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

It was clear from the beginning of the book that Lennie had caused George a great amount of trouble in the long time the two had known each other. We learned that George and Lennie had been forced to run away from Weed because Lennie “wants to touch ever’thing he likes,” (Steinbeck, 41), and he grabbed a woman’s dress, and “the girl lets out a squawk,” (Steinbeck, 41), and all Lennie did was hold the dress tighter, which upset her so

George and Lennie have a strong bond of friendship that makes them both feel like they are actually somebody. For example, “ ‘I been mean ain’t I?’ ‘If you don’t want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time.’ ‘No—look! I was jus’ foolin, Lennie, cause I want you to stay with me.’” (p.14) This shows that George actually wants Lennie to be thought of as one of his friends, not as a doll that he can just kick around. The quote also shows that George cares for Lennie tremendously and really understands how Lennie feels. Secondly, Lennie feels the same way back at George “But not us! An’ why? Because…. Because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” (p.15). This is a good example

    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,

Even though George could have an easy life without Lennie, he chose to care for him. This can be shown when George expresses, “I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ, somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you were by yourself.” (Steinbeck 12). George would have never pulled the trigger if it wasn't in Lennie's best interest.

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.

A good friendship is needed to survive through tough times. Lennie respects George because George gives him comfort. George cares for Lennie so much that he considers him to be part of his family: “George said, he’s my cousin. I told his old lady id take care of him. He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid” (Steinbeck 22). Aside from comfort and advice, Lennie also needs George because when he gets in trouble, George always manages to find a way to help him get out of it. When Lennie had got in trouble in Weed, George stays by his side and gives him advice that helps remain safe and calm. George has many opportunities to leave Lennie and change his lifestyle, but he needs Lennie just as much in order to help him through his own hardships. Lennie looks

He protects Lennie the best he can. He tells his new coworkers that Lennie is his cousin and was kicked in the head by a horse as an excuse for walking around with him and his behavior. This also shows that Lennie and George have a strong relationship with one another as George is willing to lie in order to make sure he can still look after Lennie and make sure other people don’t bother him about his circumstances. There is a lot of respect shown between the two friends. Kindhearted acts such as this make the ending of the story harder to believe because George obviously will do anything to help Lennie, but ends up killing him, even though he believed it was for the

To do just because George is his friend. Lennie and George treat each other like they are

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 .

Even though George has Lennie in his life, it’s clear that in the writing of George’s character that he finds him bothersome and child-like, and a large body rather than a friend. This quote supports this recently mentioned theory; “Sure he’s jes’ like a kid, There ain't no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he's so strong.” (Steinbeck 43). This quote supports the idea that George is lonely. It supports it by showing the relationship dynamic between George and Lennie.

Coming from the known philosopher, Aristotle, “With true friendship, friends love each other for their own sake, and they wish good things for each other”(Knobel). In Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, there are numerous points of view and arguments over George and Lennie's friendship. The novella focuses on two farm workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, who struggle to keep their jobs and eventually move to a new ranch. With the dream of owning their own land one day, they plan on working there for a few months in hopes of Lennie not getting into trouble again. Lennie does not know his own strength and often gets himself into difficult situations without completely understanding what he did wrong. It is undoubtedly the reason George ends up fatally shooting Lennie in the end before Curley does. Although friendship involves looking out for one another, Steinbeck demonstrates that sometimes the most difficult decisions can be an act of love.

Lennie and George, the inseparable pair, are always travelling together. Some people living in 1930’s California find this fact a little bit odd, but to George and Lennie, it is second nature. In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the traditional views of friendship are challenged when the reader meets the main characters, one of whom is suffering from a disability that prohibits him from being able to learn and comprehend basic concepts such as remembering facts or following directions. The other friend, George Milton, grows increasingly frustrated with having to deal with the disability, and continually complains about it; regardless of that, Lennie Small and his lifelong friend George

Friendship is the most powerful force in the world. Through the stability of a friendship, daunting challenges seem to shrink in size and volatile emotions become controllable. In John Steinbeck’s tragedy Of Mice and Men, George makes an unfortunate sacrifice and kills his best friend Lennie Small. {To the outside observer, the sacrifice that George takes may appear to be a murder motivated by self-interest. At first, Lennie seems to be utterly useless and even detrimental towards George’s goals of finding a wife and settling down. George sometimes even flies into a rant on how his life would be better without his friend as a burden.} These claims make sense, but they ignore how almost all of George’s actions are done to make Lennie happier. While the two are on the ranch, George acts fiercely protective over Lennie, sheltering him from harm. He spares Lennie from a future filled with misery by

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.

In the novel Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck George is not a good friend of Lennie’s, instead he is a fake friend of Lennie’s and he pretends to care about him by being “nice”. George and Lennie are “Friends” because George promised Lennie's aunt that he would take care of him. Lennie is not very smart and needs to be closely watched and told what to do. Lennie likes mice because he likes to touch soft things. Lennie does not know his own strength and doesn't know when to stop. George is a smart person, and knows what he is doing. George and Lennie have been through a lot together. Before they moved to the ranch, Lennie touched a girls skirt making them have to leave and move to the ranch. Lennie did things that got him into trouble, for example Lennie does not know his own strength so when he was holding a mouse he crushed the mouses head. He also accidently killed a puppy, and he broke Curley's wife's neck causing her to die. George tries to keep Lennie out of trouble but sometimes that doesn't work out well.