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Lennie character traits of mice and men
Social inequality in mice and men
Lennie character traits of mice and men
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In the story, of Mice and Men, there are a few characters who are lonely or left out. The story is about two ranchers and they are best friends. They both don’t have a family anymore. All they can do is depend on each other; Lennie had a disability. He can’t function like regular person . Lennie kills a dog and a man’s wife . But he did not mean any harm. Then there is candy and crooks , They are both lonely because there both handicapped. They don’t fit in like everybody else does. Lennie is a lonely freindly, nice and very strong and tall man compared to all the other guys on the ranch . Lennie has mental disability so he can’t function like other people “What mouse George? I ain’t got no mouse”. Lennie likes to pet soft things , he …show more content…
It's just being with another guy. That's all." (39-40). This is important because, Crooks is telling Lennie how George can tell he makes his mistakes. You know how you have those long conversations on the phone ? with your best friend about absolutely nothing? or however kids communicate these days That's what Crooks is talking about. It doesn't matter what you're talking about—just that you're making a connection. "I was born right here in Southern California. My old man had a chicken ranch, ‘bout ten acres. The white kids come to play at our place, an’ sometimes I went to play with them, and some of them was pretty nice. My ‘ol man didn’t like that. I never knew till long later why he didn’t like that. But I know now." He hesitated, and when he spoke again his voice was softer. "There wasn’t another colored family for miles around. And now there ain’t a colored man on this ranch an’ there’s jus’ one family in Soledad" (37). At least Crooks has an excuse to be isolated: he's an African American which makes him an automatic outcast. Even if he wanted to reach out to everyone, he wouldn't be able to. You would think that things like skin color would matter less on a ranch in the middle of nowhere—but somehow they seem to matter more which sucks. “that big new guys messin’ around your pups out in the barn” (50).Lennie went in to crooks bunk while George was in town with the other men . Lennie had pup that he stole from the barn and Crooks was just Lennie that somebody who was messing with
Was George to harsh or too fast with his decision to kill Lennie? Ever since Lennie was born he has needed help “living” and it started with his aunt Clara. When his aunt Clara died Lennie needed someone to help him with his everyday life and someone that could be there and tell him what to do. Lennie starts to travel with a good family friend George. In the book “Of Mice and Men” there is many cases where Lennie just “holds on” to George. George realizes in the end of the book Lennie has done too much harm and needs to essentially go away. George then shoots Lennie in the back of the head because Lennie couldn't live on his own if he were to run away from Curly and the rest of the gang of workers coming after him. George did the right thing because Lennie was unstable and George knows lennie didn't mean to harm anything. He doesn't know his own strength and George really wasn't qualified to help Lennie learn that he is powerful beyond measure.
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.
Lennie is a massive and powerful man, but is dull-witted, George on the other hand is scrawnier and not as mighty. Both are hearty individuals just trying to survive a tough life. After Lennie’s Aunt Clara passed away George took the responsibility of looking after Lennie. Through good and bad times George has learned to love and protect him. Lennie, an animal lover at heart always takes pleasure from petting them. He loves all small, soft, fuzzy things and cannot help himself from petting them. During their journey to the new ranch, Lennie catches a mouse, “I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along.'; (Steinbeck:6). George hates it when Lennie catches animals and plays with them “well you ain’t petting no mice while you walk with me.'; (Steinbeck:6) because he knows Lennie could end up killing the tiny animal. Lennie does not know his own strength and handles the mouse too rough “you’ve broke it pettin’ it.'; (Steinbeck:9) After the two men spend the night in the woods, they finish their journey and arrive at the ranch.
The author makes use of naturalism and presents Lennie as a human beast. Lennie possesses the body of a bear, but his actions are similar to those of a dog. He is able bodied but feeble minded. The combination of the preceding traits and his fondness of petting make him responsible for many murders. He has a nebulous and robust physical description. He possesses the mind of a child who requires supervision. George, the security of petting soft things, and a dream farm represent the meat and potatoes of his life. Lennie faces the mechanism of natural selection like any other animal.
Found true friendship with George who had the character of a mouse and the brains of a man. Their companionship was based on the fact that George had the brains, and Lennie had the muscles.
He adores soft and furry animals, and due to his strength, often accidently kills them. This can be seen when he accidently kills the mice in the beginning of the book, from giving it “too much love.” From the onset of the book, Lennie is easily identified as having some sort of mental disability. This is important because it helps to personify the immaculacy of his nature. Lennie is motivated primarily by George, and their dream of owning their own ranch. This dream helps the story progress as it adds valuable insight to both their desires. Strong, yet tame, Lennie serves as a dynamic character who represents the innocence of man, and the beauty of
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.
John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, begins with the introduction of two characters: George and Lennie. George uses Lennie for companionship despite Lennie’s mental handicap. They travel together during The Great Depression. George dreams about owning land. However he is very impoverished and struggles to keep a job, so his dream is very unrealistic. Steinbeck uses George’s character in order to prove that the impoverished are excluded from the american dream.
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
In the end of mice and men by John Steinbeck, George kills his best friend Lennie after he gets in trouble. The big questions is, did george have the right to kill lennie after what he did? The answer is yes because of the consequences that lennie would have faced, putting Lennie out of his misery, and it would be just a matter of time before Lennie had another "accident" and killed someone else.
Often when reading a novel, readers tend to get overwhelmed with all the characters presented simultaneously. However, in the novella Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates to readers how each character portrays a different role and possesses characteristics that distinguishes them from one another in their society. One character that is key to this novella is Lennie Small. Steinbeck illustrates Lennie as a flat character who does not undergo any significant development, remaining utterly the same throughout the novella as readers were first introduced to him in the beginning. Lennie’s simplistic character traits indisputably have an influential impact. Due to Lennie’s mental disability, he inevitably becomes the victim of manipulation
Though it's from John Steinbeck’s The Winter of Our Discontent, the quote, “It's so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone,” can be used to describe the relationship between George Milton and Lennie Small. George and Lennie were ranch workers during the Great Depression in California. Most ranch workers in that time period were incredibly lonely and depressed, as they had no one else and had to do laborious work just to survive. However George would often remind himself and Lennie that they were different, as they had each other. The two seemed like an unlikely pair of friends, as George is street smart and temperamental and Lennie is considered simple minded and kind. Steinbeck portrays
In the touching and gripping tale of John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, he explains many themes throughout the books. One of the major themes is loneliness, which is shown throughout many different characters, for example, Curley’s wife, the stable buck (Crooks), and Lennie.
Racial discrimination has been around for a long time, judging people for the color of their skin. Crooks is affected by this because he is black. Blacks in that time were thought as lesser than the white people. The racial discrimination affects Crooks' life in only negative ways. He is plagued by loneliness because of the color of his skin. His lack of company drives him crazy. Only when Lennie comes in to his room does he feel less lonely. He talked of his loneliness using a hypothetical scenario of George leaving Lennie. Crooks' responds to this discrimination by staying in his barn and being secluded. He doesn't want anyone to be in there but deep down he does so he can have some company. He isn't wanted in the bunk house or to play cards with the others because he is black. This effected the story by letting people walk all over him, letting them think they can do whatever they want, and ultimately making the people think they have a lot of power when really they do not.
The famed nurses study from Harvard found “Not having a close friend is as detrimental to your health as smoking.” Lennie and George’s friendship is necessary to keep the better for each other. Throughout the story, Lennie and George need each other and look out for one another no matter what. Lennie and George’s friendship and journey throughout the story symbolizes the struggles to achieve the American dream. Steinbeck, in the story Of Mice and Men, combines characterization and symbolism to prove friends do whats best for eachother.