In the novella, Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie have a unique relationship where they both rely on each other in order to fulfill each other's needs. This friendship has its strengths and weaknesses. Lennie has a mental disability that enables him to be low-functioning, meaning he can’t complete simple tasks and think like a normal person. However, due to his size, he has the manpower do the job of three men on the ranch. This is an advantage because most people are not his size, which means he can farm larger loads. This is what other farmers need. On the other hand, George does not have a disability, but he is small; he relies on Lennie to help them seem intimidating in order to work. Also, George is more intelligent than most people and …show more content…
He can be a child and George has talk him out of it. George says his life would be easier without Lennie because it is like having a baby where there are responsibilities built into that. George also has to worry about his life too, so it is a handful. [George] heard Lennie’s whimpering cry and wheeled about. "Blubberin’ like a baby! Jesus Christ! A big guy like you!" Lennie’s lip quivered and tears started in his eyes. "Aw, Lennie!" George put his hand on Lennie’s shoulder. "I ain’t takin’ it away jus’ for meanness. That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a little while." George is trying to show Lennie that sometimes he has to be “mean” in order to teach him a lesson. Always, George gets frustrated with Lennie, but he never hates him. This is because George knows that Lennie doesn’t have control of himself. “[Lennie] ‘I thought you was mad at me, George’… ‘no’, said George. [George] ‘No, Lennie. I ain’t mad. I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now. That’s the thing I want ya to know.” When Lennie finally realizes George has never been mad at him, Lennie has this moment where he lost part of his innocence. He acts and behaves like a normal person and is calm. This dream George and Lennie both share, about the ranch where they don’t have to worry, has started to become possible and Lennie knows that for sure. This is ironic because George is always worrying about Lennie and his own life. As soon as this worrying comes to an end, so does Lennie, just before he gets
Of Mice and Men - George and Lennie seem to have a very close friendship throughout the story. Of Mice and Men George and Lennie seem to have a very close friendship throughout the story. This is strange because they are completely different from each other mentally, as well as physically. The author tells us that George is a small, quick and defined man. He is the leader of the two men and makes all the plans.
is in the air. Animals begin to scatter. Two men have arrived on the scene,
George takes upon the parent role to Lennie and often gets frustrated with him as many parents do with their children. When George loses his temper he is often insensitive of Lennie’s disability, and often reminds him how much better his life would be if he were not apart of it. For example, in chapter one of the novel Lennie repeatedly asks for ketchup with his beans and George gets mad, “Well, we ain’t got any. Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy..” (George pg. 11) George also lets his temper get the best of him on page seven, “God you’re a lot of trouble… I could get along so easy and nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl.” Based on the comments George has made to Lennie, it doesn’t make much sense that George would stick with Lennie, but he has his reasons. Most ranch workers are lonely and bitter men, but George has Lennie, and he loves and cares for him deep down
The physical symbiosis of George and Lennie is beneficial to Lennie but detrimental to George. Although George used to hurt Lennie, Lennie now needs George to bail him out of trouble. Lennie also profits because he needs a person to tell him what to do. “He can’t think of nothing to do himself, but he sure can take orders” (39). Lennie is “a hell of a good worker”(22) and able to “put up a four-hundred pound bale” (22) but is likely to get himself in trouble without George’s protective influence. George likes Lennie but would be better off without him because “you (Lennie) can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get” (11). Lennie hinders George while George helps Lennie.
John Steinbeck wrote the play Of Mice and Men in 1937 (Steinbeck). It is a play about two ranch workers who do not have the best of luck. The two workers were named George and Lennie. George was a more small bodied man. His partner Lennie was a giant among average sized people. They are on the road going place to place working numerous jobs. Lennie has a learning disability. The two work hand and hand. George is there to keep Lennie out of trouble. Lennie in a way helps keep George together. Sometimes it gets difficult for the two but they always get through everything together. They both work hand and hand. George is the brains and Lennie is the muscle. Lennie is a very powerful man so he can do a lot of things normal men cannot do. George is Lennie’s only family or friend he’s all Lennie has in this world. In a way Lennie is all George has also. The two keep one another going throughout their long journey. They work together escape trouble together and keep each other pushing forward. In the end the only thing they have is each other. This story shows that no matter how different two people are they still can relate to each other. It also shows that no matter how independent one thinks he/she is someone can always help them with something (Steinbeck).
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:
Relationships are an important essence of life. Humans need relationships because we are dependent on each other to survive. Babies need their mothers to feed and nurse them, and friends need each other to support, comfort, sympathize, and understand them. The friendship between George and Lennie outlined the core of Of Mice and Men, and although it’s sometimes idealized and exaggerated throughout the novel, there is no question of its sincerity. Lennie thinks of George as his only friend, his guardian, someone who he can trust and depend on, someone who had accepted him for who he is despite his childlike tendencies. Every time he did something wrong, his only thoughts would be of George’s disapproval. “I done a real bad thing. I shouldn’t have did that. George’ll be mad. An’… he said…. An’ hide in the brush till he come. He’s gonna be mad.” (pg. 92) On the other hand, George thinks of Lennie as a constant source of frustration, and as he frequently mention in the novel, “God, you’re a lot of trouble. I could get along so easy and nice if I didn’t have you on my t...
“Of Mice and Men”, by John Steinbeck is a novel about the hardships of life and the importance of having other people around. The story is of two men trying to survive with one another in a world full of loneliness; their relationship is quite rare and strange. Lennie, a large bear, has a mental disability which causes him to be in a childlike state. George, a much smaller and more competent man takes care of both of them. Although they work for others on ranches, their dream is to get by on their own and live off the land. However, Lennie’s state causes conflict as they travel from job to job. Steinbeck uses clever ways in his novel to develop his theme and characters as the story progresses; both of these elements also help create a large
In chapter one, George and Lennie are introduced onto the scene and you get to know them a little bit and you get to see how they are related/ their relationship. When I read this first part, I could tell that George was pretty much Lennie’s caretaker and it was his job to find Lennie a job and make sure he ate enough and stayed a live. He kind of resented having to drag Lennie around (pg 11~12: “Well we ain’t got any!” George exploded. “Whatever we ain’t got, you want. If I was alone I could live so easy… But wadda I got? I got you. You can’t keep a job and you loose me every job I get.”), because Lennie’s a bit slow and he messes up a lot. He tries really hard to be good and listen to what George tells him to do, but in the end of every situation, Lennie forgets what George told him beforehand and sometimes it creates a little trouble (pg 45~46: “Well, he seen this girl in this red dress. Dumb like he is, he likes to touch ever’thing he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an’ the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on ‘cause that’s the only thing he can think to do. Well, this girl just squawks and squawks. I was jus’ a little bit off, and I heard all the yellin’, so I comes running, an’ by that time Lennie’s so scared all he can think to do is jus’ hold on. I socked him over the head with a fence picket to make him let go. He was so scairt he couldn’t let go of the dress. And he’s so strong, you know… Well, that girl rabbits in an’ tells the law she’s been raped. The guys in Weed start a party out to lynch Lennie. So we sit in an irrigation ditch under water all the rest of that day.”). But when you look at them, you can tell that George is...
In Of Mice and Men, George shows the weight of responsibility on taking care of Lennie. George knows he could be better off without Lennie. “When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts,” George finally expresses. He even tells the other farm hands, “If I was alone, I could live so easy.” George often keeps his “single like” in the back of his mind. Even so, George stands up for Lennie many times. His advice is always in Lennie’s best interest. He watches out for Lennie when he keeps hold of Lennie’s work card and bus pass. George also knows that he and Lennie wouldn’t have jobs if he didn’t make Lennie keep quiet. Lennie cannot take care of himself without George. With George watching out for Lennie like he does, Lennie’s mishaps can also have detrimental effects on George’s life. George loses his job and his best friend because of his connection with George.
Of Mice and Men, is based during the Great Depression, the novella teaches a harsh lesson about the nature of human existence. The novellas main recurring theme is how lonely and isolated each of the characters feel which is why the friendship between George and Lennie is met with suspicion and jealously as it was hard and rare for a lasting sense of loyalty to form and stay strong among men. In this essay I intend to show all the main points of loyalty George and Lennie exhibit to each other and how its seen from others perspective.
During the beginning, Lennie is characterized as childish. He is very small minded. Steinbeck indirectly states that he has a mental disability. Readers notice this because of his child-like actions, specifically on page 3, “Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all, and then he sat up on the bank and his hat dripped down on his blue coat and ran down his back.” This disability forces George to sacrifice his freedom to help survive with his disability. George gets frustrated with Lennie’s playful personality easily, as a father might with his son. On page 11, George lets his anger out on Lennie. “I wisht I could put you in a cage with
George cares a lot about Lennie and makes sure that he doesn't have to worry about anything. Even though Lennie is mentally ill George doesn't abandon him, but takes him everywhere. Though Lennie can't really do anything to help them with money wise George still lets Lennie tend the rabbits at there dream ranch. Lennie likes touching soft things and goes too far whenever he pets something soft and George knows that so he doesn't let him touch any of the animals on the ranch or on the way to the ranch but it is all out of care for Lennie. George also doesn't want Lennie to kill any more animals too. George also sometimes uses Lennie to his advantage. He uses him like a shield since Lennie is strong, enormous, and masculine and George is small and the brains of the duo. George doesn't have what it takes to defend himself so he uses Lennie to do so like the time when Curley picked on Lennie he told Lennie to get him even though he knew Lennie could kill him. All the things George does is like any father towards his son, Lennie, so their relationship not any ordinary best friend relationship. It is actually more than
The characterization of George and Lennie’s friendship shows the importance of having a friend to be staunch for you. Here, when George and Lennie argue, they resolve to do whats best for eachother. “I was only foolin’, George. I don’t want no ketchup. I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me.” Lennie later adds: “I’d leave it all for you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn’t touch none of it.”(Steinbeck 12) Lennie, although mentally disabled, still does what he can for George and only wants him to be happy because he knows how much George does for him. He can’t help himself, but when it comes to George he’ll do anything for him, because George gives him hope. Lennie gives George the ambition to succeed because George knows he has to succeed to support both of them. Lennie is later told by Crooks what it’s like to be lonely: “A guy needs somebody―to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick.” (Steinbeck 72) Without a friend, Crooks doesn’t have the brightest light for a great future because he has nobody to depend on like Lennie and Georg...
George’s relationship with Lennie has made him selfless; his conversations, with and with out Lennie, are generally revolving around Lennie, although in the case of their dream-ranch George seems to find fulfilment for himself as well. Due to these altruistic tendencies that he shows throughout the novel, a danger is bestowed upon George; he tends to care for Lennie far too much, and too little for himself. In occasional moments, he escapes his sympathy and compassion for Lennie, and realises the burden that he causes. This usually results in George taking his frustration out on Lennie, which can often harm his simple mind, leaving Lennie upset and forced to confess to his own uselessness, and George feeling guilty for what he has caused. We can learn very little about George through his actual conversations, which made it necessary for Steinbeck to focus the novel on him in particular, and let the reader gain an closer insight on him through his actions. Generally, he seems to be caring, intelligent and sensible, but is greatly worn by the constant attention Lennie requires. This illustrates a major theme in Of Mice and Men, the dangers that arise when one becomes involved in a dedicated relationship.