Themes of Loyalty and Devotion in “Of Mice and Men”

“Of Mice and Men” is a 1930’s novella written by the American, John Steinbeck. It is a tale not only of isolation and loneliness, violence, dreams, and the competitive urge to dominate others, but also a tale of the journey of true companionship. True companionship is emphasized by indescribable loyalty and extreme devotion between two men, George and Lennie, during the hardships of the Great Depression. The story takes place south of Soledad, California during the 1930s and is told from the perspective of a third-person omniscient narrator. The story’s genre is fiction and tragedy; a tragedy so well crafted by John Steinbeck, that the conclusion leaves the reader questioning the inherent contradictions in both loyalty and devotion. George shows extreme devotion and loyalty to Lennie, serving as Lennie’s “guardian angel” – sticking up for him and staying with him in difficult situations, which eventually leads to heartbreaking sacrifices.
George shows extreme devotion and loyalty to Lennie by serving as Lennie’s “guardian angel”. Ever since Lennie's Aunt Clara had passed away, George has been caring for Lennie, providing Lennie with daily essentials including food and companionship, trying to give Lennie a life filled with honest labor, despite Lennie’s disadvantage. Most people would view Lennie as a mentally-ill person, and some may even take advantage of him. Instead, George takes Lennie’s life into his own hands and protects Lennie by watching over him. After all, they are both interdependent with one another; they both need one another. Lennie cannot think for himself and therefore depends on George’s intelligence to make good choices for him, allowing him to survive. On the other hand, George is a small man and requires Le...

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...from the mob. George decides that him killing Lennie while Lennie thinks of the dream of their farm is a better way to die than by Curley and his mob murdering Lennie painfully. George recites the story of the farm with Lennie for one last time, and while Lennie daydreams about the farm, George finds the strength to demonstrate the ultimate act of devotion in Lennie’s unfortunate situation, and George pulls the trigger of Carlson’s gun, killing Lennie.
Throughout “Of Mice and Men”, Steinbeck shows gripping examples of the devotion of Lennie towards George, and the loyalty of George towards Lennie. George serves as Lennie’s “guardian angel”, stays with Lennie in difficult situations, and eventually his devotion to their friendship leads George to make the ultimate sacrifice and kill his best friend as a “mercy killing” instead of letting the mob take Lennie’s life.