Imagine possessing a mental disability during the Great Depression and having no one to support you. Lennie is exactly like this but, he has George to be of assistance. Lennie who suffers from a mental illness, has George to aid him. Being together since they were young, watching out for each other and striving to reach their goal to own a ranch. Through the difficulties of the Great Depression, George did help Lennie to achieve success by helping him when trouble comes, enjoying life so he can move on, and supporting him while applying for jobs.
In the book, George had been a big help to Lennie with solving problematic situations. When Lennie finds himself in trouble, he must, “hide in the brush till [George] come[s] for [him],”(Steinbeck 15). George tells Lennie to hide in the brush when he
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Lennie loves how George talks to him about the rabbits and the ranch, always saying, “tell me please George. Like you done before,” (Steinbeck 13). With the thought of rabbits and owning a stake, George makes Lennie giggle, and that allows Lennie to be happier and less morose. George allows Lennie to follow his dream of owning a ranch with rabbits, seeing how enjoyable it would be with to fulfill that dream in a non monotonous way. Similarly, George’s ability to believe in Lennie can push him forward to success. George knows when Lennie tells him that he, “never done nothing to him,” (Steinbeck 21) he did nothing. When Lennie gets in trouble with a pugnacious man named Curley, George knows Lennei did not hurt the man on purpose. When one has someone that believes in them, that usually gives a push of encouragement knowing that they have their back, and that they believe in them. With someone, George, who believes in his partner, Lennie, and makes his day better, allows them to continue with their life, and not to feel sullen, which allows room to strive for
Another piece of evidence is when George says “Lennie-if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an’ hide in the brush... Hide in the brush till I come for you”(Steinbeck page 15). Right here we see that George
In the Salinas River Valley, after the Great Depression, there were a large number of unemployed workers seeking jobs. In the fiction novel "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck, Lennie Small is among one of those men. Lennie and his friend George both have just received jobs on a ranch as farm workers. What brings the two together is their dream to someday own their own land. Lennie has a lot of character and personality traits that define him. One trait that he has is he is very forgetful. Another trait he has is he is very curious. A final trait he has is that he is very reliant. Although he might not be the intelligent person in the book, he has a very well developed personality. Lennie demonstrates his personality and character
From the start of the book it seemed like Lennie had trouble controlling his actions he had to touch everything like a child and had trouble comprehending things. An example of this is when they were in Weed and Lennie touched the girls red dress and wouldn’t let go and the girl took it the wrong way and called for the authorities. As they are speaking about the incident George says, “Oh so ya forgot that too, did ya? Well I, ain’t gonna remind ya, fear ya do it again” (Steinbeck 7). George’s response shows that he is afraid that if he even speaks of the incident Lennie might do it again.
After he has killed Curley’s wife and he runs to the brush, he is apprehensive and scared of what is to come, which makes him more of an animal than ever before. Everything has settled down, and now he has to focus on how George will react. Lennie is compared to a bear many times throughout this book, and this shows the reader that he is dehumanized and is basically degraded into
George gave up his entire life in order to be there for Lennie. He even says, “I wish I could put you in a cage” (Steinbeck 11) but then later says “I was just’ fooling’, Lennie. ‘Cause I want you to stay with me” (Steinbeck 13). Steinbeck continued to show this bond throughout the book especially by showing how Lennie looked up to George. They cared for each other in a way that was very uncommon for ranch workers who usually only care for themselves.
I didn’t mean no harm” and slim also states that “he is a nice fella”.
In the story, Lennie is always in trouble and George is the one to save him. They had a goal to achieve together, it was what inspired them to keep going, no matter what. They aspired to “have a little house and a couple of acres” where they would raise animals and farm, and they would take care of each other (Steinbeck 7). But Lennie, once again, gets in big trouble. He killed his boss's wife and ran away to the hiding spot George told him to go to if he ever got in
A good friendship is needed to survive through tough times. Lennie respects George because George gives him comfort. George cares for Lennie so much that he considers him to be part of his family: “George said, he’s my cousin. I told his old lady id take care of him. He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid” (Steinbeck 22). Aside from comfort and advice, Lennie also needs George because when he gets in trouble, George always manages to find a way to help him get out of it. When Lennie had got in trouble in Weed, George stays by his side and gives him advice that helps remain safe and calm. George has many opportunities to leave Lennie and change his lifestyle, but he needs Lennie just as much in order to help him through his own hardships. Lennie looks
The increasing danger of Lennie’s choices pressure George take more drastic measures to prevent Lennie from causing harm. In chapter one, George discovers that Lennie has a mouse in his pocket: “George took the mouse and threw it across the pool to the other side, among the brush,” (Steinbeck 6). Lennie enjoys petting the mice because they feel soft, but George knows people do not normally pet dead
You jus’ stand there and don’t say anything” (Steinbeck 6). Here he demands his “friend” to stay quiet and not speak. This would be evidence regarding the way George treats Lennie in such a controlling manner. To add on to this,
When in a bad agreement with someone else Lennie always thought of George to do the right thing. This shows that George has taught Lennie right from wrong in the types of bad situations he can end up in. Lennie understands when he does something wrong, therefore he has learned, and knows right from wrong.
“I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me … I’d leave it all for you” (Steinbeck 12). Steinbeck’s description of Lennie is very animal-like, which makes the reader view Lennie as less capable of feeling human emotions, which is partially true, though throughout the book, Steinbeck shows that in Lennie’s case, George is the exception. Steinbeck was in his early thirties during the Great Depression (1930s-1940s), which was when Of Mice and Men was written. The story also takes place in the Great Depression and is in some aspects inspired by Steinbeck’s own experience living on a ranch farm. The story takes place in Salinas Valley which is where Steinbeck grew up. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows the different struggles, that people faced both in the Great Depression but also in life in general. This novel was written to view different struggles, people faced, and to give people a bigger image of what was going on during the Depression. Especially with Lennie, who from the outside seemed like just a mentally disabled person, but was so much more on the inside. While Lennie is viewed as a
In my opinion, Lennie Small is the most interesting character in Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck does a very good job describing and characterizing Lennie's personality. Lennie's character is, indeed, quite unique. A large man with enormous strength, yet kind and childlike, he seems to find joy in simple life pleasures like petting a furry animal and making the water ripple. Lennie's greatest difficulty seems to be remembering; and it is the lack of the ability to remember that ultimately leads to his tragedy at the end of the book. In the novel, Steinbeck seems to reinforce Lennie's characteristics of strength, kindness, childlike manner, and somewhat animal-like personality.
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.
George’s good nature can be seen through the way he takes Lennie under his wing. For George, there is no benefits that come from taking care of Lennie, he just does it out of the goodness in his heart. An example of this can be seen when George helped Lennie escape out of the town of Weed, in which Lennie had been accused of rape for clutching onto a girl’s dress. Unlike Lennie, George does not have any mental disability and can perfectly function by himself. This is the aspect that makes him such a good person, because taking care of Lennie is just like dragging around a ball and chain. George could be living a much better life on his own without Lennie. To prove this, George even says it himself when talking to Lennie: “God you’re a lot of trouble. I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl” (OM&M 7). Despite these words, George still takes care of Lennie because George knows that without his guidance, Lennie would be left to be taken advantage of out in the dangerous world. From George’s devotion to Lennie, it is shown that one who is good will guide others, even if it means sacrificing something he could have