Of Mice and Men I have read many books during my lifetime, one of which was John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. At first I couldn't really understand the relationship between Lennie and George the mear fact that George seemed to be rough with Lennie sometimes seeming a bit abrasive towards him. However, reading onward I learned that there was reason behind his abrasiveness. The story takes place during the depression, a time in which families where struggling to get by with the little they had. Men traveled across the country looking for any possible job, many worked as ranch hands traveling from ranch to ranch working till there was no more work. This brings us to George and Lennie both traveling ranch hands, both hoping to gather enough money to be able to live their dreams of owning their own ranch. …show more content…
We know that Lennie’s demeanor is that of a child, to him George is a brother figure that took him in after the death of his aunt. However, due to his limited understanding of actions and consequences is why George doesn’t abandon him. Throughout the story other character emerge, each one different however similar, trying to achieve a dream that may never come true or yearning to escape from their loneliness. Loneliness comes in many shapes and forms some in a loveless marriage others by the death of a companion yet others via the lack of social acceptance. This loneliness is the precursor to Lennie’s demise by the hand of his best friend and protector George. The isolation of a young woman, the need of her husband to prove his manhood creates a Pandora’s box of hate, lies and betrayal leading to the death of an
...e ever since they were children. Lennie knew that he owed George for all that he had done for him over the years. Other than that, Lennie just loved George and wanted to be with him. He hated the thought of making George angry. Often times Lennie said he could go by himself and live in a cave if George really did not want to be with him. It was obvious that Lennie could never really think of leaving George. Lennie stayed loyal to George until the very end, unaware of what would happen. Even though George did care for Lennie, he did not give Lennie the loyalty and friendship back like he deserved. It was easy for Lennie to be so loyal partially because of his simple mindedness. He almost acted like a puppy, following around its owner and trying to defend it. If only George realized what a good friend he had in Lennie.
Lennie's loneliness stems from his constancy of being yelled at by George. Lennie didn't like to be around George when he was yelling at him. Lennie and George were friends, but George yelled at him just to try to keep him out of trouble. Lennie tried to make friends other than George, but it never seemed to work out. He even tried to make friends with Crooks, when no one else would ever talk to him. This shows that Lennie really needs a friend that can understand him (Moore 603).
The relationship between George and Lennie shows the limitless reaches one would go for his fellow man on a microcosmis level Steinbeck uses these two characters to represent strong one-on-one relationshiips that one experiences throughout their own personal life. Although George and Lennie are two individual men, the qualities that one lacked, the other possessed: "Behind him[George] walked his opposite" (mice, pg.2). Consequently, over the years George and Lennie created such a bond that they completed each other. Through George, Steinbeck represents the sacrifices that are made in the best interest of a loved one. These sacrifices presented George with many hardships and frustrations throughout his life. "If I was alone I could live so easy." (mice, pg. 11) Because Lennie was unable to think in a logical manner for himself, George gave up his own dreams and created a single dream for both himself and Lennie: "OK, someday we're gonna get the jack together and we'...
During the presidential reign of Hebert Hoover in the early 1930's, America was hit with a severe economic slowdown which was notoriously known as The Great Depression. During this time of crisis, an estimated sixteen million people were left unemployed and many others were left homeless. Even though it was expected that many industries in the United States would be significantly affected as a result of the crash, it was Agriculture that was destroyed. Many landowners were desperate to employ workers on their farm, whilst workers were anxious themselves to find a job to support their family. In this story, two displaced Anglo migrant ranch workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, travel around America in search for a job. We soon realise their goal to pursue the American Dream, a dream that has equal chance of becoming a reality or a mere fantasy. Steinbeck?s novel shows a concern for these two friends as tension is raised over whether they will reach the Promised Land they cherish so much. Much of this concern can be attributed to the contrasting characters that both George and Lennie possess ?Although George is seen as an intelligent caring individual, his companion Lennie, although physically strong, is a psychologically limited man who has a good chance of inadvertently spoiling their hopes and ambitions, primarily due to his mental incapacity.
George and Lennie are like brothers. They need each other to survive. Lennie seems to suffer from a brain disease as his mind cannot grasp on to anything for too long. For this reason, George is fond of Lennie’s company and feeble-minded personality.
In the exemplary classic Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie, two barley buckers, are looking for work during the Great Depression. Steinbeck weaves George and Lennie’s dream as an anchor through the stark loneliness of travelers, the unrealistic want for the perfect life, and the poverty that plagues this time period.
George and Lennie’s relationship is a complex one. For Lennie, it is all he has known since being brought up by his Aunt Clara. He makes a veiled threat to George at the beginning of the novel that he can live alone “If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time.” However both George and the reader know that Lennie would not survive. George feels responsible for Lennie, and in a way is making up for the mean things he did to him as a child, like making him jump into a river when he couldn’t swim. However, Lennie also gives George great comfort as his love for his friend is unconditional. Lennie is an honest companion: he brings out the paternal side in George “I wisht I could put you in a cage with about a million mice an’ let you have fun.”
During the 1930’s, around 200,000 people fled to California to escape poverty. Now just imagine how crowded that must have been. Finding jobs at this time was very difficult, and those that could be found did not pay very well. George and Lennie in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men are a couple of those poor people. They had a dream to own their own land, where they can raise crops, and not work underneath anybody else. Unfortunately, being ranch workers, this dream is just too great to be true. This conflict of this story is caused by a couple of different factors, and it is obvious that the protagonists have many gains and losses from it.
George cares for Lennie, but Lennie’s naive characteristics leads them both to trouble. Lennie is essentially on the run due to the crime he commits; that is why Curley and his men are on a manhunt to kill Lennie. Lennie also becomes a hinderance to George; Lennie’s desire to pet soft things never led to a stable life. No matter all the accidents Lennie gets George into, their bond of a companionship never broke. George never leaves Lennie’s side, and Lennie never leaves George. “Cause I want you to stay with me.” They both need each other to reach the one goal, which is to own a ranch. From all the experiences together, George is the only character who has the right to take Lennie’s life, since George is the only one who understands Lennie and he is his caretaker. “When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’, got kind used to each other after a while.” Proving the long term relationship George has with Lennie, and everything they endure on a daily
George Milton and Lennie Small are the main character in the book, they worked together at the ranch until Lennie got into trouble: he likes to touch soft things, when he tried to touch a girl hair, she misunderstood him, thought he is going to insult her. Therefore they have to run away and find new jobs. George is short-tempered but loving and caring, and Lennie is strong but lack of intelligence. Both of them have their dreams: George wants
The part that George plays in problems is that he protects Lennie and takes care of him no matter what.The reason why the odd pair of friends have stayed together for so long is because of the death of Lennie’s guardian, Aunt Clara. In hindsight of her death Lennie was forced into finding a person who can take care of him, which was George. Since George and Lennie have known each other ever since they were adolescents which is shown in this quote (Chapter 2, paragraph 18) “Him and me was both born in Auburn. I know his Aunt Clara...When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’. Got kinda used to each other after a little while.” George being the more serious and straightforward type of person he ended up turning into Lennie’s father-figure and the man that Lennie respects and looks up to. While Lennie being the more dense and innocent of the two turned into the person that gives George company along the
The first topic this novel explains is the importance of companionship in one’s life. Companionship, and also lack of, is a consistent theme throughout the novel regarding George and Lennie’s friendship, and also the ranchmen's lack of companionship. From the beginning of the novel it is easy to realize that George and Lennie have a very special friendship. It is not just a friend or bestfriend, but rather a big brother to a little brother or even a dog to its master. George and Lennie spend their lives roaming from ranch to ranch in search of work, which many men did during the times of the Great Depression which is the era the novel takes place.
At this time, families were split up because they couldn’t always afford to feed all their children. Kids became homeless, riding trains from town to town, looking for work or food. There’s a sense of seclusion associated with this reality, the survival of your own. Then, companionship developed amongst these travelers, the kind of friendship that George and Lennie have in the story. All they really have is each other, having given up everything to try to endure the Great Depression: “ ‘There’s enough beans for four men’…
During this time families fell into a constant spiral of moving and shuffling around the countryside trying to find a place that they could hold a job to support their family (“ Life During the Great Depression). Not everyone had a family however. Like George and Lennie, there were many young men that left everything that they had known of a family even before the depression hit and just moved around finding jobs on ranches and shuffling between new people for a small paycheck at the end of the month. Many say that this was the strongest evidence that George and Lennie had a different bond than most men expected, I argue however that the most shocking part of their relationship revolves around Lennie’s
The two had heavy reliance on each other both physically and mentally. Throughout the story, Lennie is always relying on George to make sure that he is not doing something bad that might get him in trouble. This was shown in many instances, such as when Lennie scares the women at the old ranch. Instead of bailing on Lennie, George hid him to make sure that they were not found. This shows how committed George is to Lennie and the same goes for Lennie. Lennie almost always follows what George says. George is an idol to Lennie, almost like a father figure which is why Lennie is so obedient to George. In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck writes “Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes, the way George's hat was” (3,4). Lennie repeats almost everything that George did and it shows Lennie’s strong connection to George. This may have not been much use if Lennie were like any ordinary guy, but he is far from it. Lennie is a large man which helps them throughout many parts in the story. Because of this, Lennie is very useful to George to the point that he can use Lennie in many situations, such as helping them get in a ranch to work or even fight as shown in Of Mice and Men; where Steinbeck