In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck's story depicts confusion, fear, and isolation represented by different characters, such as Lennie. Throughout the story, Steinbeck portrays him as a symbol of pain and confusion, always bringing trouble wherever he goes. The various conflicts derived from his confusion, fear, and isolation reveal how society has denied his opportunities in terms of ambition and companionship. This is shown to us as readers through the degrading way he characterizes him as well as the more under the surface conflicts he has with himself and society.
Lennie struggles throughout Of Mice and Men, battling himself mentally to fit in with society. An example of his mental confusion is when he killed the puppy. “Now I won’t get to tend the rabbits. Now he won’t let me.” Lennie knows that George would
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George throughout the book constantly had to remind Lennie to always do something. "You never had none…I got both of 'em here." Lennie represents the George's adversary, always causing unnecessary problems for George. Lennie had conflicted with George's agenda, multiple times, ultimately leading to George's decision to put Lennie down. Another character contributing to Lennie's conflicts with different characters throughout the novel is Curley. Steinbeck portrays Curley as the man who was "superior" to everyone, strong, handsome, and has everything he wants. Lennie is the exact opposite of Curley, isolated from society, not good looking, and doesn't have a lot. It offends Curley when someone like Lennie starts to laugh at him. Curley starts to beat up Lennie to assert his dominance against him, showing the crowd around him that he is the alpha. However, George tells
Lennie to fight back and Lennie did, beating Curley and humiliating him. In conclusion, Lennie has always caused problems for other people, conflicting pain and stress among