Mental illness. Since the beginning of time, people have had them. Ticks in their brains that made them different, and often shunned or feared. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the character Lennie is shown to have mental illness, making him childlike and stronger than he knows. Steinbeck illustrates this by giving him Animalistic Qualities, He listens to George and only George, and showing how childlike he can be. Lennie is shown to have many animalistic qualities, illustrated throughout the book. In Chapter One, when we first meet George and Lennie, we see how big he is. “A huge man, shapeless of face, with large pale eyes and long, sloping arms ending in large paws.” (2). He is seen walking along with George, stumbling and staring
Lennie is big man with incredible strength but isn’t bright minded. He would listen to anyone who tells him to do something. This is why he follows a small man named George to stay out of trouble. The friendship between George and Lennie shows how Lennie may be physically strong, but can easily be
Lennie is broken and incomplete in many ways. He has a mental disability which differentiates him from the others. He depends on George for everything and cannot do things on his own even though he is a grown man.
As aforementioned they lived in the Great Depression a time where achieving the American Dream was almost impossible to do, especially with all the farms being lost in Oklahoma. Most of the character's perspectives of Lennie was that he was most simply a passive aggressive retard. Later in the novel the reader notices that he is incredible strong which serves to positive and negative effects in the story. Also, his thinking pattern is rather awkward or odd for someone of his age because what keeps him concentrated is this depiction of a farm where they will ¨tend the rabbits..build up a fire in the stove¨ (Steinbeck 14) which makes him mentally ill. When something is said to him about animals, he would instantly recognise with this desire, but for everything else, he is pretty much a useless man but other people who were willing to listen like Slim and Crooks who get to know him understood that he is if anything vulnerable which is what many characters were even
Firstly, I am going to talk about Lennie who was known as a man with
Based on the past of the two characters, they were in a cycle of getting a job, Lennie making a mistake, and moving to another job. In Weed, Lennie accidentally held onto a woman's dress and wouldn’t let go out of fear. This ultimately led to the two moving to Soledad, where Lennie yet again becomes scared and kills Curley’s wife. A vicious cycle was beginning to form from the two moving around for work, and these events could have continued on and on; Lennie would’ve eventually met a rough end. Based on the time period that Of Mice and Men takes place in, those with mental illnesses would not have been treated well. People did not accept or help those who had a mental illness, like Lennie, and would have thrown them into mental facilities. The facilities of the early 1900s were unsafe, and the people inside them were mistreated horribly. Eventually, Lennie would’ve ended up in a place where he would be tortured everyday, and George gave him the out that would protect him from the pain that society could inflict. That pain would eventually be inflicted upon Lennie, as he did kill someone, and he might have been turned into jail to be locked up for the rest of his life. It can be agreed that Lennie didn’t deserve jail, not when he never meant to harm anyone. “I didn’t wanta hurt him,” (Steinbeck 64) Lennie had said after he broke Curley’s hand. He had the innocence of a child who would never mentally grow older, leading to him constantly doing things that no one would forgive him for except
excited one. He now has hope of doing something and it came from the "dream
There are many arguments Regarding Lennie’s condition. It seems to be some kind of mental illness, which is a condition that disrupts a persons thinking, feeling, mood and ability to relate to others and their daily functioning. Back in the 1930s people with a mental illness was treated but they were just thrown into mental hospitals that may have provided therapy. During this period of time no one really knew what type of illness it could be. Mental illnesses today like Autism, Down syndrome, etc was not even thought of. The treatment and status of people suffering mental illness improved after World War 1, But in some cases, many cultures have viewed mental illness as a religious punishment, Cultures such as, Ancient Egyptian, Indian, Greek, and Roman. In the 1930s Mental hospitals had easier admission procedures and professional care by specialists and trained mental nurses. They provided facilities called “Reception Homes” and “Neuropathic Hospitals”
In the novel, Lennie faces the adversity in explaining himself to the rest of the world. Thus ,Lennie’s adversity is his mental illness which he is continuously throughout the book trying to overcome.Since ,he is mentally challenged, most people, even George intermittently, underestimates his intelligence and logic skills. At the ranch in Soledad,...
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
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.
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
The psychological approach views literature through the lens of psychology. There are multiple approaches to the psychological aspect of literature but the two most recognized are the Freudian and Jungian approach. The best approach to use when critically analyzing the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, is the Jungian approach. Because the novel’s main theme is a struggle with the idea of “self”, using this approach allows the reader to understand the main character, its influences, and ultimately his actions.
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
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.