Would a child or youngling die without its parents? Would a grown man die without a parent? George and Lennie’s relationship is similar to a parent's and child's relationship. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie are working men during the Great Depression. Lennie is a little kid in a big man’s body, while George is a short-tempered man who looks after Lennie. Lennie has a mental disability which is why he needs George to help him survive. Due to George constantly helping Lennie, Lennie has become reliant on George. Lennie is dependent on George based on his actions, his language or speech, and how he relates to George. To begin, Lennie is dependent on George based on his actions. Throughout the whole story, …show more content…
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. Lastly, Lennie is relying on George all the time based on how he relates to George in the text. Lennie is always with George because they have a relationship like a mother and a son, Lennie's relations with George prove this. George has been with Lennie for a long time and George feels like Lennie has been holding him back. When George yells at Lennie he says, “When I think of the swell time I could have without you” (Steinbeck 12). This quote proves that Lennie has been with George for a long time, long enough to drive George into a rage of regret and sorrow. The reason they have been
Steinbeck presents Lennie to be responsible and irresponsible when he is not with George. Steinbeck shows how he is responsible when he sticks up for George, “He ain’t never been hurt, ‘cause he’s careful.” This quote also suggests Lennie realising himself how is irresponsible for his actions and how he needs George to guide him. This is because Lennie gets quite anxious and angry at the thought of not having George, “He stood up and walked dangerously towards Crooks.” Steinbeck presents Lennie to be irresponsible for his actions when he lets their secret of their dream, slip, “George says we gonna have alfalfa for the rabbits.” This shows
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
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,
At this point in the novel, we have heard George mention twice that his life would be improved without Lennie. However, George still seems to feel a need to look out for Lennie. That said, he protects Lennie from conflict by explaining to everyone they meet that he is just a “big kid”.
George takes care of Lennie many ways. George has taken care of Lennie for a long time. George took him under his wing even though he didn’t need to. George genuinely cares for Lennie. He feeds him, makes sure he is safe, also he gives him hope. George is constantly watching Lennie. George is a good friend to Lennie; however, George gets annoyed with Lennie very easily. He does this to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble or lost. He never leaves him by himself. This is shown when Lennie offers to leave, but George tells him “I want you to stay with me Lennie”(Steinbeck 104). George really cares for Lennie.
The problem with Lennie was that he was mentally disabled, back in the 1930's people did not understand things like that, and had no clue about disabled people. Lennie was sweet and loved thing that were soft. Lennie would put himself in very dangerous situations and with disability he lacked the capacity to control himself physically. Lennie did not understand how strong he was and they damage he would do until after the fact. He also shares the dream of having the small farm and tending to his small rabbit hutch. Since Lennie is mentally disabled he depends on George for almost everything. Lennie is like a small child that has to a have a parent nearby always or he will get into
Even though George sometimes says how much better his life would be without Lennie, he will always protect Lennie. George is devoted to watching out for Lennie. He is always telling Lennie not to talk because that will probably lead to trouble. If Lennie gets in trouble that will block the both of them from living their dream. So George is inspired to keep Lennie out of trouble.
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
In addition, Lennie's childlike manner is portrayed in his dependency on George. He listens to everything George tells him and depends on him for necessities such as food and water. In fact, it seems that without George Lennie would be unable to survive.
The author John Steinbeck presents the relationship between the two characters, George and Lennie in different ways as they are both different characters and have different personalities. He presents it like a parent and child relationship, with George being the parent and Lennie the child.
In Of Mice and Men, George shows the weight of responsibility on taking care of Lennie. George knows he could be better off without Lennie. “When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts,” George finally expresses. He even tells
Subsequently, in the beginning of the novel George and Lennie are seen walking side by side down a path together. Right away someone, can easily distinguish their unique relationship as Steinback describes their contrasting appearances and personalities. With this, one can start to sense Lennie’s great dependence on his friend George. Adding onto how that proves, that Lennie is dependent on George, is when it’s mentioned that George must carry both of their bus tickets as well as work cards. This clearly displays Lennie’s dependence on George and George’s lack
George saved Lennie and backed him up all through the novella. In the old town they lived in, Lennie got
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
In the novella Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, the relationship between Lennie Small and George Milton is complex. Lennie and George are two companions who look for work and brave the hardships of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression together. Although Lennie and George are both grown men, their relationship resembles more of a child and a single parent, or a boy and his dog. Lennie is portrayed as animalistic and childish through his behavior and Steinbeck’s comparisons. This reveals the crucial power dynamic in George and Lennie’s relationship.