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Of Mice and Men
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, there was a character by the name of Lennie, a mentally challenged man. Lennie who had the mind of a three-year-old and the body of a giant was a sweet, outgoing guy. Although Lennie never remembered anything, he always remembered the words of his father figure George’s words. One of Lennies most passionate qualities was his love for animals; the way he cared for the touch of soft things made that love even stronger. In Lennie there was a special, passionate, and forgetful man.
Lennie, whose brain didn’t develop properly often acted like a small child, yet had the strength of 10 men put together. These characteristics were presented to us by the way he would always ask questions and run around like a young rambunctious kid, although he had the power to kill animals by simply petting them. Lennie was childlike by the way he portrayed his emotion, like running away and crying when yelled at. Even though Lennie never meant any harm to anyone he had more power than he knew what to do with, when trying to stop the wife from screaming, he snapped her neck without even knowing it. In conclusion Lennie was a strong powerful man, even if at heart he was a simple child.
The passion Lennie often showed was that of his love of soft things. Lennie couldn’t resist petting and stroking the smooth, lovely beings. Lennie when trying to explain his desire for nice surfaces, to prove he wasn’t crazy said to the wife “ No I ain’t,” “ George says I ain’t. I like to pet nice things with my fingers, sof’ things.” This was 1 of many statements Lennie used to describe this passion. So after al, Lennie who may have often hurt animals and people, never meant for it to happen, it was just his way of trying to show his true love for the species.
Although time and time again Lennie was told things, that for any other man would be simple to remember, Lennie constantly forgot. “I forgot,” Lennie said softly. “I tried not to forget. Honest to god I did, George.” This was a close resemble to the constant reply heard most from Lennie. Although there was one thing Lennie always remembered and that was the stories and answers that came from George.
At the beginning, the author describes his movement using a metaphor, as Lennie “[drags] his feet… the way a bear drags his paws” (p.2), to show that he is much alike a bear physically. In addition, Steinbeck uses a simile to emphasize Lennie’s animal-like behaviour, as he “[drinks] wit long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse” (p.3). By comparing his physical and behavioural characteristics, this can foreshadow that the author implies that Lennie is seen as more animal than human because of his metal disabilities. George further makes it evident when he infers that “somebody [would] shoot [him] for a coyote if [he] was by [himself]” (p.12). This shows that people are scared of him and his unpredictable, animal-like behaviour because of the lack of understanding about mental health during the early 1900s. Furthermore, this can be the foundation for the theme where the lack of communication and understanding with the mentally disabled can lead to dire and tragic
Lennie’s innocence and inability to recognize his own strength is shown through his interaction with the mice. Lennie intends to innocently and affectively
Due to child like qualities, Lennie is a person which would be easy prey and a vulnerable person. Lennie is a vulnerable person who is quite dumb. His has an obsession for touching soft thing and this will often lead him in to trouble. But poor Lennie is an innocent person who means no harm to anybody. When he and Curley get into a fight Lennie is too shocked to do any thing. He tries to be innocent but, when told to by George grabs Curley’s fist and crushes it. George is Lennie’s best friend and Lennie does every thing he tells him to do as demonstrated in the fight with “But you tol...
In John Steinbeck's classic novella, Of Mice and Men, George makes the decision of killing Lennie because he knows it is in Lennie's best interest. His act of killing Lennie is not considered criminal. George has good intentions in killing his companion. George is trying to prevent Lennie from being tortured and from his constant desire to please George and not cause trouble. Additionally, Lennie repeatedly places himself in difficult situations, and as a result, brings George into the circumstances. There is a close friendship between George and Lennie, and George had carefully thought out whether or not he should destroy his life. George is faced with witnessing the death of Candy's beloved, old dog and Candy's reaction to his death, which helps George to finalize his resolution. After several years of looking after Lennie, George knows what is best for Lennie, as well as the people around him.
Lennie is depicted in a very childlike manner throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Accordingly, he acts in a manner that is persistent with a child in that his motivations precisely lead to his actions. He does not act in a pure sense of dishonesty, reflective of the purity that is peculiar to someone who is like a kid at heart.
Since the beginning of the book, Steinbeck characterizes Lennie as a man who sees the world through the perspective of a child, as if it is a dream. Lennie is a big guy, but he acts like a baby. In the beginning of the story, after George threw the dead mouse Lennie was petting, Lennie was “…‘Blubberin’ like a baby!” (9). This juvenile action demonstrates Lennie’s immaturity and childish
With his disability, he needs something to feel connected to. He loves to pet furry and soft things. In chapter one in “Of Mice and Men”, Lennie and George are walking along a dirt road, on there way to a ranch. George discovers Lennie playing with something in his pocket. Lennie states to George before the dead mouse was taken away. ““ I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along”” (Steinbeck 6) . In order to prove that Lennie is not smart enough to fulfill the American Dream, Steinbeck creates Lennie to seem as not normal as possible. Steinbeck places Lennie in a state, where he does not understand right from wrong. He does not know nor understand, that playing with a deceased critter is not only gross but unacceptable as a
Before George and Lennie get interviewed for their new job, George tells Lennie to stay quiet so he would not accidentally mess up and not get the jobs (Steinbeck 3). Lennie remembers for the first part, but then forgets and George has to explain why he answers for Lennie, saying that he is Lennie’s cousin who takes care of him since his aunt died, and the reason why Lennie is like the way he is is because he got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid (Steinbeck 11). Later after the interview, Lennie asks if what George said was true. Ge...
Lennie Small, a mentally impaired man, is first introduced to us traveling with George. George, however, is not related to Lennie. Lennie travels with George because no one else understands him like he does. Lennie says, “Because…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you…” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie believes if George ever left him that he could live in a cave by himself and not bother anyone again (Steinbeck 12). Lennie realizes he would be alone without George, but he never has known anyone else to depend on but George, and from that, they have a bond, a friendship. This shows Lennie’s need for his relationship with George.
Man needs companionship and has difficulty maintaining it because no humans think the exact same or have the exact same beliefs. To maintain a companion you must have things in common, you must be able to disagree with a sort of respectful understanding, and finally you must care legitimately about that person. These three requirements to preserve a companionship are at times arduous to keep true. Some people do not have the time, concern, or the ability to sustain a veritable friendship with a companion or companions.
First of all, Lennie being compared to animals proves that at the time, humans acted inhumane and barbarous. When Lennie killed Curley’s Wife, readers were broken over whether to love or despise Lennie, and the way he handled it was very strange as well. It is stated that “[Lennie] pawed at the hay until it partly covered [Curley’s Wife]” (Steinbeck 92). This very disturbing visual displays an awful image of a poor, clueless man having to cover up for an awful mistake that would end up
Although John Steinbeck’s novelette Of Mice and Men included a vast away of interesting characters, Lennie was one that sparked my interest the most. Small’s personality is similar to that of an innocent child’s; he is also often depicted like an animal, as he is as strong as a bull (as Milton describes him), but acts like a dog. Small is also mentally handicapped, feels security when it comes to touching soft items, and does not understand many abstract ideas. We can look at all of these traits through his devoted dependency towards George. Though he acts this way, he does not actually comprehend this idea of loyalty. As a result, he often gets into trouble without the intention of doing so, and once he does, only defines his troubles in terms of consequences, as he says “George goin’ to give me hell” or “George ain’t gonna’ let me tend them rabbits no more.” Despite his repetitive behavior, he never understands the reason why his actions are incorrect. In the beginning of the story, an instance the reader can observe his animal-like (or childish) behavior is when he slurps...
Lennie apologized to George for killing the mice; he told him that the reason for killing the mice was because “they bit my[Lennie’s] fingers” but he only “pinched their heads a little”(Steinbeck 10). Lennie’s guilt drives him to apologize about the mice but he appears to underestimate his own strength because he claimed that he vaguely pinched their heads, but Lennie being a vast man, that couldn't have been the case. He didn't know the consequences of pinching the mice even after he had done it so many times. This shows the lack of perception he holds, meaning he can't become cognizant of the things happening around him on his own, causing the reader to initiate sympathy for Lennie. Lennie’s immaturity is so big it can be misunderstood for cleverness. George sharply asks Lennie to give him the object from his pocket but he claims “ I ain't got nothin’”but later on admits he has a dead mouse but [George] insists to “ have it”,but George insisted to have the mouse then he “slowly obeyed”(Steinbeck 5-6). It appears as if Lennie was being clever but by handing the mice to George, his childish behavior is revealed. His ingenuous acts portray identically to a child influencing the reader to gain sensitivity to the way Lennie is treated. The way Lennie understands the world and process thoughts makes him mentally stable, for a child. Not only is he innocent but he is also ironically characterized.
In my opinion, Lennie Small is the most interesting character in Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck does a very good job describing and characterizing Lennie's personality. Lennie's character is, indeed, quite unique. A large man with enormous strength, yet kind and childlike, he seems to find joy in simple life pleasures like petting a furry animal and making the water ripple. Lennie's greatest difficulty seems to be remembering; and it is the lack of the ability to remember that ultimately leads to his tragedy at the end of the book. In the novel, Steinbeck seems to reinforce Lennie's characteristics of strength, kindness, childlike manner, and somewhat animal-like personality. In this paper, I will focus on these characteristics.
In the novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck Lennie has many traits that define him. One trait he has is he is very forgetful. Another trait he has is he is very reliant upon George. A final trait that Lennie possesses is he is very curious. These three ideas are all traits that Lennie uses to manage his life and they help him by staying positive. Although Lennie is mentally deficient, he can still maintain a healthy lifestyle by using his happiness.