Innocence is a theme that few people in the world possess. In the times of John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, written in 1937 innocence was an even rarer trait than today. However Lennie is one of those few whose innocence was preserved throughout the novel. Because of his immature traits like Childish behavior, naivety, and devotion Lennie goes on to be one of the strongest moral characters in the novel Of Mice and Men. Lennie is very childish throughout this story. For a grown man Lennie has proven to be the most childish. In chapter one when Lennie and George are walking to the ranch, they decide to stop and have a drink. While Lennie is bent down to drink he notices his splashing makes ripples in the water. “Lennie dabbed his big …show more content…
He thinks that he can yell at her and she will wake up, when that fails he decides to hide her body under some straw and runs for his hiding place. Lennie doesn’t understand what he has done wrong, or that he even did anything wrong. Through this Lennie shows how truly naïve he can be through his inappropriate actions. Not all of Lennie’s traits are detestable as Lennie also possesses the trait of devotion, a very admirable trait. Lennie proves time and again in Of Mice and Men how devoted he is to his brother-like friend, George. As stated previously, Lennie is a very childish and naïve individual making him slow to anger. That is why it is so remarkable the intensity of the anger and almost malice he has towards Crooks when he threatens the one person Lennie is devoted to most, George. “Lennie’s eyes centered and grew quiet and mad. He stood up and walked dangerously towards crooks. ‘Who hurt George?’ He demanded.” (Steinbeck 72). In just a short period of time Lennie went from a calm talk to Crooks to a near brawl over a “what if” scenario that had not even happened to George. Lennie would have fought to protect the person he puts on a pedestal. While Lennie is not the brightest character he does prove his devotion to George time and again. Lennie is an ingenuous man, innocent in all of the ways in the world. Due to him being slightly slower than others because of a
Lennie’s inability to think for himself and know the difference between right and wrong is most apparent in his actions when he talks. Even though Lennie’s physical strength makes him appear to be a person of power, his physical strength is the only form of power that he possesses. Lennie is constantly powerless against his mind’s perception that limits him to behave in a child-like manner against the consequences of his actions. For example, he knows that he needs to act correctly and does not want to do bad things, however he lacks the mental capability of an adult that lets him differentiate what’s right from wrong causing him to rely on George for protection and guidance.
Throughout Of Mice and Men, George never leaves Lennie’s; however, George does not seem to like being around Lennie: it is a responsibility he accepts. In one scene at the beginning of the book, George grows intensely frustrated with Lennie and begins a lecture which leads into a one-sided fight. They settle down for the night next to a river, when one insignificant question from Lennie sets George over the edge. He chides Lennie about how he holds him back instead of pushing him forward, and rants, “‘You can’t keep a job and you lose me every job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. An’ that ain’t the worst. You get in trouble’” (11). As George berates Lennie, he gives the impression that he does not enjoy being with Lennie and instead, treats Lennie like he is an unintelligent child and grudgingly takes him in. If George claims to be a suitable friend of Lennie,
Due to child like qualities, Lennie is a person which would be easy prey and a vulnerable person. Lennie is a vulnerable person who is quite dumb. His has an obsession for touching soft thing and this will often lead him in to trouble. But
Lennie's character exhibits a rather childlike manner. He seems to do and see things like a child. His pleasures are those of an innocent youngster. For example, in the first chapter, he delights in making the water ripple, and he is content to pet a dead mouse.
Lennie is mentally disabled and so always ‘does bad things’, because of this, he constantly depends on George to protect him and get him out of trouble. For example, in Weed, Lennie constantly ‘wants to touch
In the novel Of Mice and Men, Lennie is constantly battling himself. throughout the story, Lennie must learn and remember to fit in with the other characters who are much brighter than he is. In addition, he must learn how to follow rules he can 't remember. After Lennie killed Curley 's wife, Lennie begins to argue with himself saying “ “I done a real bad thing,” he said. “I shouldn’t of did that. George’ll be mad.An’…he said…an’ hide in the brush till he come. He’s gonna be mad. In the brush, till he comes and runs to the brush”. When Lennie goes to the bush. He yells at himself from an imaginary of Aunt Clara “I tried, Aunt Clara, ma’am. I tried and tried. I couldn’ help it.”, “You never give a thought to George,” she went on in Lennie 's Voice. “He been doin’ nice things for you alla time. When he got a piece a pie you always got half or more’n half. An’ if they was any
In Mice And Men, there are a variety of characters that have many different personalities. Some are mean, kind, and there are some that are just plain jerks. One character in particular that has a distinct personality in Mice And Men, is Lennie. Lennie is misjudged, underestimated, and treated unfairly just because he has a mental disability. Society and many different characters treat him differently in the book.
Lennie Small is a character that readers are drawn to right from the beginning of the book. His innocence stands out from the grimey coverings of loneliness and hopelessness that the other characters wear. The reason Lennie is so innocent is because he has a mental handicap, one that prevents him from understanding complex human emotions such as guilt, or concepts such as death. In addition Lennie has trouble remembering things, “" I tried and tried [to remember]...but it didn't do not good." Consequently, Lennie has trouble fitting in with society. Ultimately his mental disability is what leads to Lennie's demise at the end of the book. Another trait that is an essential part of Lennie's innocent character is his devotion to his closest friend George. In fact, the only times Lennie is shown to be angry is when George is insulted or threatened. When Crooks, the crippled, black, stable hand, implies bad things about George, this devotion is clearly shown. “Suddenly Lennie's eyes centered and grew quiet, and mad. He walked dangerously toward Crooks. 'Who hurt George?' he demanded" When it comes to George, Lennie would deviate from the normal passive motives of his persona. More support can be found when George is the only one who can convince Lennie to “get him[Curly]” when Curly attacks him, as well as being the only one to stop him. Perhaps the most prominent support for Lennie's childlike innocence is in his utter belief of George and his dream. No matter how
Lennie is the most sympathetic character in Of Mice and Men because he’s not very bright when it comes to things and happens to forget a lot. As George and Lennie are walking to go to a new ranch George asked Lennie
The problem with Lennie was that he was mentally disabled, back in the 1930's people did not understand things like that, and had no clue about disabled people. Lennie was sweet and loved thing that were soft. Lennie would put himself in very dangerous situations and with disability he lacked the capacity to control himself physically. Lennie did not understand how strong he was and they damage he would do until after the fact. He also shares the dream of having the small farm and tending to his small rabbit hutch. Since Lennie is mentally disabled he depends on George for almost everything. Lennie is like a small child that has to a have a parent nearby always or he will get into
Lennie’s kind heart throughout the book Of Mice and Men makes Lennie and George's relationship unbreakable. Lennie is always thinking about other people before himself; especially George. On page 72 of Mice and Men, Lennie says demandingly, “Who hurt George?” This quote shows the amount of love Lennie has for George. He is always thinking about George and Lennie wants to protect him. Never does Lennie want anyone to hurt or mess with George which shows how kind hearted Lennie is and how much he cares about others. The trait of being kind hearted affects the story because it shows the strong relationship that he has established with George and just how much Lennie cares about George. The kind heart that Lennie has can
In the book it says, “George lay back on the sand and crossed his hands under his head, and Lennie imitated him, raising his head to see whether he was doing it right.” I support this quote because I believe that it adds innocents to Lennie. This behavior relates to how children act when they are growing up and how they want to be exactly like their role model. Many people view little kids or babies as signs of innocents because they don’t think about their actions and are new to everything. This relates to Lennie because even though he appears to be this strong looking older man, he still has his inner-child
Lennie is judged because he acts childish and is labeled as immature. Lennie is imitating George: “He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right.”(Steinbeck 4). Lennie is trying to be exactly like George showing that he looks up to him, like children do.
Lennie is unquestioning in his loyalty to George. We see this in George’s anecdote about the Sacramento River. “‘Jump in.’ An’ he jumps”(P66) Lennie has a childlike obedience. Steinbeck shows us this in the fight between Lennie and Curley. Earlier on, George tells Lennie to not fight with Curley, Lennie remembers this and due to his childlike obedience, his “hands remained at his sides; he was too frightened to defend himself.”(P91). Once George tells Lennie to “Get him”(P91), Lennie immediately crushes Curley’s hand completely. Most mature people would know whether they should break the rules or not, because they wouldn’t get as badly hurt, but with Lennie, it is a different story. It is this childlike obedience that Steinbeck uses to show us how George needs to act as a parent towards Lennie.
Lennie isn´t the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, and right off the bat, I know plenty of people who aren´t very bright. Heś clueless, reckless, and slow in understanding. It is a shame, as he can not really help it because it is just