The Role Of Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Lennie is a large slow and a bit childish due to his mental disability. George is small, rough, bright but short tempered man that travels and cares for lennie. On page 14 George was talking to Lennie about how guys like them are lonely, they have no family or place to go. Unlike themselves they have a future and theycare for eachother. Then lennie says happily “But not us! Ah’ why? Because.. Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you and that's why” this shows that George and lennie have each other's back and they're basically each other's family and if they ever got lost or separated, they had a specific spot to go find each other so they wouldn't have to worry where they would be.

    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,

I think tha the theme of “friendship is necessary for human survival” is very true for Lennie and George. George is there to make sure that Lennie doesn’t get into any trouble. With-out George, Lennie would be consitantly forgetting things. Without Lennie, George would have no one. Even if Lennie annoys him, Georg needs Lennie. With eachother they can make one an-others lives better. “Ok, ok. I’ll tell ya again. I ain’t got nothing better to do. Might jus’ as well spen’ all my time tellin’ you things and then you forget ‘em, and I tell you again.” (pg. 6) This shows that Lennie constantly needs to be remind of things and even if it bothers George he will still help because it’s somene he

As Thomas Aquinas states, “There is nothing on this earth more prized than true friendship.” Friends cheer each other up when they are sad and support them when they are happy. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, two migrant workers, George and Lennie, arrive as newcomers on the ranch. Throughout the story, different problems are thrown their way, and their friendship is tested with each one. George shows how true friendship requires sacrifice because friends sacrifice personal freedom, they protect each other, and they sacrifice emotional energy.

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.

To begin, Lennie provides George with a sense of family and companionship during their journey. George becomes

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.

In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie have an extremely close relationship throughout the story. George is a good caregiver to Lennie because George has always been by his side throughout the struggles they both face. He always seems to have something positive to say about Lennie. However, he is not a very good caregiver to Lennie because George lacks understanding of Lennie and gets frustrated very easily. Early on in the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, it really shows how strong George and Lennie’s friendship is.

He knows that he has given up the life of a free man. He knows that he

Nolan O’Shea Ms. McBride Freshman Honors English 09 April 2024. In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, the theme of friendship is portrayed by responsibility and sacrifices, as seen through the relationship between George and Lennie. George and Lennie both have to make commitments and sacrifices for each other throughout the book in order to retain their relationship. John Steinbeck wrote this novel during the Great Depression, a period of economic struggle where everyone had to make sacrifices for themselves and others.

’Well I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is,” (22). The friendship between George and Lennie is strong enough for them to travel together even when they are poor and criticized for traveling together in such a time of poverty. Their friendship is very

In the story, Of Mice and Men, friendship plays a major role in the way the story is told. George and Lennie is just a little part of the story. The reason George and Lennie are the main reason for this is because, George and Lennie take care of each other like no one else does. George and Lennie’s friendship is there because Lennie can’t take care of himself so George wanted to help Lennie do better in life. Another reason is that all the characters in “Of Mice and Men” is that they never had another person on their side through their life.

Do you ever fight with your longtime best friend over something huge, and end up losing them in the aftermath? George and Lennie have been traveling with each other for a long time, but as they are on the verge of their dream Lennie goes and messes it up, which causes George to have to do something he never wanted to do. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, it has a common theme of friendship. Friendship is what carries people throughout their lives, and without it life could be very hard. George’s friendship was the only reason why Lennie had survived all this time as seen through the conflict .

This shows how friendship is always important because they are always there for you. George is very good at making friends and is good at helping other even Lennie. The story of mice and men by John Steinbeck reveals that friends stick together no matter what challenges they come upon through George.

George has a friendship with Lennie, George can be alone do everything by himself but he prefers to be with Lennie. George can do anything alone but he needs someone to be there with him. According to the book “If you don’t want me, you only ju’ got to say so, and I’ll go off in those hills right there right up in those hills and live by myself. An’ I won’t get no mice stolen from me.” “ George said, “I want you stay with me, Lennie.