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. George was a good friend to Lennie because he cares for him. Lennie’s aunt died a while back and George promised her that he would take care of Lennie no matter what. George was not forced to watch over Lennie, he made a choice and stuck with it. Also, Lennie was holding a dead mouse and he was petting it. George saw and threw it across the pool. (page 6) He did that so Lennie wouldn’t get sick or a disease. Finally, George and Lennie went to work on a farm and there was a woman. She was a man named Curley’s wife. George had heard that she was trouble and told Lennie to stay away from her so that he wouldn’t get hurt. George saved Lennie and backed him up all through the novella. In the old town they lived in, Lennie got …show more content…
Yes, that is not something a good friend would do, but he had good reason. If George didn’t kill Lennie, the other guys would’ve taken him and torchered him and made him die a painful death. George didn’t want that to happen so before he killed Lennie, he comforted him by telling him the things he wanted to hear and made his last moments enjoyable. George talked to Lennie about the farm that they were going to own together and how much fun they were going to have. Then he had no choice but to shoot him. If they had ran, Curley and his men would’ve chased them until he finally caught them, and being on the run for the rest of your life and having to look over your shoulder everyday for the rest of your life would be
Lennie and George are polar opposites, and, throughout the whole novel, it seems very unlikely for the two of them to continue helping each other. Against all odds, however, the two main characters stick together throughout the whole ordeal; from becoming unemployed to Lennie killing Curley’s wife, the two longtime friends never leave each others side. As exemplified by this quote said by Lennie: “George wun’t go away and leave me. I know George wun’t do that.” it is clear that he values George’s friendship and he is confident in this that he does not believe that George would leave him. Lennie’s other half, George, also, very clearly, value their friendship and puts George’s well being above his; killing Lennie was probably the hardest decision George could’ve made, but he still did it in consideration of his friend. George didn’t want to see Lennie suffer at the hands of Curley (Curley would probably torture Lennie in some way), so he performs what can be considered as a “mercy kill”. The friendship the two companions share is a bond that cannot be broken, not even by
George and Lennie had gone through so much together, in chapter 3 it shows ‘“When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me working.”’ George said. (Steinbeck 40). They stuck together for a long time and became very close. When George talked about the time he told Lennie to jump off a bridge into water and Lennie actually did it, you can see how the two of them were close.
George says on page 40 “Tell you what made me stop”. Hurting and joking with Lennie. This shows George's soft spot for Lennie from when he was younger. All of these things show why George even started helping Lennie in the first place. After George started to take Lennie he got so used to him and the plans that they had made
George took Lennie in after Lennie’s aunt died. George knew his aunt pretty well. Lennie had nowhere to go afterwards, so George let Lennie come along with him. George wasn’t always nice to Lennie in the beginning. George would tease him and trick him. Lennie didn’t know any better than to listen to George, even if it was a taunt. After an incident happened to Lennie, George stopped tormenting him. He felt bad for Lennie and how he treated him. From this moment on, George actually took into consideration of Lennie’s mindset. In the book, Steinbeck writes,
He knew that it was his responsibility to kill Lennie. He killed Lennie because he was responsible for him. George also killed him because he did not want to feel guilty or bad like Candy. George also didn’t want Lennie to have a painful death by the hands of Curley’s gang. He knew that it would be best for him and Lennie for him to do it himself. He wanted Lennie to feel comfortable and he wanted to tell him how he felt. George says “No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad an’ I ain’t now. That’s a thing I want you to know”(Steinbeck 106). George did the right
He still sticks by Lennie's side in the name of their friendship and brotherhood, understanding that Lennie on his own would not be able to care for himself. Based on the evidence presented, it shows that George is willing to protect his friend Lennie through hardship and at cost to himself because he truly cares for his friend and will stay with him till the end of the line. Later on, Lennie gets himself into more trouble, accidentally killing Curley’s wife, “Ain’t you gonna give me no more hell?” “No,” said George. “Well I can go away,” said Lennie.
Throughout the book we see an interesting bond between two very different men. George is similar to an older brother and has become responsible for Lennie. Because of his mental disorder Lennie is dependent on George and does whatever he says. They both had plans to spend their futures together. It was very difficult for George to kill Lennie, but he did it out of him love for him, which made it even harder. In that moment it is clear how much George really cares for Lennie. Though their friendship comes an appealing finish it is evident that both characters are extremely close to each other and would go to extreme lengths for one
George and Lennie were best friends. They were always together, and were always there for each other. Later in the book, we find out that they want to buy a farm together. George told Lennie he could help with the rabbits. As you see, they even had a future planned out. Some may say them being friends doesn’t matter, and it is better than a stranger killing
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.
In life you have good friends and bad friends,which includes many types of friendships.An example of friendship can be found in John Steinbeck’s novella “Of Mice and Men”. The two main characters George and Lennie seemed to have a good friendship.After reading and analyzing this novella, I believe that George overall was not a good friend to 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.
One of the main reasons that we feel sympathy for Lennie is because he is intellectually disabled. He hasn’t the ability to learn or remember much, he cannot live independently, he needs to have someone to look after him and make sure he doesn’t step out of line or get in to trouble, this person happens to be George, we feel sympathy for him for having Lennie tied to him, Lennie also feels Sympathy for George and cannot bear to see George angry at him, George says to Lennie in the first chapter “god a’ mighty, if I was alone I could live so easily. I could get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at al, an when the end of the month come I could take my fifty buck and go into town and get whatever I want” and Lennie says” George if you want I should go away and leave you alone “ which tells us that he also feels sorry for George.
Lennie would not get in trouble again or forget what he has to do. For
To George and Lennie, having a friend with them is really lucky, but their luckiness didn 't last very long. At the end of the book, George shot Lennie at the back of his head. That was one of George’s two choices: let Curley kill Lennie or kill Lennie by himself. Like a father, George thought it’s his responsibility to kill Lennie to payback the life of
I could also notice when I was reading through the first chapter that George has a sense of authority over Lennie, “you gonna get that wood”. This is like a parent telling a child to do his chores. On some occasions though George shows a bit of hatred towards Lennie, he thinks of what he could have if Lennie wasn’t around and contrasts that with George.