Why Is George Not A Good Friend To Lennie

Many characters in, “Of Mice and Men”, show friendship. George and Lennie show the most examples of having a great friendship. George and Lennie both take each care of one another and care about each other. They both support each other in making the dream of living off the fatta’ the land, come true. Doing these things prove that they have a strong friendship.

According to Aristotle the highest form of a friendship is a friendship of virtue. In the story Of Mice and Men George and Lennie are the definition of this “true friendship”. This type of friendship is based on a person wishing the best for their friends regardless of utility or pleasure. George tends to look after Lennie, guide lennie to do the right thing and at times protect him from danger. “Aristotle notes that there can not be a large amount of friends in a virtuous friendships because the amount of time and care that a virtuous friendships needs limits the amount of time one can spend with other friends.”

George had thought about life without Lennie before and he even has mentioned it to Lennie. He implies that Lennie is a type of burden in his life and it would be much easier without Lennie. George didn’t have to take care of Lennie but now that he did he can’t just leave Lennie behind. Lennie needs the

    George took Lennie in after Lennie’s aunt died. George knew his aunt pretty well. Lennie had nowhere to go afterwards, so George let Lennie come along with him. George wasn’t always nice to Lennie in the beginning. George would tease him and trick him. Lennie didn’t know any better than to listen to George, even if it was a taunt. After an incident happened to Lennie, George stopped tormenting him. He felt bad for Lennie and how he treated him. From this moment on, George actually took into consideration of Lennie’s mindset. In the book, Steinbeck writes,

However, in Chapter 6 we can see that George feels a genuine love toward Lennie. He does not want anyone to hurt him and feels that the only way that

George and Lennie were best friends. They were always together, and were always there for each other. Later in the book, we find out that they want to buy a farm together. George told Lennie he could help with the rabbits. As you see, they even had a future planned out. Some may say them being friends doesn’t matter, and it is better than a stranger killing

Is George a True Friend to ennie? , throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men, George is portrayed as guardian or a best friend to Lennie. But, if you were to read the story again you would realize george isn’t the nicest of people for Lennie to hang out with. I realized that george is not a true friend to Lennie and should think about what he has done. I think George is way too harsh too Lennie. He is always complaining about how he has to stay with Lennie because Lennie's aunt clara made him.

Strong friendships have the power to make people’s lives better. George and Lennie travel together and eventually live together, resulting in a strong bond between them. George cares for Lennie and he makes sure

By killing Lennie in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice And Men, George protected himself, prevented unnecessary harm from coming to Lennie, and ultimately, he let Lennie die happy.

While that may be case, I still think George was a good friend to Lennie because he always had his back. Whenever people doubted Lennie George would reassure them like when they the boss accuses Lennie of not being “much of a talker.” George advocated for Lennie by saying “No, he ain’t, but he’s sure a hell of a good worker. Strong as a bull” (Steinbeck 22). Despite George being mean sometimes, he was always there to console Lennie. When Lennie felt bad about crushing Curley’s hand, George reassures him that he has done nothing wrong in defending himself (Steinbeck 65). A common opposing view is that the only reason George was “friends” with Lennie was because he felt obligated to do so. Even though George complains about babysitting Lennie, he recognizes the fact that he could never leave him (Steinbeck 41). George needs Lennie’s companionship just as much as Lennie needs him. George shows he knows that without Lennie he would be lonely when he says “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us.” There are some people that may say George is a bad friend for killing Lennie when he accidentally killed Curley’s wife. Although, had not George killed Lennie himself, Curley and the others would’ve got to him and then he definitely would have suffered. George was Lennie’s best hope. If they had tried to

George says that if he lived alone “’I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all” (Steinbeck 11). This is during a temper tantrum, but it shocks Lennie to hear those words come out of George’s mouth. Even though Lennie is shocked with terror, George continues with “’An whatta I got…

What happened in the past affected many lives in drastic ways, yet most of the time the human race can't realistically think about what it was truly like. People don't always think about the mental and physical strain disasters can have on others. In life many people are met, whether forcefully or accidentally even though most of the time the general population goes on with their lives. When people connect with others they can shape their actions and lives in a positive or negative way. The New York Times published a blog, "Friendship in an Age of Economics" about what true friendship is and what opportunities it can open. In of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George is Lennie's friend and caretaker. Lennie appreciates George immensely even though in reality George could have a better life without him. True friends will give up many things for the well-being of their companion.

Lennie thinks he can handle living on his own but George understands and tries to encourage Lennie to stay with George. An example of this was when Lennie was saying that he wanted to go live in the woods. However, George said, “I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. No, you stay with me” (Steinbeck 13). This is showing that George wants to protect Lennie and not let him venture out by himself. The quote is also presenting that he does not want Lennie to leave him, because if he does, something bad could happen. When Lennie is with George, he knows he is safe and nothing horrible can happen without him finding out. Another example that shows the relationship between George and Lennie is when they were having a

George was a good friend to Lennie because he cares for him. Lennie’s aunt died a while back and George promised her that he would take care of Lennie no matter what. George was not forced to watch over Lennie, he made a choice and stuck with it. Also, Lennie was holding a dead mouse and he was petting it. George saw and threw it across the pool. (page 6) He did that so Lennie wouldn’t get sick or a disease. Finally, George and Lennie went to work on a farm and there was a woman. She was a man named Curley’s wife. George had heard that she was trouble and told Lennie to stay away from her so that he wouldn’t get hurt.

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.