The Vulnerability Of A True Friendship

In the beginning of Steinbeck’s novella, George and Lennie have set up camp and are starting to cook supper. Lennie annoys George by stating a simple luxury, and George recoils by exclaiming he could “live so easy. [He] could go get job an’ work, an’ no trouble” (11). After an explosion from George, like a

In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie and George have both similarities and differences that are revealed throughout the storyline. These comparisons and contrasts are used to explain their unique friendship and dependency on one another. The story begins with the description of their physical and intellectual differences and establishes their roles of who is the dominant one. The story shares the obstacles that have stood in the way of them obtaining their “American Dream” to own land, even if they if they have different motivations. The story concludes with the difficult choice that George makes to end Lennie’s life himself, out of his love for his friend.

When discussion moves to the bus tickets and work cards Lennie realises that he doesn’t have his. “He looked down at the ground in despair” which shows that he is ashamed and perhaps a little frightened of George’s reaction, but Steinbeck then goes on to say that George took responsibility for both of the work cards, knowing that Lennie could not be trusted. This, again, demonstrates the balance of power and shows that both George and Lennie are aware of how much power the other possesses.

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 and Lennie are different as they have each other for support, friendship and much more. Lennie is able to give George hope, hope that things will get better by continually talking about the dream of ‘livin’ of the fatta the land’. This in turn brightens George’s spirits and motivates him to keep on working hard and believing that ‘we got a future’. Even though Lennie helps George in many physiological ways, he also helps him physically. Lennie’s pure size and strength is so great that he is often compared to a ‘bear’ by Steinbeck; an animal which has immense power. This strength helps them gain work as ‘man, (Lennie) can work’. Without Lennie, George would have much difficulty finding manual labour jobs due to his small size.

Steinbeck introduces Lennie by physical description and it gives us an idea of how powerful he is compared to George. “a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders” (Steinbeck, Pg. 2) In this quote, the author is trying to make the reader

Lennie would not get in trouble again or forget what he has to do. For

Picking up the book “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck holds a different feel then putting it down. Leaving the reader pondering the true theme of the story. A tale among two friends is the mindset most would assume before reading the book but digging deeper you start to realize the dark truth. The story starts with both Lenny who’s large and unaware of his own true strength and George who’s skinny and quick witted. The tale takes both characters and presents them with challenges. Lennie has a mild mental disability which often leads both of them into a lot of trouble. While George must take care of Lennie and always get him out of trouble. Two characters who travel together would be envisioned to be best pals but what awaits them is a rude awakening, George says “Lennie just come along with me out workin '. Got kinda used to each other after a little while” (Steinbeck 3.12).

Deep down inside, each person has a strong desire for a companion. Someone you can trust, who you can learn from and teach, but most importantly, one who can always be there for you no matter what happens. The relationship between the intelligent and feeble George Milton and the imbecile, but vigorous Lennie Small is displayed as the main objective in Steinbeck 's novel, Of Mice and Men. The description among these two characters is a form of juxtaposition because the two characters vary in several ways. The author’s intention of using this technique points out the differences between characters and how their personalities counteract each other significantly.

In the Of Mice and Men friendship barley exists, the only people that are considered as friends are Lennie and George. George is always bragging on Lennie, even if he is not smart but he can work extremely hard (Steinbeck 39). Slim, a guy that also works that the ranch, tells George that he does not know how a smart guy like him and dumb guy like Lennie are friends and have been traveling together (Steinbeck 39). Even though George cannot stand Lennie since he is dumb, he defends him from anyone that tries to insult him and treat him like he was crazy (Steinbeck 39). Lennie and George were born from the same town (Steinbeck 40). After Lennie aunt died, George started to take care of him (Steinbeck 40). No one friendship was as well as Lennie with George (Steinbeck 40). Candy another man that lived there, at the farm, is trying to be friends with Lennie and George, since they killed his aged dog now (Steinbeck 61).

"Of Mice and Men" is a book about two men and their struggle to achieve their dream of owning a small ranch through their companionship. The two men are completely different, one being a retarded fellow (Lennie), and the other, a typical ranch hand(George) who travels with him. On the path to achieving their dream, they run into obstacles, but stick together, stressing the importance of true friendship. Steinbeck wrote this book to tell us how important it is to have a friend to share your life with.

As much as George gets sick of Lennie and his childlike behavior and complains about how he could “have it so easy if he was alone”, he always goes back to thinking, if I did not have you with me “‘I [would] go nuts. I’d never get no peace...I want you to stay with me” (Steinbeck 11). In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men George is small, intelligent, and quick on his feet. On the other hand, George’s companion Lennie is a nice, absent-minded, but very large and strong, man with the best intentions at heart, but he is mentally disabled and has the mind of a child. His inability to understand the severity of his actions gets him into very bad situations, which is what forces George and Lennie, who travel around together trying to make money and sustain off of what they have, to lose their last job, just like

In the novella Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck, the relationship between Lennie Small and George Milton is complex. Lennie and George are two companions who look for work and brave the hardships of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression together. Although Lennie and George are both grown men, their relationship resembles more of a child and a single parent, or a boy and his dog. Lennie is portrayed as animalistic and childish through his behavior and Steinbeck’s comparisons. This reveals the crucial power dynamic in George and Lennie’s relationship.

Steinbeck included George in the novel to show how people similar to George had to live every day of their lives knowing that it was going to be tough. George tries his best at protecting Lennie and so orders Lennie to be careful in what route he chooses, and then gets mad at Lennie when he disobeys. This creates a sense of rebellion between both him and Lennie, who yells at George for being too mean. For example, in chapter 1, George is seen talking to Lennie aggressively using foul language,

In the novella, the theme sheds light on Lennie’s intellectual weakness. In the beginning of the novella, while at the river, Lennie asks George “‘Where are we goin’ George?’... The little man… scowled over at Lennie. ‘So you forgot that awready, did you? I gotta tell you again do I? Jesus Christ, you’re a crazy bastard!’...‘I forgot,’ Lennie said softly” (Steinbeck 4). Lennie forgets things all the time and George is not forgiving of it. He even calls Lennie a “crazy bastard”. He knows Lennie isn’t fully intellectually capable and he even on occasion uses that against poor Lennie. Yet when in the right mindset, George will defend Lennie until his last breath. When the boss remarks on Lennie’s lack of intelligent comments, George quickly fires back. The boss gestured in Lennie’s direction, “‘He ain’t much of a talker, is he?’ ‘No, he ain’t, but he’s sure a hell of a good worker. Strong as a bull.’ Lennie smiled to himself ‘Strong as a bull’” (Steinbeck 21-22). While speaking to the boss about the job position they are filling, he asks about Lennie wondering why he won’t say anything. George quickly validates his point but then sets the conversation in balance by complementing Lennie which makes Lennie smile.While mental weakness is clearly very important to the story, physical weakness plays a role as well. When speaking about Candy and his dog, Carlson says, “‘Why’n’t you get Candy to shoot his old