Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Friendship can have a significant impact on a person’s life in a positive and negative way. There are many definitions and types of friendship. In Todd May’s article “Friendship in an Age of Economics,” Aristotle believed that there are three types of friendship which are, “…those of pleasure, those of usefulness, and true friendship” (May 3). Friendship can be described as is a bond between two people that have a connection which includes loyalty, acceptance, trust, and love. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, he demonstrates a strong friendship between the main characters. Friendship can make people vulnerable in the way they trust, accept and love each other. Trust in any friendship can be hard to accomplish. Trust is a key role

Lennie is extremely strong so when fighting Curley George sticks up for Lennie, “’Get him, Lennie. Don’t let him do it’” (Steinbeck 63). Since Lennie is extremely strong, George knows that he should let Lennie stick up for himself and not allow Curley to make him feel weak and inferior to the rest. George has to also accept the fact that Lennie cannot remember a lot of information that he has been told, “’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’” (Steinbeck 4). This shows that George has just learned to accept the fact that Lennie is slower than most at remembering things. However, he does not let Lennie believe he is inferior than anyone else, “’He’s a good skinner. He can rassle grain bags, drive a cultivator. He can do anything. Just give him a try’” (Steinbeck 22). This shows that George thinks that even though Lennie is slow minded, he can do anything like a regular person. George and Lennie’s friendship can be compared to the true friendship explanation in Todd May’s article, “Although we benefit from our close friendships, these friendships are not a matter of calculable gain and loss” (May 2). Lennie and George’s strong bond has the element of being able to accept each

George loves Lennie since he has become in charge of taking care of Lennie. George loves Lennie since he has become in charge of taking care of Lennie, “’He been doin’ nice things for you alla time. When he got a piece a pie you always got half or more’n half. An’ if they was any ketchup why he’d give it all to you’” (Steinbeck101). This shows how much George actually loves Lennie since he would always make sure Lennie is happy before his own feelings. This can be compared to Aristotle’s perspective on friendship in Todd May’s article, “’perfect friendship is the friendship of men who are good’” (May 3). Their friendship is built on the love George has for Lennie, “’No,’ he said, ‘I want you to stay with me here’” (Steinbeck 104). George has to kill Lennie since Lennie has killed Curley’s wife, “He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering” (Steinbeck106). He had to kill Lennie because he realized that Curley and Carlson would torture him and not make Lennie’s death peaceful. This shows that he loves Lennie because he wanted Lennie to not be tortured by the others. The way George loves Lennie in the way he takes care of him shows that they have a powerful bond that other people in those days did not