Of Mice And Men: Eulogy For Lennie

When introduced he was described as “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders..”(2) Lennie has the mind of a child because of his mental illness. Whenever he talks in the story, his voice sounds innocent to me. At the end of the story Lennie ends up killing Curley’s wife on accident. George had told him to meet him by the Salinas river if he ever gets in any kind of trouble. He started to imagine a voice in his head. It was his Aunt Clara. She explains that he never takes care and that he does bad thing. His response “I tried and tried. I couldn’t help it.”(101) He was saying that he would go live in a cave and he’ll live there so he doesn’t cause anymore trouble. His conscious is saying “you’re always sayin’ that, an’ you know sonafabitching well you ain't never gonna do it.(101) In this chapter it makes me have so much sympathy for him because he’s thinking all these unkind things about himself and he just feels so hated, and lonely.

An important piece of information to understand when discussing this topic is that Lennie was handicapped. He had the mindset of a naive, clueless young child who was often frightened and not able to take care of himself properly.

Like a child, he is treated by a story when they stop for a break on the way to the farm and he whines for ketchup to be put on his beans. Furthermore, Lennie asks for a story about their future farm when they are trying to sleep which is a bit childish at Lennie’s age. In this story, there is little evidence of Lennie’s family. His aunt Clara appears at the end when he hides in the brush. When George and Lennie set out in the beginning, it mentions that George took Lennie in when his parents died.

Lennie is very stupid he doesn't understand normal things. People say he is very dumb and crazy. He speaks in properly and he forgets a lot. He describes him a lot at the beginning of the book. “Oh, I ain't saying he bright. “He ain't But I say he is a goddamn good worker.” This shows that Lennie is strong but he is dumb. Pg 22

Lennie is a very unitelligent man with lots of strength, and he is only living the way he is used to which causes him to experience isolation. He doesn't remember much other than a future dream of him tending rabbits on a farm. His best friend, George, takes care of him. He also kills Curley's wife because he was told to

“I'm going for my shotgun. Ill kill the son-of-a-bitch myself.” (Steinbeck 96). In the book, Of Mice and Men, Curley shows that he is an aggressive person. He wants to hurt Lennie, Lennie doesn't realize there is a problem because he has a disability so he is not as bright as the other men. At the end of the story, Lennie makes a very bad mistake and in response he gets killed because he becomes a danger to other men. Mercy killing in Lennie's situation was the better choice because his friend George shot him. George was putting him out of his misery, if George wouldn't have killed Lennie then Curley would have. Through the whole book Curley talks about his hatred for Lennie, and at the end he shows it by threatening Lennie's

He has a huge heart, and nothing but good intentions. He wouldn’t want to hurt a fly, but he ends up hurting everyone he touches. To say Lennie is misunderstood is an understatement. He lives a life hidden under his infirmities. In the story, Curley despises Lennie due to his large size.

When he talks, you can tell he is slow. He is unique because Lennie has shown that he is a good friend by being caring to George and always sticking by his side. Even if George is mean to Lennie, Lennie is always loving towards George. Lennie makes sure to always obey George’s wishes and make him happy. Lennie tells Curley’s wife that he has to obey George by not talking to her, “George says I ain’t to have nothing to do with you or anything, He says I can’t tend no rabbits if I talk to you or nothin” (Steinbeck 86).

After he kills Lennie he is just like everybody else: lonely. Guys like George and Lennie “are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake, and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch” (Steinbeck 13). Nonetheless, George and Lennie were completely unique compared to the other men because they have each other. They are some of the only people on the ranch who have dreams and aspirations that they want to accomplish. For example having their own land, or as Lennie likes to call it “live off the fatta the land” (Steinbeck 14). They look out for one another and try to make sure that the other person is successful like brothers. An example of them looking out for each other would be when George and Lennie head over to the boss’ office to apply for the job. Before entering the room, George tells Lennie not to say anything for fear that he will lose his chances of obtaining the job. George even tells the boss how good of worker and how strong Lennie is. Lennie and George were also different from the rest of the men in a sense that they traveled together, which was unheard of back then. As stated by George innumerable times, they are different from the other men “because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look

In the begin of the novel we are first introduced to Lennie and his childish acts when he submerges his head into a river that has stagnant water. He takes enormous gulps of water while George exclaims, “Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t drink so much”, but Lennie just keeps on drinking from the stagnant water. George follows up by saying, “Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night” (3). Furthermore, only moments later George has to yell at Lennie because he insists on carrying a dead mouse around with him. In essence, Lennie acts childish and needs the help of George to keep him in line.

Steinbeck portrays friendship through different character interactions along with the thoughts of others, while eliminating loneliness with company. Lennie and George’s relationship, shows the special companionship that is present with their constant presence. With Lennie’s handicaps, George takes the responsibility of protecting these social incapability’s by being an advocate for their job interview at the ranch (Steinbeck 22). This created relationship, exposes many factors of caring along with the security of being in each other’s presence. Another way Steinbeck demonstrates the importance of friendship is through internal conflict between Crooks, who craves this relationship bond. Cooks explains the Lennie, “S’pose you didn’t have nobody.

Lennie is George’s companion throughout the story, travelling with George wherever he goes. He is mentally impaired, as he has not matured past the mindset

Lennie was a strong, but mentally ill person. He was George’s friend and travel buddy .He faced many problems because of his size. Lennie didn’t care what others thought of him and always wanted to stay out of trouble. His characteristics were: strong, loved to pet soft things, mentally ill, not smart, careless, and fearful.

When times are hard having a loyal companion can make the ride easier. Friends are valuable in periods of strife because you can talk it out and it’s not lonely. George and Lennie traveled together from farm to farm, with the dream of buying a farm. In “Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck emphasizes the theme of friendship through the character of George and Lennie as they travel together, care for one another, and strive to attain their dream ranch.

Lennie is a mentally disabled man he is obsesses over soft things. He loves to pet puppies and even dresses. In spite Lennie’s innocents, he can also be very violent because he is unable to control his physical strength. Lennie has the same dream as George to have their own land so that Lennie can tend the rabbits. Lennie know he is incapable to his own decisions by himself so he tends to rely on George.