The novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is about two men's struggles to find a way to make a living in California during the 1930s. One of the characters, George, helps take care of his mentally disabled friend, Lennie, as they work on a ranch to get enough money to buy their own plot of land. One theme that emerged from the story is that lacking resources often leave a persons desires unfulfilled because George and Lennie lack stability and wealth. Also George lacks the resources to teach Lennie how to control himself. George and Lennie lack stability in their lives because they don’t have the necessities to live.
It was alright for George to kill Lennie because of their friendship and the sacrifices that friends need to make for each other. George was making a sacrifice by following out his responsibility to shoot Lennie instead of letting someone else shoot him. It was an immense sacrifice for George and shows how true their friendship was. Despite George’s approach to Lennie, deep down he truly cares for his friend. Even when Lennie offered to “go off in the hills and live by” himself, George told him that he wanted Lennie to stay with him because he truly does care for Lennie ( Of mice and Men 13).
George protects Lennie more than once in the story. He knows Lennie can't live on his own and he cares about him. On their way to the new ranch, Lennie forgets where they're going and asks George. George reminds Lennie about the time they went to Murray and Ready's, where they were given work cards and bus tickets. Lennie thought he had lost his passes, but George explains to him that he would never let him carry it knowing his past experiences of forgetting things.
Although some may say it was okay to kill Lennie, George’s choice to end Lennie’s life is unacceptable because how can you end the person’s life who has been there for you from the beginning to the end. George's justification for shooting Lennie is to keep him from experiencing the pain that will follow the consequences of his actions. Lennie will be probably be beaten and then killed when he is caught. George also knows that even if they were to escape, it would be
In Mice of Men, John Steinbeck shows characterization and slang from back in the day around the Great. He present limitations for the roles of people, and the struggles of new jobs. The setting takes place in Soledad, up the Salina river. Two men named Lennie and George, leave their ranch job in Weed due to conflictions. They find a new ranch to work at with a dream in their hearts of owning their own farm one day.
Readers should be more compassionate toward George because of his relationship with Lennie; George sacrifices his personal wants, has to correct Lennie’s mistakes and eventually has to come to terms with the ultimate sacrifice. George is a knowledgeable man who has the opportunity to create a simple easy going life for himself. However, throughout the novel he remains loyal to Lennie and sacrifices his success of an improved
Another example of George and Lennie’s friendship is when George has to shoot Lennie, because he had accidentally murdered Curley’s wife. George knew that he would have let Curley get to Lennie he would have tortured Lennie. It was George’s responsibility to take care of Lennie. George knew that they could not just run away from this. For the better of Lennie, George decided that he should kill Lennie himself (Steinbeck).
George is cruel to Lennie a lot of the time, calling him “a crazy bastard” even though the connotation of “bastard” is astoundingly harsh. George earlier explains how Lennie makes them lose a job when Lennie acts strangely to a girl which frightened the girl and got them both in trouble, even though George was not even there at the time. Lennie tends to get them fired most of the time, so they have a spot that they meet up at, if there is some kind of problem. Lennie is hiding in the spot, the brush, that George told him to go to if he ever gets into trouble, after he accidentally kills Curley’s wife. He knows that what he did is wrong, but he doesn’t know how to fix it, and he thinks that George might be able to fix the problem.
The setting of Of Mice and Men is in California during the Great Depression. “By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its nadir, some 13 to 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed.” – History. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck portrays George as a normal migrant worker during the 1930s, which is why society is eminently stunned by his loyalty to Lennie. His internal conflict shows what it means to be human and surrounds around his loyalty to Lennie and the freedom he could have if he traveled alone. Steinbeck simulates George as an ordinary migrant worker that has an obligation to take care of Lennie.
Of Mice and Men is a novel about two friends who are chasing the American dream. The two main characters are George and Lennie. George and Lennie are best friends who travel to work. George is a smaller man but possess some intelligence. In contrast, Lennie is physically larger and stronger than George, but is not too bright and needs guidance.