Friendship is not vital for human survival. In fact, humans could live perfectly fine without it, but there are times when having someone to talk to is mentally beneficial. Two Ranch hands named George Milton and Lennie Small go to a Ranch in search of money and a better life during the Great Depression in the novel, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. The theme that having a friend during difficult times is greatly beneficial, is shown through the dialogue and interactions between the pairs George and Lennie and George and Slim, a jerkline skinner.
During the Great Depression, it was rare for individuals to have friends--or at least someone to talk to. Ignoring this particular trend, George and Lennie are one of those rarities who are willingly capable of looking out for one another. Before George and Lennie arrived at the ranch, they were sitting by a fire talking. Lennie, afraid that George was mad at him (for various miniscule problems), repeated a quote of which George was partially
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It was rare for someone to care about another person's worries and comfort them making the following situation a great example of George and Slim ’ s friendship. George had just put his best friend to peace when all the men who were previously searching for the now lifeless Lennie appeared. George was in tremendous shock. Slim observing the situation and concluding what happened, went to George, offered him a drink, and told him “‘You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me. (107)’” Slim, going against the trend of only Caring about oneself, attempted to alleviate the shock of the poor ranch hand. Slim was trying to reassure the man, telling him that it was necessary for him to kill the man-- that it was better that way. By doing this, Slim is aiding George's mental state. Slim is keeping George sane and making sure that George does not drown in a bottomless pit of guilt. Only a friend would attempt to do such an
At this point in time George is still acting as if everything is fine and that their friendship is as strong as ever. George having the gun tries to shoot Lennie many times before he actually does so, “George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the round again.” He cannot bring himself to do it as they’ve been friends for so long. Loneliness rules the end of the novel as George had been a character with support throughout the novel but now he has murdered Lennie and therefore he doesn’t have someone he can properly trust. When the workers find George they assume that he got the gun off Lennie and shot him in self-defense so only Slim really knows what has happened. Slim is the only one that really understands the friendship between George and Lennie and this is significant at the novels ending, “Never you mind. A guy got to sometimes.”
At this point, George is tentative, but encouraged to open up to Slim about the trouble Lennie had in Weed and why they had to leave. “He wanted to talk. Slim neither encouraged nor discouraged him. He just sat back quiet and receptive.” (39) Not only did the men at the ranch look to Slim as their boss during working hours, but also as the ultimate authority for situations in their private time.
Every ranch they go to, Lennie manages to mess something up, even though he doesn’t mean to do it. He isn’t able to control his actions. That being said, George knows that the sooner he can end this, the sooner he can go on to live a normal life. Whether that’s what George wants or not, he knows that this is what’s best for Lennie. Just like Slim tells George after Lennie kills Curley’s wife, “An’ s’pose they lock him up an’ strap him and put him in a cage. That ain’t no good, George” (Steinbeck 97). When Slim says something, you know it’s right, so when George hears Slim say this, he knows what he has to do. He isn’t doing a bad thing, he’s doing what’s best for
George appreciates Slim’s mature demeanor and views him somewhat as a holy figure. Slim reciprocates his friendship towards George by gifting Lennie a puppy from his liter. George asks a favor from Slim and thanks him saying, “It wasn’t much to you, maybe, but it was a hell of a lot to him” (38). George acts as a God-like figure towards Lennie because he takes care of him and Lennie in return praises him. No human being would commit a murder, killing the one they loved, if the two had a healthy relationship, which was one that George and Lennie possessed.
George confides to Slim about his past due to Slim’s overall demeanor and his his acts of welcoming and of praise.T This is the first appearance of Slim in the book, and the image that sticks to George. Through further interaction, Slim earns George's trust with his authority among the others on the ranch. This quote shows how Slim praises Lennie for his hard work. George sees this is as a sign of welcome for both himself and Lennie, causing George to further entrust Slim. In conclusion, Slim’s appearance, authority and appreciation of Lennie’s work results in George revealing aspects of his past to Slim.
Slim said, 'You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with” (Steinbeck 106). George lied about how he killed Lennie to Slim and Curley but they still believed him because George is well respected and trusted by the other characters. George’s respect from others shows his power and dominance over other characters in Of Mice and
Slim is a wise character, which is shown through indirect characterization. The narrator writes, “‘Never you mind,’ said slim. ‘A guy got to sometimes.(Steinbeck, 107) ’” Slim has now taken the upper hand in dealing with the aftermath of George killing Lennie. Comforting him, telling him that it is okay as it was absolutely necessary for Lennie to be put to death. This shows that he is wise since being comforting and realistic are both characteristics of a wise person. Slim being wise is very important to the plot for characters such as Candy, George, Curley, Carlson etc. Always come to him for advice.
At the end of the chapter Sim says “ you hadda George I swear you hadda.” (107).This helps the reader realize this because Slim is god like and his opinions are law meaning that he would've had to do it anyways. What Slim was probably the best thinking is that any other way would've been worse. Lennie either would've died of starvation or he would've been killed by Curley, and even if that didn't happen he would be lynched they would've ran into the same problem in another town.
In this quote, Carlson and Slim are telling Candy to shoot his dog because he’s old and crippled. Candy looks to Slim for help, which reveals how people trust Slim and are reliant on him. At the end of the book, Slim comforts George and says, “You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me” (Steinbeck 107).
He was always there for him when Lennie was in trouble and needed help, when Lennie didn’t know what to do at all. George would sometimes get frustrated but he was never actually mad at Lennie. Lennie said, "I thought you was mad at me, George." "No," said George. "No, Lennie, I ain't mad. I never been mad, and I ain' now. That's a thing I want ya to know."(Steinback). George was never mad at Lennie and he always loved him. If Lennie was to leave George then that would break George’s heart. Since at the camp fire before they went to the new farm George said he didn’t want Lennie to ever leave his side. After George shot Lennie he would just weep and cry for a long time. Even Slim knew George Heart was broken so he had to comfort him. Since Slim knew that George and Lennie were best buddies. Slim came directly to George and sat down beside him, sat very close to him. "Never you mind," said Slim. "A guy got to sometimes."(Steinback). By saying this Slim is trying comfort George the best he can so George could feel better and no be to down. Even Slim knew that what George had to do was very hard for him and Slim knew that he couldn’t understand what George is going through right now. So Slim just says what what he knows so George can feel better. George really loved and cared for Lennie and he was always there for Lennie even though they were always getting in trouble because of Lennie, but even though after all that time they still stuck together thick and thin because they both loved and cared for each
He is portrayed as a leader, understanding, caring, and level headed. Slim is also known as the “Prince of the ranch”. He is a leader because he keeps the guys in line and helps them with problems. He also he drives the mules when the wagon is loaded with the barley. He is also known to be very understanding because he understands the relationship that George and Lennie have together. He realizes that they have a special bond together like no other. He also cares about his fellow workers and helps them with any problems they may have. For instance when George tells him why he and Lennie left weed and came to Soledad. Slim can also be called level headed because after Lennie killed Curley’s wife he was the calmest one and kept a calm clear mind and simply asked George if Lennie was capable of doing something like this. After Slim found out that Lennie was capable of doing this, Slim sighed, “Well I guess we got to go get im.”(Steinbeck 97) Slim also tried to keep Curley under control and calm, but it did not work. They then saddled up and went after
The last character Slim took isolation and loneliness and made them good by trying to understand what people go through and what they got to say. When george was sitting by Slim he starts talking and Slim just listened and talked back as if he understood, even when George confessed that he lied to the boss about Lennie getting kicked in the head by a horse. In this novel isolation made Crooks and Candy sad and mean; but Slim took it and listened to what people had to say and how they felt and understood
Despite society's stereotypes Slim welcomed Lennie. As George explained to Slim how Lennie behaved he just “sat back quiet and receptive” (39). It portrays that Slim is a caring person and doesn't care how other people see him. They also
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the author uses friendship to establish a theme and emphasizes that friendship is essential for all. The main protagonist in the story, George, is friends with a mentally disabled fellow named Lennie. The two characters have a common dream of acquiring a piece of land, yet there are many obstacles that hinder their progress. In the end of the novel, George was obligated to kill Lennie, since Lennie compromised all attempts of accomplishing their dream and was the main complication in George’s life. The author depicts friendship as an essential ingredient for happiness, yet in the absence of friendship, loneliness and despair are present, causing some characters to desperately attempt to obtain it.
Many conflicts start to pull George and Lennie apart throughout the whole book. George gets tired of dealing with all the bad thing Lennie does, therefore he ends up killing his best friend as much as he did not want to. When Lennie killed Curley’s wife George knew it was over so George decided to put a end to his missery before someone else killed him. George is forced to shoot Lennie in the back of the head because of the incident that occured. The men do not understand why a best friend would kill another best friend so they all leave in confusion. The only person who understands is Slim. Slim knows what George goes through and understands why he did it. Friendship has to end somewhere no matter how deep the friendship is.