In the short story Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck uses Lennie to show society’s ignorance, cruelty, and lack of understanding in regards to the unknown. Unlike his companion George, Lennie is described as shapeless and brutishly large, and though he is innocent he is still capable of considerable violence. Although Lennie has a hard time controlling what he feels, he does his best to please those around him. Throughout the story we are continually reminded that Lennie is different than other people. One of the first things the author says about Lennie is that he is dressed identically to his friend George. Both wear “denim trousers, denim coats, black shapeless hats, and carried blanket rolls over their shoulders” (Steinbeck, 2). This leads us to believe the two …show more content…
Although he is obedient to George, Lennie finds great comfort and security from petting soft items. Though Lennie does not mean to do things that would result in bad outcomes, when he does get in a bad situation he lacks a conscience to see his actions as guilt, only in consequences. "George is going to give me hell" (100) or "George won't let me tend the rabbits” (85). Like a dog follows its master, Lennie is devoted to George. Quickly jumping to George’s defense, when Crooks said he’d leave and never come back, Lennie believes George would never do anything to hurt him. Lennie has a childlike wonder that can be seen when he first sees the pool of water and slurps down huge gulps of water like a horse (3). One of the few things that Lennie continually remembers is the story about their future farm, how it will be a safe place where he can tend to and pet rabbits. Although George knows it will never happen Lennie holds onto the idea with childlike enthusiasm. Since he is always forgetting things Lennie is continually apologising to George, he is sensitive and looks toward George for everything, the last thing he wants is to make George
In Of Mice and Men the character Lennie is big and has a diminished mental capacity. Lennie is s...
Although Lennie was unattractive and has the tendency of accidental violence, compassion was still something readers had for him. Steinbeck constantly reminded us that he has a mental disability which automatically makes someone feel pity for him. Additionally he was ignored and made fun of by other characters, “Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you”(Steinbeck 10). Him getting in trouble was beyond his control because of his mental disability which is something else that makes a reader feel sympathetic for him. Also, the readers are solicitous towards Lennie because of how much he looks up to George. This is portrayed when Crooks asks Lennie what he would do if George never came back, “Well, s’pose, jus’ s’pose he don’t come back. What’ll you do then?”(Steinbeck 70). Because of his inability to comprehend information, he got extremely defensive and said, “George is careful. He won’t get hurt” (Steinbeck 70). This scene is crafted in such a way that it automatically
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.
Following the beginning, Lennie is seen as a bit on the softer side contrary to George who was a heavy-tempered individual. We later find out that Lennie has a mental illness implied by language, communication and actions towards George and others. Demonstration of his illness was implied by: "I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead—because they was so little. I wish’t we’d get the rabbits pretty soon, George. They ain’t so little." (Steinbeck 4). Lennie’s childish personality and mistakes in the novel somewhat foreshadowed future events. George told Slim about the incident in Weed: “Well he seen this girl in a red dress...he just wants to touch everything he likes” (Steinbeck 41). George harshly remarked that his mistakes could get him in serious trouble, which was a vital, empowering statement within the novel that hinted at a dark
When Lennie kills his puppy the only thing he can think about is what george will think and whether or not he will get to tend the rabbits (all lennie really ...
To begin, Lennie has this big dream of George and him living on their own land, being their own bosses, and tending to his own rabbits. Lennie’s major obstacle in achieving his dream is that he is slower than most people for his age. Lennie acts like a child making George the responsible adult. Lennie also listens to whatever George says because Lennie looks up to George almost like he is his brother. Lennie also has a tendency to forget what he is told:
John Steinbeck wrote a story about two men that only had each to depend on. Many of George and Lennie's struggles come from things they cannot control such as Lennie's mental issues. George and Lennie are very poor and they work on farms together, but they have to move a lot because Lennie always does something stupid. The greatest tragedy in Mice and Men was when Lennie was left alone with Curley's wife. She was the reason why Lennie ended up being killed. She knew of to manipulate others to get her way and that is what she relies on most of the time.
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
When someone is described as “innocent”, people tend to think of them as harmless, kind, and naive. While this is true for the majority of people described this way, Lennie’s character, in the story Of Mice and Men, portrays the opposite of this stereotype. Lennie’s innocence ends up getting him into major trouble with himself and others. In the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck exemplifies through the characterization of Lennie how innocence can get one into dangers that could possibly cost them their life.
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
Lennie and the creature both share qualities present in the other as well as differences. Lennie from Of Mice and Men is an extremely large fellow. He often gains glances and looks from passersby as they stare at his unusual size. The creature is also huge, as Shelley puts him to be 8 feet tall. While Lennie does draw stares from ongoing passerby, the creature on the other hand gains looks of disgust and horror from his outwardly appearance. He dashes around the countryside in fear, no one giving thought to even listen to his thoughts or feelings due to his abhorrent face and his obtrusive size. Contrary to this, Lennie meets humans, yet everything that comes from his mouth reveals his lack of social grace and etiquette. No one knows how to
Lennie was not very smart and couldn't do much by himself. He had to be told what to do or he wouldn't do anything at all. He fits all the profiles for a retarded person. He doesn't have any self-control. When he starts to panic he gets out of control and even kills Curly's wife because she starts to scream. Lennie loves animals and can't stop talking about them. He always says that when they get their own place that he wants lots of rabbits, his favorite animal. To him George is like his father figure, since Lennie never really had any parents. He is easily amused and panics quickly.
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 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.