Lennie Character Analysis

In the novel Of Mice of Men, George Milton was forced to care for a man with the brain of a child. The man’s name was Lennie Small. George acted like a father rather than a friend to Lennie. George was never able to embrace Lennie’s good qualities. Instead, George focused on his bad ones and looked at Lennie as someone who was useless to him. Lennie was much more than that, but George could not see past it. George showed no compassion toward Lennie and hardly cared about how he felt. Thus, George was not a good friend to Lennie because he did some things behind his back, yelled at him constantly, and bossed him around.

Throughout Of Mice and Men, George never leaves Lennie’s; however, George does not seem to like being around Lennie: it is a responsibility he accepts. In one scene at the beginning of the book, George grows intensely frustrated with Lennie and begins a lecture which leads into a one-sided fight. They settle down for the night next to a river, when one insignificant question from Lennie sets George over the edge. He chides Lennie about how he holds him back instead of pushing him forward, and rants, “‘You can’t keep a job and you lose me every job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble’” (11). As George berates Lennie, he gives the impression that he does not enjoy being with Lennie and instead, treats Lennie like he is an unintelligent child and grudgingly takes him in. If George claims to be a suitable friend of Lennie,

In the novella “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, there are two guys named George and Lennie. They were friends for a very long time and stood by each other. Some people may argue that George was a bad friend to Lennie but I believe that he was a good friend. Friends aren’t perfect, they will mess up. Just because George messed up and made questionable actions towards Lennie, that doesn’t make him a bad friend. You will not find a friend that has never done wrong by you.

In the book of mice and men George and Lennie are good friends. They want to get a farm and get rabbits and live off the fat of the land. George and Lennie show the true meaning of friendship.

Lennie is a dim witted person who can't really control himself and likes to plan ahead and pet animals. Lennie fantasies and acts out what it would be like if they had a farm with different colored rabbits.

Lennie Small is a character that readers are drawn to right from the beginning of the book. His innocence stands out from the grimey coverings of loneliness and hopelessness that the other characters wear. The reason Lennie is so innocent is because he has a mental handicap, one that prevents him from understanding complex human emotions such as guilt, or concepts such as death. In addition Lennie has trouble remembering things, “" I tried and tried [to remember]...but it didn't do not good." Consequently, Lennie has trouble fitting in with society. Ultimately his mental disability is what leads to Lennie's demise at the end of the book. Another trait that is an essential part of Lennie's innocent character is his devotion to his closest friend George. In fact, the only times Lennie is shown to be angry is when George is insulted or threatened. When Crooks, the crippled, black, stable hand, implies bad things about George, this devotion is clearly shown. “Suddenly Lennie's eyes centered and grew quiet, and mad. He walked dangerously toward Crooks. 'Who hurt George?' he demanded" When it comes to George, Lennie would deviate from the normal passive motives of his persona. More support can be found when George is the only one who can convince Lennie to “get him[Curly]” when Curly attacks him, as well as being the only one to stop him. Perhaps the most prominent support for Lennie's childlike innocence is in his utter belief of George and his dream. No matter how

Lennie’s kind heart throughout the book Of Mice and Men makes Lennie and George's relationship unbreakable. Lennie is always thinking about other people before himself; especially George. On page 72 of Mice and Men, Lennie says demandingly, “Who hurt George?” This quote shows the amount of love Lennie has for George. He is always thinking about George and Lennie wants to protect him. Never does Lennie want anyone to hurt or mess with George which shows how kind hearted Lennie is and how much he cares about others. The trait of being kind hearted affects the story because it shows the strong relationship that he has established with George and just how much Lennie cares about George. The kind heart that Lennie has can

George and Lennie have a strong bond of friendship that makes them both feel like they are actually somebody. For example, “ ‘I been mean ain’t I?’ ‘If you don’t want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time.’ ‘No—look! I was jus’ foolin, Lennie, cause I want you to stay with me.’” (p.14) This shows that George actually wants Lennie to be thought of as one of his friends, not as a doll that he can just kick around. The quote also shows that George cares for Lennie tremendously and really understands how Lennie feels. Secondly, Lennie feels the same way back at George “But not us! An’ why? Because…. Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” (p.15). This is a good example

In conclusion, I believe that overall in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck ,George was not a good friend to Lennie. George did take care of Lennie but,in my point of view, not because he actually cared for Lennie.George never once mentions how he cares for Lennie or how much he loves his companionship but does mention how easy life would be without him and if if they were related he would kill himself .Yes George looked over him and stuck by him but in most cases Lennie would have been better of being with someone

Throughout the book Lennie has not changed at all really because he forgets things and also cannot remember everything well at all. Because of this Lennie can’t really change in this book at all. Though little changes have occurred. He was once a gentle giant but now realizes how dangerous he really is. Lennie is a loving person that loves soft and hairy animals. He likes rabbits, rats, mice, and dogs. He likes animals that are soft to the touch. George does not like the idea of Lennie holding young animals or mice and rats because he will kill them on accident and does not want Lennie petting a dead mouse or dog. On page 9 in “Of Mice and Men” Steinbeck writes, “I wasn’t doin’ nothing bad with it, George. Jus’ strokin’ it.’ George stood up and threw the mouse as far as he could into the darkening brush, then he stepped to the pool and washed his hands.” Lennie is stroking a dead mouse when George notices and takes the mouse from him and throws it as far as he can. This shows how Lennie likes furry and hairy things. But when he handles them he accidentally kills them because he is too strong and doesn’t know how to control it.

In the book, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, there are two migrant workers that form an unlikely pair and travel together. George is small and is brilliant and Lennie is big but has the mind of a child. Because Lennie is not intelligent, he requires George to take care of him. At the end of the story, Lennie gets into big trouble and will face a death penalty until George makes the hard decision to shoot Lennie and end his life. This raises the question that asks if George and Lennie are true friends. They are true friends because they both help each other and push each other to be better while also looking out for each other in Salinas where they work as ranch workers . This is because George understands Lennie and protects Lennie. While George does help Lennie, Lennie also provides George with companionship and a goal to work towards.

In Of Mice and Men George and Lennie are almost like brothers as they travel and do everything together. It was rare to have such a close friend like they had with each other and they knew that. They both knew that they had to stay with each other or else they would have a very tough time. This is because George and Lennie have opposite characteristics. George is smart and small while Lennie is big, strong, yet dumb. This could be surprising to one because they are so different but so friendly to one another even though they have so many differences. In the beginning of the novel, George and Lennie had a disagreement and when Lennie threatened to leave his partner, George said, “No-- look! I was jus’ foolin’, Lennie. ‘Cause I want you to stay with me” (Steinbeck 13). This shows that George knows that he needs Lennie because Lennie is very strong which can get them a lot of work on farms so that they can make money. Lennie had a dream where a

Aside from the plenty illustrations of isolation, seclusion, and loneliness shown in the characters in Of Mice and Men, the natural, truthful relationships throughout the book can not afford to be forgotten about. Lennie and George share an unusual, odd friendship that almost looks as if they are not friends at all. Though it is not how a conventional friendship may seem to other people, it makes sense to George and Lennie. George and Lennie share a relationship that is quite similar to the same relationship that a dog shares with its master. George tells, basically commanding, Lennie to do something (like not talking), and Lennie listens and “obeys” without question. If George tells Lennie not to

George shows friendship to Lennie and everyone else by being helpful and caring. First, when Curley was hitting Lennie, George didn’t someone beating on his best friend so he yells, “Get ‘im, Lennie!” (Steinbeck 63). George couldn’t bear to see his friend hurt, just standing there, so he edges Lennie to fight back. Since Lennie isn’t the brightest man, George wants him to be okay in the harsh, real world so he pushes Lennie to stand up for himself against bullies like Curley. Then, when George and Lennie were meeting the boss for the first time, George tries to make Lennie sound better by saying, “He can do anything you tell him… He’s a good skinner. He can rassle grain bags, drive a cultivator. He can do anything. Just give him a try” (Steinbeck

In the story, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the two main characters George and Lennie share a certain type of true friendship among each other. Their friendship began when Lennie lost the only person left in his family, his Aunt Clara. Lennie is mentally retarded and most of the time can't prevent himself from saying or doing things. Lennie also has a petting problem, if he sees something he likes, you can’t stop him from petting it. George took care of Lennie. Because of that, Lennie is loyal to him, he goes to him for help, he goes to him if he needs someone to talk to.