The Transformation of George in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men

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The Transformation of George in Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is a dramatic novel that depicts how different groups of people were treated and how hard life was during the Great Depression. Lennie and George were the main characters along with Curley and his wife, Candy, Slim, and Crooks. Lennie, a big guy and mentally slow, is George's friend and doesn't really change throughout the novel. George, on the other hand, is a small man and changes from a daydreamer to a more down-to-earth, logical person.

In the beginning of the novel George daydreams of the future and tells Lennie stories about how they are going to have a farm someday with rabbits. George never really has any set plans on how he will get the farm with Lennie. At about the same time George is telling tales of the future, Lennie is petting mice and killing them. George knows that killing the mice is an accident and doesn't think Lennie would hurt any people. George and Lennie keep drifting and land a job in Soledad, California.

Upon arriving in Soledad, George and Lennie meet Candy, an old man with a gimp hand who shows an interest in the farm. Candy offers to throw in $350 if he can be a part of their "dream farm". Suddenly, Georges dreams of the future start to seem more like a reality when they hear of a small plot of land for sale. When everything seems to be going right, a freak accident occurs. Lennie is invited by Curley's wife to pet her hair. He starts to pet her hair when she quickly wants him to let go and screams. Lennie panics and accidentally kills her because he hasn't learned from his mistakes. When Curley, the boss' son, hears of what happened he starts to look for Lennie who is hiding. Curley says that when he finds Lennie he will shoot him in the gut. George knows that him and Lennie couldn't run from this mistake, and Lennie will be hunted and killed painfully. To spare him the pain George kills Lennie quickly.

Even though going on with the dream farm would be possible, George knows it wouldn't be the same without Lennie.

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