intelligent. They, more importantly, give each other something to live for. If George wouldn’t have met Lennie he would be a drunk in a whorehouse dying of cirrhosis. If Lennie didn’t meet George he would of died soon after his aunt did, because he would either have got himself in a bind with no one to help him or he would of simply wondered off and died of loneliness.
Relationships are an important essence of life. Humans need relationships because we are dependent on each other to survive. Babies need their mothers to feed and nurse them, and friends need each other to support, comfort, sympathize, and understand them. The friendship between George and Lennie outlined the core of Of Mice and Men, and although it’s sometimes idealized and exaggerated throughout the novel, there is no question of its sincerity. Lennie thinks of George as his only friend, his guardian, someone who he can trust and depend on, someone who had accepted him for who he is despite his childlike tendencies. Every time he did something wrong, his only thoughts would be of George’s disapproval. “I done a real bad thing. I shouldn’t have did that. George’ll be mad. An’… he said…. An’ hide in the brush till he come. He’s gonna be mad.” (pg. 92) On the other hand, George thinks of Lennie as a constant source of frustration, and as he frequently mention in the novel, “God, you’re a lot of trouble. I could get along so easy and nice if I didn’t have you on my t...
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.
Steinbeck tries to establish a perfect image of friendship by introducing us to George and Lennie. They are an extraordinary team, with Lennie being of monstrous size with a simple mind, and George being a smart and typical worker. Many times throughout the novel, Lennie threatens to go live in a cave to leave George alone so he won't have to take care of him anymore. However, George always explains to Lennie that he wants him by his side at all times because he knows they need each other: "No! I was just foolin', Lennie. 'Cause I want you to stay with me. . ."(13). This expresses that in order for them to have a successful friendship, they must first share their lives together to make every puzzle piece fit together. After the two men arrive at the bunk house, they meet the workers who all seem like they have no one that is willing to spend their life with as lovingly as George and Lennie. Slim, one of the mos...
George not only controlled Lennie but he also looked out for him and he wanted him to be happy. An example of this is how he constantly reminds Lennie of their dream, to work on their own farm, much like the dreams of other migrant workers. “Sure, we’d have a little house an’ a room to ourself, little fat iron stove an’ in the winter we’d keep a fire goin’ in it. It ain’t enough land so we’d have to work too hard. Maybe six, seven hours a day. An’ when we put in a crop, why, we’d be there to take the crop up. We’d know what come of our planting.” (Pg. 58) George had taken care of Lennie, every step of the way, just like his Aunt Clara told him to. “He ain’t much of a talker, is he? No he ain’t but sure is a hell of a good worker.”(Pg. 21-22) George even went as far as talking for Lennie to get him a job at the ranch, something not many workers would have done for eachother. Even though George acted like ...
The famed nurses study from Harvard found “Not having a close friend is as detrimental to your health as smoking.” Lennie and George’s friendship is necessary to keep the better for each other. Throughout the story, Lennie and George need each other and look out for one another no matter what. Lennie and George’s friendship and journey throughout the story symbolizes the struggles to achieve the American dream. Steinbeck, in the story Of Mice and Men, combines characterization and symbolism to prove friends do whats best for eachother.
George did not want to kill Lennie, but at the same time, he did not want him to have to suffer the horrible consequences; he knew that Lennie’s death would be beneficial to Lennie in the future. Furthermore, George knew what was best for Lennie and decided to kill him for his own good.