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. 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... ... middle of paper ... ...iend to be there for them, Lennie and George have no hope. Later, George has to kill Lennie, abolishing their hope towards achieving the American dream. The connection between George and Lennie illustrates the adversity during their course towards achieving the American dream. Things Lennie did, either on accident or purpose, foreshadowed what was going to happen in the book and the way people acted impacted this. Like millions of other people, George and Lennie were affected during the great depression heavily, and dreamt of owning land of their own. They worked from place to place making barely any money, and didn’t have a real home. To add to this, Lennie got in trouble a lot and in the end George had to make the crucial decision to shoot Lennie so he wouldn’t have to deal with any more difficulty. George knew he had to do what was best for Lennie and himself.
George and Lennie were lifelong friends and had varying personalities even from the start. Lennie thought about how his Aunt Clara said he should have been more like George. At the time when the story took place, the two men were travelling together, and had been for some time, working and then moving on to search for the next job they could find. They were like many other men in search for work, except it was rare for men to travel together. George felt a need to take care of Lennie because he was somewhat slow. George was an average man of the time. He was a good size, nice, but firm, and he had aspirations to be more than just a nomadic laborer. Lennie, on the other hand, had always been a little different. He was big, goofy, clumsy, but sweet. They were also both good workers. George was concerned with working and getting his money before they got into trouble and had to leave camp. Lennie was the one who normally started the trouble. He was a hard worker and lived to appease George, but he got distracted easily which angered George. George told about how they would own a house and a farm together and work for themselves. Lennie loved to hear the story and think about the possibilities, even though nobody knew if any of it was a possibility. George and Lennie's differences in part led to George's inclination to kill Lennie. Despite their dissimilarity, the two men needed each other probably more than they realized.
A friend is someone you can share dreams with and will give you assistance when you need it. That's what you call a true friendship. In the novel of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, he wrote a lot about the friendship of George and Lennie’s. George and Lennie, who come most proximate to achieving this ideal of brotherhood. The author shows the relationship of George and Lennie. George takes care of Lennie who has a childlike mind. George is constantly giving Lennie instructions, for instance like not to talk when they went to the ranch, and George said not to say anything when they go to the ranch and also telling him not to touch dead animals. George and Lennie are a good example of friendship because George took care of Lennie when his Aunt Clara died, George protects Lennie from people that try to hurt him,and George kills Lennie.
Lennie has always been told what to do by George. George really helps him through problems that keep happening during the book. Lennie is incapable to live because he does not know his strength and George has to play the role as a living assistant for Lennie. Lennie does not mean to harm but because of his condition he essentially harms people. In the book it explains the
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.
Within the beginning of the story, the dynamic of George and Lennie’s relationship is introduced, one that is uncommon and presents a fatherly vibe. The readers are thrown into the novel at the height of the great depression, an economic catastrophe that shook the world. Within these dark time, an unlikely friendship is in full blossom and we are meet by Lennie and George setting up camp for the night by a riverbed. After the duo’s personalities are expressed, they begin to set up the idea of a commonly shared dream which exists according to Lennie “Because... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you” (Steinbeck 14). Lennie is seen as a quite simple minded and extremely dim-witted character from just the first
George and Lennie make an awesome couple of companions, however George is all the more an overseer. It was a greater amount of George's fantasy to claim their own farm and settle. It was George's American dream to possess their life and take to take what they believed was legitimately theirs and that is the sort of attitude that a few individuals had amid the 1930s. A great many people did not comprehend why George dealt with Lennie in light of the fact that he resembled a miserable cause however George constantly wanted to deal with him. Most characters of the novel feel that Lennie is unequal to them, however this was not genuine. Lennie had the same trusts and dreams as most characters in the
In the great work, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck makes clear that George is faced with many struggles. Steinbeck writes of a character that has many internal and external conflicts. Yet, through those conflicts, the reader learns the purpose of the novel; what the true meaning of friendship
Though George is a social and a smart migrant worker, he is still a very lonely guy who only has Lennie to rely on. George says, ”If i was alone, I could live so easy.” (p11) He says he would get along so well without him because he wouldn’t have to keep Lennie out of trouble all the time and he could keep a job. He also says, “Lennie, I want you to stay with me.” (p13) That states that
There are many types of friendships good ones and bad ones. For example in the novela “Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck George and Lennie are the main characters of this novela. George and Lennie face many obstacles throughout their journey. George helped Lennie and lead him throughout this journey. George is a good friend towards Lennie in my opinion because he does so much for him.
Instead of buying into what Crooks is saying, Lennie becomes defensive and says, “Ain’t nobody goin’ to talk no hurt to George,” he grumbled” (Steinbeck 72). In this situation, Lennie looks after George and defends him. Crooks is doubting George; proposing to Lennie that George may not be as good of a person as he may believe. This angers Lennie because he knows just how great George is, so he decides to step in and stand up for George by using intimidation. Lennie is a pretty big guy, so this strategy of his works well and shows Crooks to not mess with him. In doing this, Lennie is showing how he cares for and looks after George. He does not want people to be saying untrue things about George because he cares about him and knows that he is an outstanding person. A final way that George and Lennie show how they are always looking after each other is because they constantly remind each other of it. While George was talking to Lennie about how their partnership is
At the beginning of the novel, George feels responsible for taking care of Lennie because he could have given him to another family. Since Lennie has the mentality of a child and the body of a grown man, George fails to be attentive towards him. However, they are wrong because George is justified in killing Lennie due to him murdering Curley’s wife; George is unable to defend Lennie from others trying to kill him. He is bold enough to take responsibility for Lennie when he gets used to “ Lennie just [coming] along with [him] out workin’” after his aunt died(40). During the Great Depression, people rarely consider each other family and chose to travel alone. Thus, George and Lennie’s relationship is unique. George cares enough to consider him family even though others view their relationship as an anomaly. In addition, their strong bond makes Lennie fear that George will leave him, but he knows that “George wun’t go away and leave [him]”,(73). This part of the novel is significant because although Lennie is scared and thinks like a child, he is still an adult. No one during this time period would take responsibility for him. George has no choice but to kill Lennie due the sufferings that the mentally disabled faced in the 1930s. Identically, Lennie was as hopeless as Candy’s dog who only relied in the assistance of others most of the time. He was described as an old dog who “ain’t no good
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
George understands that he can’t hide Lennie from the world forever and that the natural order of things is that the strong pick off the weak, and he will eventually have to let Lennie go. This motivates him to seize reality, meaning he had to kill Lennie, which itself was a sign of tremendous growth in himself. Killing Lennie had many effects on George; one of them being that he became one of the men he’d tell Lennie stories about. George believed that he and Lennie were not like the other migrant workers – travelling alone and spending all their earning on a whim. When George would te...
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.
“Friendship isn’t about whom you have known the longest… It’s about who came, and never left your side” (unknown). In the story Of Mice and Men, it is clear that the friendship between George and Lennie is strong. The author, John Steinbeck, shows the friendship of George and Lennie in several ways. He shows how George and Lennie care for one another, support one another in striving for their dream, and last but not least, by telling how they both make sacrifices and are responsible for one another. George and Lennie’s relationship is the true meaning of friendship.