The Elements Of Faith In John Steinbeck's Mice And Men

     In Of Mice and Men, George shows the weight of responsibility on taking care of Lennie. George knows he could be better off without Lennie. “When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts,” George finally expresses. He even tells

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.

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.

George takes care of Lennie many ways. George has taken care of Lennie for a long time. George took him under his wing even though he didn’t need to. George genuinely cares for Lennie. He feeds him, makes sure he is safe, also he gives him hope. George is constantly watching Lennie. George is a good friend to Lennie; however, George gets annoyed with Lennie very easily. He does this to make sure he doesn’t get into trouble or lost. He never leaves him by himself. This is shown when Lennie offers to leave, but George tells him “I want you to stay with me Lennie”(Steinbeck 104). George really cares for Lennie.

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.

He can rarely think for himself and make his own decision. “I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you were by yourself” (Steinbeck, p. 14). George does not trust lennie to live by himself. He thinks Lennie would not be able to hold his own and get a job. George is sympathetic towards lennie so he lets lennie stay with him. Lennie Would make a mistake like touching a girl for too long and hurting her which would cause everyone to run after him and he could not do that without George. This makes us sympathetic toward george because he makes bad decisions and gets himself into a lot of

    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,

At this point in the novel, we have heard George mention twice that his life would be improved without Lennie. However, George still seems to feel a need to look out for Lennie. That said, he protects Lennie from conflict by explaining to everyone they meet that he is just a “big kid”.

George could have had a life if it weren’t for Lennie, and that was what he sacrificed. At the end of the book, George makes the decision to

First, before heading out to the ranch Lennie was about to run out of George's site but George told him “No, you stay with me. Your Aunt Clara wouldn't like you're running off by yourself.” (Steinbeck 13). This quote demonstrates a great relationship because it shows how George is looking out for Lennie and making sure that he did the right thing by staying back. Once again George shows the qualities of a good relationship is shown once again in the novel when George was about to get a job he demanded to Lennie and said “You ain’t gonna say a word. “You jus’ stand there and don't say nothing. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won't get no job.” (13). The quote from the Novel shows more of how George and Lennie realize that their relationship is held up by being able to make good decisions and listen to each other.Lastly George is making sure that he is sticking with him and not going off on his own because he knows that is the best thing for Lennie and he knows that Aunt Clara wants Lennie to be safe as well. “George said, I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody'd shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. No, you stay with me. Your Aunt Clara wouldn’t like you running off” (13).George is determined to always protect and insure that he will never be in a bad

George not only controlled Lennie but he also looked out for him and he wanted him to be happy. An example of this is how he constantly reminds Lennie of their dream,

In the story George’s character is revealed in how he treats Lennie. In the beginning of the book George is quick to be harsh and frustrated with taking care of Lennie. He is often verbally abusive to Lennie and considers Lennie a nuisance to have around. George is also hasty to remind Lennie of the ideal life he could have had without Lennie, full of cat houses, whisky, and card games. “‘Why, I could stay in a cat house all night. I could eat any place I want … and order any damn thing I could think of…. An’ whatta I got,’ George went on furiously. ‘I got you!’” (Steinbeck 12). Although George is quickly angered he is still grateful to have his friend, Lennie, to travel with. This gratitude becomes even more evident by the end of the story when George is prepared to kill Lennie. At this time George reflects on all of the wonderful effects Lennie

He would yell at Lennie and tell him if he didnt have him he could go and do as he pleased. When in reality George did not want these things. He was greatful to have a friend in Lennie, so he would not have to be alone. With Lennie's simple mind, he could not comprehend what George was talking about most of the time. He believed that George got upset over simple things such as ketchup. He too was very thankful to have George to go along with. Although he did not understand the complexity of things sometimes, he knew that he had a true friend who he trusted wouldnt leave him.

<br>A reader can understand very vividly from his actions and attitudes that George is sensible and able to think quickly in a situation. He seems to have a very good understanding of the nature of others, especially of their attitudes towards Lennie, for example, that if the boss hears Lennie talk and realises his handicapped, then it is unlikely they will get work. He also knows, to make Lennie repeat things two or three times over to himself, to help him remember, for example when he slowly repeats, "Hide in the brush till I come for you, can you remember that?" to Lennie. He also knows that Lennie is likely to do things and attempt to hide them, such as when Lennie appears from his walk in the woods, and is immediately suspected of smuggling a dead

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.