To what extent did Lennie Small, pivotal character in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, have freedom and independence? Of Mice and Men, one of the most influential books of our modern time, is not only an impressive tale of friendship, but also a representation for the world in the 1920’s and the lives of those who lived at the time. Many examples of this comparison between the ranch in which the story occurs and the society in which Steinbeck lived can be noticed throughout the book in the forms of multiple characters in the farm and the treatment they receive. Lennie Small, a mentally challenged yet extremely strong and physically capable character, is a representation of the almost complete dependence that mentally challenged people …show more content…
He represents the dependence of the mentally disabled on the more able members of society, and how this can affect their lives, rendering the powerless to an already existing hierarchy. Furthermore, he also represents the possible reasons behind this, such as lack of necessary knowledge and the possible danger that this lack of knowledge may bring to society. These themes are used by Steinbeck in order to show a power dynamic at the time, one where wits were required in order to reach any success. Lennie shows this through his apparent incapacity to be independent in scenes such as the interview, in which planned actions and rational thought can be the last deciding factor. Another important reason for this treatment of the mentally disabled is the possible harm that they may cause due to lack of knowledge. This was shown in the case of Lennie through the various dangerous actions taken by him that he was unaware of. This is the case when he rips the girl’s red dress and when he kills Curley’s wife, aas well as when he kills multiple animals due to how little he knows about his own destructive power. Lennie also shows that, despite having many traits often associated with power, one can find himself in a state of powerlessness, rendered helpless to the pre-established hierarchy, as shown by his …show more content…
He is a representation of the lives of the mentally disabled, which are often controlled by others in order to maintain safety. Throughout the book, many examples of George expressing control over Lennie’s life can be observed, however one of the most clear examples of this control is the scene in which George decides to kill Lennie in order to spare him from his impending doom. This is an example like many others, but it is fundamentally different in that it shows the most extreme of cases, one in which the decision of whether one’s life should or should not end is made by someone else with no regards to the opinions and choices of the person to which this is most concerning, he who has a gun held against his head. This last choice is denied from Lennie, just like every other before
Lennie symbolizes ignorance. More specifically, he is the American dream. Lennie is an inadequate thinker, and more importantly, has little common sense. In this section of the book, Lennie killed a pup by playing with it too harsh, his ignorance and stupidity doesn't help: “Why do you got to get killed? You ain't so little as mice. I didn't bounce you hard” (Steinback 85). This justifies Lennie’s ignorance. Lennie's mind troubles to process little everyday issues, therefore, he has to have George to help him survive in a society of snobs. He’s incapable of doing things on his own, George is his mind and tells him everything of what to say and do. Lennie went back and looked at Curley’s dead wife. The puppy lying close to her. Lennie picked
If Lennie were living in today’s society, he would be treated more equally. In the 1930s during the time period of the book, Lennie was treated inferior to everyone else. Mentally challenged people dealt with abuse and cruel treatment . Although many were placed in institutions that were meant to help them, they were still treated poorly. When the patients were not in bed they were forced to labor long hours. Luckily Lennie had someone like
The author, Steinbeck, uses his own personal experience to “serve as an inspiration…” (Johnson 1) when writing this particular story. His past experiences also helped him for the future. Lennie, of all characters, is the least dynamic. He undergoes a significant amount of change and develops throughout the story. He has been isolated with George throughout his life. His sole purpose in life is to make George happy and to own a farm with George and take care of the soft rabbits. Lennie is the most innocent and defenseless. He also is the largest and strongest, which does not help in certain situations. Lennie is the protagonist in the story. He gains the readers sympathy by his intellectual disability and helplessness. Lennie murders things by accident such as the mouse in his pocket, the puppy and Curley’s wife. He enjoys the touch of and somehow uses those murders and experiences to scare him from doing it again. George’s opinion means the most to him.
Throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck presents Lennie to be responsible and also irresponsible for his actions. Sometimes throughout the novel, Steinbeck presents Lennie to be irresponsible for his actions because life at the time was very difficult. People were losing their jobs, many farmers lost their farms, and were forced into the life of itinerant workers. The lifestyle Lennie had could be responsible for his actions, because he didn’t really have support. However on the other hand you could also argue that all the other men lived the same lifestyle as him and they took responsibility for their actions, you could also argue that Lennie had more support than any other ranch worker, because he had George taking care of
Lennie Small has a very symbolic importance in the novel Of Mice and Men. In the novel George Milton and Lennie Small both migrant workers pursue their dream of someday owning their own ranch by travelling around working as ranch hands to earn a living. The dream they share is to be able to "live off the fat of the land,". Lennie Small is a very complex character, although he may not appear to be at first glance. Lennie is the most interesting character in the novel because he differs from the other is many ways. Lennie Small ironically is a man of large stature and is very strong. He is child-like in his emotions and has a diminished mental capacity. Lennie's feelings are much like that of a normal person when you take into
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
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.
In this novel John Steinbeck used a lot of allusions to help develop characters. The allusion being used to develop Lennie’s character is when Curley and he are fighting. Lennie and Curley are being described as David and Goliath. Lennie is strong and big like Goliath. Curley is small like David. In the end Curley defeats Lennie, just like David defeats Goliath. This allusion showed the character trait of strong and big. Another literary device used in this novel is a simile. “ Slowly, like a terrier who doesn’t want to bring a ball to its master, Lennie approached, drew back, approached again”(Steinbeck 9). This shows that Lennie is very unsure and nervous.
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
Everyone has had a caretaker or guardian to protect and care for them at some period in time. Developing into an adult is often times when a person becomes able to live independently. However, this is not the case for Lennie Small from the story, “Of Mice and Men” as a result of his disability. Being dependant on other people, Lennie needs a caretaker because of the lack of family to protect him. Someone without family relation, George, rises to the position as his caretaker in the harsh, unforgiving circumstances they have at the moment. Dreaming of a better future, George has to carry Lennie from job to job in order to eventually collect enough money to finally claim their land as their own. George has good, honest intentions for Lennie and only strives to give him the best conditions even if it meant he had to pull the trigger against him.
If you were mentally challenged and could not perform daily tasks like everybody else, would you want to be shamed and belittled to words such as ‘crazy’ or ‘retarded’? This was the situation for Lennie Small in the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck. In the novel, Lennie works on a farm with his friend, George. George and other characters in the book trivialize and dismiss Lennie as crazy, instead of what he really was; mentally disabled with cases such as Autism, Asperger's, or even mild down syndrome. Lennie possess many characteristics that are very similar to those who have mental illnesses. Also, during the time that the novel Of Mice and Men was published, these illnesses
First of all, Steinbeck uses characterization and symbolism to address ableism in society. Lennie’s characterization, in precise, addresses ableism. On page 40 Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck writes “‘ I used to have a hell of a lot of fun with ‘im. Used to play jokes on ‘im ‘cause
During the Great Depression, the Western United States was a bleak and dreary place. Much of the working population at the time were migrant workers, who worked as farmhands for wealthier farm owners. These migrant workers often suffered from terrible working conditions, and horrendously low wages. As George and Lennie drift from job to job in search of liveable conditions and steady pay, they experience the cruel reality that moving up in society is near impossible. Even when George manages to find stable occupations for he and Lennie, Lennie seems to inevitably cause a disturbance, forcing them to abscond immediately. With the strength of an ox, but the mind of a child, Lennie is an oblivious destroyer, who gets little sympathy from
People with mental disabilities are often unaware of how to handle difficult situations causing them to commit unintentional actions, leading other people to enforce a capital punishment among them. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, this theme is represented throughout the life of Lennie. The story depicts the character Lennie with some mental disabilities that affected his journey in many ways, which led to many incidents and unfortunately his death as well. While it is understandable that people may want to punish the disabled for their crimes, capital punishments of those who are mentally disabled, including Lennie, should not be enforced and therefore be spared.
Lennie is “jes’ like a kid. There ain’t no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he’s so strong” (Steinbeck 43). His problem is, he does not know of his own strength and does not know how to control it in certain cases, especially when he is frightened. For example, when Curley attacked Lennie, Lennie grabbed onto Curley’s hand and held on. He was so frightened he could not let go, busting every bone in Curley’s hand. Lennie “didn’t wanna hurt him” but he is just too strong (Steinbeck 64). Later in the story, Lennie’s incredible strength causes two deaths, first he kills a puppy and then Curley’s wife. Lennie didn’t mean to kill the puppy, he explained that he “was jus’ playin’ with him… an’ he made like he’s gonna bite me… an’ I made like I was gonna smack him... an’… an’ I done it. An’ he was dead” (Steinbeck 87). Lennie was worried after he killed the puppy because he thought George wasn’t going to let him tend to the rabbits when they bought the farm. Shortly after Lennie killed the puppy, he killed Curley’s wife. He likes to touch soft things and when she lets him touch her hair, “she jerked her head sideways and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on” (Steinbeck 91). She started to scream, which made Lennie panic. He tried to get her to be quiet “and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (Steinbeck 91). After he