Character Analysis Of Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

When Lennie says things like the examples given it shows that he depends on George on right from wrong, based on his language. After Lennie fought Curley, George asked why he wouldn’t stop and Lennie says, “You told me to George” ( Steinbeck 64). Earlier in the story, Lennie asks George, “Where are we going? I tried not to forget” ( Steinbeck 4). Later Lennie thinks out loud, “I didn’t forget, you bet, god damn. Hide in the brush an’ wait for George” (Steinbeck 100). By Lennie saying these things we build on to the fact that Lennie needs George, we learn all this just from his speech. When Lennie finds himself in tough situations he looks to George’s words or speech to guide him or help him. When Lennie asks George where they are going he only asked him because he couldn’t remember and George has always helped him. Lennie is constantly relying on George to help him remember things.

Steinbeck creates Lennie as a sympathetic, slow, not very bright character who does not have enough knowledge to stand up for himself; especially to George.

If you were mentally challenged and could not perform daily tasks like everybody else, would you want to be shamed and belittled to words such as ‘crazy’ or ‘retarded’? This was the situation for Lennie Small in the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. In the novel, Lennie works on a farm with his friend, George. George and other characters in the book trivialize and dismiss Lennie as crazy, instead of what he really was; mentally disabled with cases such as Autism, Asperger's, or even mild down syndrome. Lennie possess many characteristics that are very similar to those who have mental illnesses. Also, during the time that the novel Of Mice and Men was published, these illnesses

Everyone has had a caretaker or guardian to protect and care for them at some period in time. Developing into an adult is often times when a person becomes able to live independently. However, this is not the case for Lennie Small from the story, “Of Mice and Men” as a result of his disability. Being dependant on other people, Lennie needs a caretaker because of the lack of family to protect him. Someone without family relation, George, rises to the position as his caretaker in the harsh, unforgiving circumstances they have at the moment. Dreaming of a better future, George has to carry Lennie from job to job in order to eventually collect enough money to finally claim their land as their own. George has good, honest intentions for Lennie and only strives to give him the best conditions even if it meant he had to pull the trigger against him.

Lennie small is a large strong, and un intelligent man. He rarely thinks for himself and can’t hold his own. He does not understand Who you can laugh at or when you can laugh which makes him not have any social awareness. Lennie also never learns throughout the course of this story. He never learns to stay away from some people. For All these reasons we are sympathetic for him.

Lennie is the most sympathetic character in Of Mice and Men because he’s not very bright when it comes to things and happens to forget a lot. As George and Lennie are walking to go to a new ranch George asked Lennie

In John Steinbeck’s work, Of Mice and Men, Lennie is compared to an animal multiple times which degrades from his sense of humanity and leads to a greater gap between George and himself causing Lennie to become almost nothing to the reader, and to the other characters in the story as well. While George has sharp figures and is precisely described, Lennie is shown as more animalistic, and not really given a lot of traits and characteristics. Also, the other people in the ranch/farm approach Lennie with fear and caution.

In the book, Lennie is viewed as a very forgetful character. In the book Lennie says, “I forgot again George.” This trait of forgetfulness that Lennie has effects those around him, especially George. At the beginning of the book, George tells Lennie that he would be better off without him because Lennie is the reason why he can’t keep a job. This effects Lennie because despite his best efforts, he finds a way to hurt the ones he cares about. This situation makes readers feel sympathy towards Lennie because he can’t help forgetting everything and it must be very frustrating for not only him, but to George as

This can be seen by the laws and infrastructure created that prevent others from discriminating against them in any way. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, people are not allowed to discriminate against anyone with a mental illness at a workplace, state or local government services and public transportations, public accommodations, or telecommunications. The ADA ensures that people are treated fairly and respected instead of being singled out for something they were unable to prevent. In Blanck’s book, he claims that “the ADA signals a unique opportunity for all individuals to join together in breaking down long-standing myths about disabilities and building more inclusive communities” (11). This emphasizes the fact that there are laws set in place for mentally ill people to have the same opportunity as people that are

Because of the infantile and trivial characteristics of which Lennie is portrayed with in the first chapter of Of Mice and Men, the author, John Steinbeck, is deemed unsuccessful to exemplify Lennie as one to feel sympathy towards. It is only within a few pages of this novella that we begin to feel a bit of disapprobation towards Lennie's actions. This being when "His hand went into the pocket again. George looked sharply at him. 'What'd you take outa that pocket?' 'Ain't a thing in my pocket,' Lennie said cleverly."(Page 3) Immediately after reviewing this quote, Lennie's primary goal became quite obvious. This goal being that he is trying to instigate George, his acquaintance, into committing acts of frustration for his own amusement. This is especially emphasized when Steinbeck uses

George said, ‘His name’s Lennie Small.’” (21). Lennie wouldn’t know how to survive without George. He’s constantly asking George questions about where they are going, or what happened before. He wouldn’t know anything without George. Also, this point helps prove that Lennie has a mental disability.

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie’s character archetype can represent many aspects throughout the story. In the story Lennie’s character is seen as the child of the group. He is also seen as the cause of death, or the trouble that follows himself and George. His character is important to creating the storyline of the book. The use of archetypes In Of Mice and Men help to create the personality of Lennie’s character.

They also show how George reminds him and explains how it’s why he can’t do something now, like with the mice. Steinbeck showed us very early on that Lennie forgets things easier then most, and how he doesn’t really grasp onto why he can’t do something. Which really justifies in George shooting Lennie, because what if Lennie forgets again and kills someone else on accident? It was the best solution for George, one eventually needs to stop

"'No- look! I was jus' foolin', Lennie. 'Cause I want you to stay with me.'"

1. Comparison Lennie is being compared to an animal; this theme runs throughout the book. We see the other characters treat him and hold him accountable like and animal. “ ‘… and he walks heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’ ”