Lennie's Lessons

‘Of Mice and Men’ is a novel about two men and their struggle to reach their dreams of owning their own ranch. George Milton and Lennie Small are best friends, and in despite of their differences they still manage to work together, travel together and tackle anything that gets in their way. Steinbeck uses nearly all of the characters in this novel to stress the importance of having a friend.

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.

John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men follows the journey of two men, George Milton and Lennie Small, who struggle through the navigation of working on a ranch in California and fulfilling their dreams together during a time of financial depression. The novel begins with George and Lennie traveling through the California wilderness to get to a new ranch just south of Soledad where they are going to begin new work. They had to leave their previous jobs in a town called Weed because Lennie had caused trouble with a girl by holding on to her red dress because he wanted to feel it, and this incident spiraled into rape allegations against Lennie. As George and Lennie make their way to the new ranch, Lennie; who is a large, but simple minded man; found a dead mouse and wanted to keep it to pet because he likes soft things. George, who is more serious and protects Lennie, takes the mouse away from him because even though it’s dead, he should not be messing with it. Lennie often does not realize his strength because of his mental incapabilities and as a result, he causes a lot of trouble and harm. George finds taking care of Lennie to be taxing, but he knows that their friendship is an important bond that he does not want to be without. In order to comfort Lennie in the wilderness, George tells the story of their shared dream to own their own ranch where they can follow their own rules and live as they please. When they finally arrive at the ranch the next day, George and Lennie

Good friendships make life easier. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two men, George and Lennie, who go on various journeys in order to get a job. Although George would consider Lennie to be his closest friend, he ultimately ends up shooting and killing Lennie. George did this, not out of hatred, but rather out of protection. A good friend will always want what is best for one another. Steinbeck uses his protagonists’ friendship in order to show that true friendship can help make any of life’s hardships less difficult.

Everyone has dreams, big and small. When one dreams, there is a scent of whimsical hope in the air mixed with the powerful drive for success to obtain their luminous goals. But, many times these luscious dreams end up in grief and pain instead of a promised joy due to the hurdles in life, such as the certain circumstances that society professes or the flaws in a person that restrains them from their aspirations. The writer, John Steinbeck, incorporates this ideology in his novella, Of Mice and Men by creating three pivotal characters. Lennie, Crooks, and George all have schemes that go wrong, and yet hope to illustrate their desires of fulfilling their American Dream and to be prosperous for their own independent purposes.

For instance, George told Lennie if anything ever happens to meet him at the brush by the river. This shows George’s nurturing instincts toward Lennie. Although the act alone was tough, when someone loves someone so much they often do things to protect them even though it hurts. Critics say that if George loves Lennie as much as he said, he could have avoided killing him. His love for Lennie is evident after he witnesses Candy’s reaction to his dog’s death and Candy’s words “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog”(Steinbeck 61). George takes it upon himself to make sure Lennie dies with happy thoughts. He makes sure Lennie leaves the earth with happy thoughts by telling him about their dream house with animals and farmland. “An we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens… an’ down the flat we’ll have a … little piece alfalfa” (Steinbeck 105). People think that George and Lennie could have escaped from the men on the ranch but, even if they did, deep down George knows the American of which they had dreamt would never come true. George knows in his heart he could not let the men on the ranch kill Lennie. He knows this based on Candy’s experience with his dog. George wants to make sure Lennie does not die alone and in

“‘Ain’t gonna be no more trouble. Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from ‘em.’ ‘Le’s do it now. Let’s get that place now’” (106). These are the last words that filled the air between George and Lennie, their last exchange preceding a pivotal moment in both of their lives. They conversation calms and soothes Lennie, who hopes to finally get the farm that he and George dreamed about for so many years. Yet unbeknownst to him, Lennie would soon be set free from his earthly bonds by his long-time friend; a bullet, shot from the barrel of George’s gun, would enter Lennie’s head and kill him instantly. That bullet was not one of self-gain and moral disrepute, but one of freedom and liberation from worldly restraints. While this remains a hotly contested topic in classrooms reading Of Mice and Men, George’s intentions in killing Lennie were overwhelmingly good-natured.

"Of Mice and Men" is a book about two men and their struggle to achieve their dream of owning a small ranch through their companionship. The two men are completely different, one being a retarded fellow (Lennie), and the other, a typical ranch hand(George) who travels with him. On the path to achieving their dream, they run into obstacles, but stick together, stressing the importance of true friendship. Steinbeck wrote this book to tell us how important it is to have a friend to share your life with.

On multiple occasions, the need for companionship using George's relationship with Lennie is portrayed throughout the novel by John Steinbeck. This is first done by showing how George cannot stand the thought of him and Lennie being separated. Lennie says, "'Cause I can jus' as well go away George an' live in a cave." "You can jus' as well go to hell," George responded. (Steinbeck 16) This suggests that George depends on Lennie too, but emotionally rather than mentally. Additionally, the author shows that no matter what Lennie does, George still loves him. George says, "No, Lennie. I ain't mad. I never been mad, an' I ain't now. That's a thing I want ya to know." (Steinbeck 106) This passage implies that though Lennie may have been a nuisance,

Everyone has life lessons to learn, and Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck is about two men, one mentally disabled. They get ran out of their town, and went to find a new start and to live the American Dream, but tradagy strikes when Lennie murders Curley's wife leaving George with two options, kill Lennie or let Curley get ahold of him. A true friend wouldn't want them to get brutally beaten to death. Of Mice And Men has taught us about friendship, loalty, and broken dreams. To begin, Of Mice And Men has taught us about friendship by sticking together even if it means getting into trouble, for example "An why?

John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men features a variety of characters who found it extremely difficult to survive during the Great Depression era. In order to make even a very basic living, workers were forced to migrate from farm to farm. Steinbeck’s two central characters, George Milton and Lennie Small, are migrant workers in search of the Great American Dream. The novel focuses on their three day journey, where they encounter other men who heavily influence their lives. The most influential of these men is Slim, the “Prince” of the Soledad Ranch. Together, George Milton, Lennie Small, and Slim prove that a true friendship consists of understanding, forgiveness, and wanting the best for one another.

In this case, George learned this the hard way. Once Lennie did the last bad thing he could do, George knew that he had to decide whether he wanted to struggle or survive, the American dream was no longer an option for them, at least not together. Was George finds Lennie, Lennie says, “you ain’t gonna leave me, are ya, George? I know you aint.”(Page.103 line 2-3) This quote proves how even Lennie knows that George has been held back by him. That day, after Lennie killed their boss’s wife, he knows that he can’t continue on with him.

“To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with” (Mark Twain). In the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie create a special bond that will be tested by trying to achieve their American Dream. However certain factors get in the way, of not only friendship, but of achieving the American Dream. Through the character of George, Steinbeck shows that issues outside the control of an individual often limit the achievement of an individual’s dreams.

The essence of human survival is dependant on the bond and the state of feeling belonged, that is evident in a friendship shared amongst two individuals. To live without the experience of friendship is life without living. Friendship is a necessity to survival, but developed friendships are the base to a bond that cannot be broken. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the characters all seek the desire for companionship, although only the strongest accomplish a friendship, whereas the others find themselves living in solitude. Despite the atrocious acts Lennie commits that constantly puts Lennie in trouble, George jeopardizes his position in order to get Lennie out of the troubles he created, therefore will prevent the potential loss of George’s only companion, Lennie.

A story of two men with a strong bond find hardship in having to help each other while one is smart and can easily survive on his own has to help his friend that can't help himself.  Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck is a well written piece based on two men named George and Lennie who have a close bond to each other that find work on a ranch. George is described as being slim and sharp and his partner Lennie is described as being large and not very smart. Lennie gets him and George in trouble often for doing things he doesn’t know not to do. These two make their way to a ranch they will be working on and meet all the other workers and the boss. To ensure they will get to stay George tells Lennie not to say a word. George and Lennie have a very unique and close friendship, this makes them vulnerable though, because Lennie gets in trouble and drags George along with him. George stays with Lennie because he knows Lennie wouldn’t survive on