What Does Steinbeck Say About Friendship

Steinbeck initially presents Crooks in a dialogue between George and Candy though he himself was absent. This signifies that they may not have been friends with Crooks because they were discussing him without his presence. Steinbeck possibly did this to give the audience secondary insight on Crooks’ character before he is

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.

Friendship is the strongest relationship two people can have. John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men,” for example, is about two men who go around California looking for jobs during the Great Depression. The camaraderie between the two main characters, George and Lennie, stands out particularly. Their friendship is similar to that of a parent and a child. George being the parent and taking care of Lennie by keeping him out of trouble; and Lennie being the child, ignorant of the world around him and simple-minded. In the case of John Steinbeck’s classic novella, the friendship of the two men produces risks for both; however, the emotional and physical benefits far outweigh the risks.

What do you think Steinbeck says about the theme of friendship in Of Mice and Men?

The character of Crooks is used to symbolize the social standing of the black community occurring during the time at which the novel is set. Crooks is a lonely African American on the farm that feels out of place. As George and Lennie explain their dream to Crooks he brushes them off and says that no one around here can implement their dreams. This realism gives the reader an impression that Crooks has absolutely no hope. However, Crooks may be pessimistic, but yet even he has a dream, which is the hope of one day experiencing the joys of his childhood again. Crooks' character is portrayed as very lonely in the novel, this is evident when Crooks explains, "A guy needs someone." (Mice 77). Crooks is telling the reader the need of human interaction. This realism that Steinbeck uses shows the reader the harsh realities of the black community during the time of the depression in the 1930's

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).

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.

     Crooks is fascinated by the strength of the friendship of Lennie and George especially how close they are. Crooks said, "Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?" (Steinbeck, 79) Crooks asks these questions because he does not have any friends. He was curious about the friendship of Lennie and George. He wants the people to feel the way that he did when he was lonely, having nobody with them. He is striving to achieve sympathy and understanding from others. Crooks would work for

In the book, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, there are two migrant workers that form an unlikely pair and travel together. George is small and is brilliant and Lennie is big but has the mind of a child. Because Lennie is not intelligent, he requires George to take care of him. At the end of the story, Lennie gets into big trouble and will face a death penalty until George makes the hard decision to shoot Lennie and end his life. This raises the question that asks if George and Lennie are true friends. They are true friends because they both help each other and push each other to be better while also looking out for each other in Salinas where they work as ranch workers . This is because George understands Lennie and protects Lennie. While George does help Lennie, Lennie also provides George with companionship and a goal to work towards.

Crook’s for example he is a black stable buck, no one wants to hang out with him because he is black and when Lennie comes in his room and starts talking he don’t mind it because he’s lonely, and nobody knows what that does to a guy. So many of these guy’s don’t have nobody to care for them but it’s different with George and Lennie, they have a bond that nobody can break.

All the greatest accomplishments and advancements of the human species have been made through the biological instinct of humans to form bonds and make companions with others. John Steinbeck brings to light this philosophy through the main characters in the story Of Mice and Men. Lennie, a naive simpleton, has the dream of owning a ranch with George. Their companionship leads them to keep their innocent beliefs alive. Steinbeck brings to light the sense of hope that comes from companionship and illustrates the consequences of isolation by juxtaposing George and Lennie to the secluded ranch workers.

We see the interview with the boss, George becomes protective toward Lennie, “I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.”(P43) and when Curley’s wife enters into the attention George is seriously apprehensive about Lennie, “Listen to me… you leave her be.”(P54). Later on, when George finds Lennie in Crook’s, the stable buck’s, room, he looks disapprovingly at Lennie, “George stood framed in the door, and he looked disapprovingly.”(P115), this is very parent like. Steinbeck reinforces the contrast between them and everybody else. Slims says “Ain’t many guys travel around together”(P57)

The faith Lennie has for George is what causes him to give up his dead mouse since he knows that George wouldn’t purposely do something to deject him but that George may be protecting him from the unknown. The trust in their relationship allows George and Lennie to confide in each other about what no one else knows of them and to act like their true selves around each other. In the story readers see that most farm workers don’t befriend others easily because they don’t have the trust that George and Lennie have for one another. Throughout the story, Steinbeck continues demonstrating the trust between the two friends, showing readers how trust can strengthen an already sturdy friendship.

John Steinbeck’s tragic fictional story Of Mice and Men tells the tale of two ambitious friends, George and Lennie. Together they work hard for a better life during the great depression. Friendship is rough, full of ups and downs. However, quality bonds between people makes life easier. To have no friends or any social connections is hard and destructive which is why Steinbeck represents the importance

This key root involved George and Lennie dream of handling their own ranch; however, Lennie’s tragic end was the result of his innocence that caused the death of Curley’s wife making his death inevitable by George that ultimately crushed their dream. In addition to, the reader witnesses how Curley’s wife had her own aspirations and dreams of becoming an actress ever since she grew up in Salinas (Steinbeck’s hometown), but it was crushed due to her mother’s hegemony and her marriage with Curley which she opposes. On the other hand, Attell’s analysis also validates social realism with Crooks. Crooks, a black man, is shunned out by the white society because of his race that led him to his unfortunate fate of being discriminated from the prejudiced