George And Lennie Friendship Essay

In Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, two best friends, George and Lennie, escape a life-threatening situation and begin a new life on a ranch in Soledad, California. They’re relationship is the equivalent to a bro hug: the appearance of it is emotionless, but inside they know they have eachother’s backs. While it seems as though George finds Lennie a nuisance, he displays the qualities of a good friend to Lennie.

George shows his traits as a good friend through his protectiveness over Lennie. While George was having a conversation with Slim, Slim insults Lennie by calling him a cuckoo. George defends Lennie by saying, “He ain’t no cuckoo… He’s dumb as hell, but he ain’t crazy,” (Steinbeck 39). With George admitting he knows Lennie is not the most intelligent, but is completely sane, proves that he’s passionately speaking from his heart. Additionally, George has endangered his own life to keep Lennie safe many times in the past. Before arriving to the ranch in Soledad, Lennie and George was staying in a town named Weed. He was

While it seems valid, it is not because George had ended Lennie’s life in the least traumatic and painful way, unlike how Curley and his men would’ve done it. Soon before shooting Lennie, George beautifully described Lennie’s heaven to him by saying, “An’ down the flat we’ll have a… little piece alfafa… for the rabbits… An’ you get to tend the rabbits… ” (Steinbeck 105). Lennie’s reaction was priceless as he, “...giggled with happiness,” (Steinbeck 105). Lennie had peacefully and happily died, which wouldn’t had been his experience if he had been found by Curley first.

In the novel, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, George consistently shows the qualities of a good friend by dealing with the annoyance of Lennie and risking his own life for his. Lennie and George’s relationship has positively changed both of them to become a sensitive and humane