Greatest Weaknesses In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

His power makes people feel threatened by his strength. In the novel, Lennie is much stronger and bigger than everyone else. He hurts animals and people by his strength although he doesn’t mean to. Like when he killed Curley’s Wife by accident, Lennie said, “Oh! Please don’t do that. George’ll be mad” (Steinbeck 91). He was in a panic didn’t want her to yell or else he would be in trouble with George. So he put his hand over her mouth and nose. That caused her to struggle even more so he got angry and shook her. He killed her by his power when he shook her and broke her neck. This quoteshowed how Lennie uses coercive power to hurt people, because he kills her by using his

a great strength, but also as a weakness, for this is what led him to

Lennie’s inability to think for himself and know the difference between right and wrong is most apparent in his actions when he talks. Even though Lennie’s physical strength makes him appear to be a person of power, his physical strength is the only form of power that he possesses. Lennie is constantly powerless against his mind’s perception that limits him to behave in a child-like manner against the consequences of his actions. For example, he knows that he needs to act correctly and does not want to do bad things, however he lacks the mental capability of an adult that lets him differentiate what’s right from wrong causing him to rely on George for protection and guidance.

Lennie is certainly strong; in the very opening of the book he is described as a bear and is constantly referred to in animal terms. He enjoys "pettin'" soft things, puppies, rabbits, and mice but, he is so strong that he kills them with his fingers as he did in chapter one while George and Lennie were walking. In chapter three, Curley starts a fight with him but after George tells Lennie to fight back Lennie easily crushes Curley's hand. Lennie is physically well coordinated and is capable of doing repetitive manual jobs with skill. This makes things a little easier for George to find them jobs. In chapter two George has to convince the boss to let them stay and work, he states that Lennie is "as strong as a bull" and is "a good damn good worker". However, it is this strength that was the reason why they had to leave Weed. Lennie would not let go of a girl's dress he wanted to pet because he panicked when the girl started to panic, which led to the pair leaving town under a possible rape charge. Again, it is not like Lennie could and would have ever been able to control the strength he has. He cannot have the understanding that he hurts people or

Strength comes in many forms, We usually think of strength as a person with a powerful body. Actually, a person can have a strong mind, have patience, and the strength to resist temptation. Weakness is not always noticed at first, and it can be seen in many different ways. It can be an emotional weakness caused by loss, loneliness, and other life problems. Steinbeck makes his story, Of Mice and Men, interesting by giving his characters both strengths and weaknesses.

All too often we do not think about our personal strength until a situation arises that causes us to use this natural attribute that we know as strength.

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 rejected by everyone at the ranch, except George, because of his mental disability (“Of Mice and Men” 248). People with a mental disability are often looked down upon in society. Lennie is a very large, strong man, however, people on the ranch don't believe he is a good worker because of his disability. Although Lennie has a mental disability, he has the strength to do a lot of the ranch work and is a very good worker. The men on the ranch do not realize the strength that Lennie has until he breaks Curley’s hand and ends up killing Curley’s wife. Having a disability does not imply that the individuals aren’t skilled in different areas. Handicapped by his lack of adult intelligence, Lennie is doomed in the world of a migrant worker (“Of Mice and Men” 246). He is not able to think as highly as an average adult and often times does not make the best decisions. In the novel, we are able to see the strength that Lennie has and how he is not able to control it when Steinbeck talks about how Lennie killed the mouse, the puppy, Curley’s wife and crushed Curley’s hand. Curley is a small man who tends to pick fights with the bigger men to show his strength. Curley knows about Lennie's lack of intelligence and decides to start hitting him. Lennie doesn’t do anything back until George tells him to fight back. The next punch Curley threw, Lennie caught it and squeezed Curley's hand

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

The strength and weakness for women and men was used the their advantage or disadvantage some weakness through my experience were lack of motivation, limit skills, lack of will power, substance abuse, pregnancies, financial stains, timing, and life changes altering plans. Strengths were will power, motivation, positive influences, growth developments, exposure to diversified culture, higher education, support systems. Those whom chose to self-sacrifice themselves overcome obstacles reached their goals. Those who work hard knowing one day they would see the big picture realized the success or

Lennie is a big and a powerful man. Steinbeck makes it clear that he is a very good worker and should not be made mad at all.

Lennie, the strongest character (physically) can Buck barley and is a very good worker but is not very bright. Even though Lennie is physically stronger than everyone he is mentally challenged and needs help from everyone to live. Curley fought Lennie and Lennie crushed curley's hand in self defense, but he only did it because George told him to. Lennie is powerful but doesn't

Lennie’s insensibility in regards to his strength tends to lead him to injure people and animals that he encounters. The biggest contributor to Lennie’s chaos throughout the novel is his underestimation of his own ability to hurt others. This occurs in multiple occasions, such as when Slim gets

Lennie’s main flaw is that he doesn’t know how to rationalize other people’s needs with his own. Breaking the neck of the puppy because it teethed him isn’t something that happened because of his strength, any human being could do that. It’s because he can’t distinguish the serious from the not serious. Lennie himself says it’s not about his size in the scene stating “Why do you got to get killed? You ain’t so little as mice.

George who travels with Lennie doesn’t really know why he intellectually limited, so when other people ask why he is, George just says he was kicked in the head by a horse as a child but he makes up for it in strength. John Steinbeck writes it like this because even though it is putting Lennie down because he is intellectually limited he then contradicts it by saying that he makes up for it in strength. Lennie’s strength is so helpful because he can buck barley extremely well. During the “interview” with the boss, George says, “No he ain’t, but he’s sure a hell of a good worker. Strong as a bull” (Page 22). This explains how Lennie has an immense amount of strength. When George said, “No he ain’t” he was referring to that Lennie was not much of a talker, because he couldn’t think quickly. That is why George