Character Analysis Of Lennie's 'Of Mice And Men'

Lennie never does anything without the consent from George. He knows he has to listen to George, If he doesn't he knows he will end up in trouble like he did while picking weeds. In all the trouble that Lennie gets in, he doesn't do it on purpose. Lennie has a good heart and never means to hurt anyone. His mental disability causes all his action.

Lennie Small has a very symbolic importance in the novel Of Mice and Men. In the novel George Milton and Lennie Small both migrant workers pursue their dream of someday owning their own ranch by travelling around working as ranch hands to earn a living. The dream they share is to be able to "live off the fat of the land,". Lennie Small is a very complex character, although he may not appear to be at first glance. Lennie is the most interesting character in the novel because he differs from the other is many ways. Lennie Small ironically is a man of large stature and is very strong. He is child-like in his emotions and has a diminished mental capacity. Lennie's feelings are much like that of a normal person when you take into

George’s tone is accusatory which shows that he is astute. He then continues to bombard Lennie with questions, which gives Lennie the chance to demonstrate another type of power – his cunning. He attempts to deceive George.

Part of Lennie’s character is being uneducated, and slow. Lennie is always forgetting important information. “Lenny looked timidly over to him.” “George?” Yeah, what ya want?” “Where we goin’, George?” “The little man jerked down the brim of his hat and scowled over at Lennie.” “So you forgot that awready, did you?” “I gotta tell you again do I? “Jesus Christ you’re a crazy bastard!” “I forgot,” Lennie said softly.(Page 4 of Mice and Men). As you can see this conversation of quotes proves many different points. First, it shows Lennie forgetting where him and George were

Another one of Lennie's character traits is that he is reliant. Lennie demonstrates this trait various times in the book because he relies too much on George. One of the times when Lennie is reliant is when he relies on George to tell him what to say. George tells Lennie what to say because they think if their employer knows about what Lennie did in the other town he might not want them around. In this case Lennie relies on George to tell him what to say because George and Lennie want the job, so in case Lennie messes up George can cover for him. Lennie is also reliant when he and George are by the Salinas River and they are camping out. “Lennie just stood there while George gathered the food and fire wood” (page 12). This is important because Lennie relies on George to provide food and warmth. A final example of why Lennie is reliant is when George tells Lennie that he can’t ever talk or make any contact with Curley’s wife. “She said

Lennie is mentally disabled and so always ‘does bad things’, because of this, he constantly depends on George to protect him and get him out of trouble. For example, in Weed, Lennie constantly ‘wants to touch

Steinbeck introduces Lennie by physical description and it gives us an idea of how powerful he is compared to George. “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders” (Steinbeck, Pg. 2) In this quote, the author is trying to make the reader

“Lennie was in a panic. His face was contorted. She screamed then, and Lennie's other hand closed over her mouth and nose. "Please don't," he begged. "Oh! Please don't do that. George'll be mad." … "I don't want you to yell. You gonna get me in trouble jus' like George says you will. Now don't you do that." And she

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.

I could also notice when I was reading through the first chapter that George has a sense of authority over Lennie, “you gonna get that wood”. This is like a parent telling a child to do his chores. On some occasions though George shows a bit of hatred towards Lennie, he thinks of what he could have if Lennie wasn’t around and contrasts that with George.

Lennie is described as a big bulky animal. But his brain, on the other hand, is slow as child’s. Because of this fact, when George was younger, he picked on Lennie and bullied him. In the book it states, “George’s voice was taking on the

This is important because it shows that George wants to be alone but does not truly want to be lonely. Lennie is George’s responsibility. George views Lennie as a brother, friend, and partner in crime. Without Lennie, George is lonely but he knows that he saves Lennie from his own personal misery in the end. George knows he needs Lennie just as much as Lennie needs him. He needs his friendship and is lonely after he takes that friendship away from himself.

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,

He would yell at Lennie and tell him if he didnt have him he could go and do as he pleased. When in reality George did not want these things. He was greatful to have a friend in Lennie, so he would not have to be alone. With Lennie's simple mind, he could not comprehend what George was talking about most of the time. He believed that George got upset over simple things such as ketchup. He too was very thankful to have George to go along with. Although he did not understand the complexity of things sometimes, he knew that he had a true friend who he trusted wouldnt leave him.

<br>A reader can understand very vividly from his actions and attitudes that George is sensible and able to think quickly in a situation. He seems to have a very good understanding of the nature of others, especially of their attitudes towards Lennie, for example, that if the boss hears Lennie talk and realises his handicapped, then it is unlikely they will get work. He also knows, to make Lennie repeat things two or three times over to himself, to help him remember, for example when he slowly repeats, "Hide in the brush till I come for you, can you remember that?" to Lennie. He also knows that Lennie is likely to do things and attempt to hide them, such as when Lennie appears from his walk in the woods, and is immediately suspected of smuggling a dead