"An' why? Because...because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." This quote shows friendship the most. Friendship is one of the most important things throughout the book in the book George and Lennie are very good friends and they need each other to survive in such a bad area and jump from job to job "'Ain't many guys travel around together,' he mused. 'I don't know why. Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other.'” The reason lennie says that is because he has George and he doesn't need anyone else . If George didn't have Lennie he would be lonely and same goes for Lennie. Without George Lennie would not be able to get a job because of his disabilities and he wouldn't be able to keep Lennie to not do anything stupid. Loyalty is also another big trait that both characters hold dear to them because they need each other to survive again Lennie without George he is nothing and would have nowhere to go. Loyalty and Friendship go a long way in this book and in real
From the day that Lennie’s Aunt Clara died and from the day George took Lennie in as a friend George was always there for him. If Lennie did not have George, Lennie would have no one to protect him and save him from all of the bad things that he has done. Despite all of the dangers and problems Lennie got George and himself into, George benefited and also learned from Lennie’s mistakes. George needs his ignorant sidekick as much as Lennie needs George.
George is a hard working man who relies on mental acuity to get the job. He has a natural leader feel to him because he commands all of the people around him. George is described as small man with dark undertones and strong and slender physical features. Despite his dark facial features, George is a man with a caring attitude and helps whoever needs him. George’s best friend is Lennie depends on him to know what to do and tell him what to do. The character of George illustrates friendship and loyalty. Through George’s devotion to his friend, John Steinbeck reveals few people in the world display genuine friendship qualities.
George sacrifices the chance to have a better and more fulfilled life to stay with Lennie. First, when George was introducing himself and Lennie to their new boss, he said, “I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.” This shows that George was portraying that he cares about Lennie enough to be picked up on by others. He was willing to lie about being Lennie’s cousin to get him a job. Also, when George and Lennie were talking to each other at their camp spot George said, “I could get along so easy and nice If I didn’t have you on my tail.” By saying this, it shows his willingness to give up some good in life for another person. It also shows what negative outcomes can come out of doing this. For example, he also said, “I could
George would protect Lennie at all costs even from himself. After Lennie kills a young woman, George decides it is better for Lennie to be dead rather than to be tortured and kept in a cell or a mental asylum. The decision of killing Lennie hit George like a train, but he knew it was something that was in Lennie’s own good. Knowing he could have an easier life without Lennie, George still kept him around because he needed George and George needed Lennie. George tells Slim “Course Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him.” (Steinbeck, 41) George explains how he feels about Lennie without getting too sweet so Slim does not think that George is weak. George and Lennie were family, but not by blood, but by they way they took care of each other and protected one another. However, in the end the loyalty of the two men ran out. On the bank of the river, Lennie lay dead, no longer able to show George his loyalty. In the aftermath of loyalty came loneliness because eventually one of the characters in a relationship will outlive the other and leave one all
The words selfish and selfless are two completely different words with two completely different meanings, yet they get confused quite often. In “Of Mice and Men,” some readers may envision the character George as selfish or harsh towards Lennie, however, Steinbeck portrays George as selfless. George and Lennie find themselves in penurious situations very often. This is burdensome for George considering Lennie’s mental disability, and it should be expected that George will become infuriated with him at times. It is evident that George’s actions and words towards Lennie are selfless or caring represented by Lennie’s mental disability, his troublesome behavior, the life George could have without him, and why George kills him.
Starting in chapter one, Lennie was always a handful. George would get angry at Lennie sometimes, and lash out. George believes his life would be better without Lennie sometimes. He once told Lennie, “I could get along so easily and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail” (Steinbeck 7). In other words, George tells
Friendship is something everyone needs to survive. Without friends, there is no one to look to in times of need; no one to support you . In the novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, it is clear that George and Lennie are best friends who always stay together, even though their relationship is strained. But sometimes, friends must do what is best for the other. Due to this, it is clear that George was justified in killing Lennie at the end of the novel.
Lennie’s strength and his childish mind is his biggest struggle that affects many people on the ranch and himself. Lennie is overprotective of George and about being with him he would do anything for the guy, so when Crooks tells him, “S’pose he gets killed or hurt so he can’t come back.”(71) Lennie then contradicts his opinion”This ain’t true. George ain’t got hurt.”(72) he can’t believe that something like that would happen to George that will leave him alone. After George had scolded him had replies ”If you don 't want me I can go off an’ find a cave. I can go away any time”(13). He requests that it would better off for George and everyone else if he is alone, even though he wants someone to talk to and be with. None of the other people really like Lennie on the farm and especially when the climax of the story happened he was dreadfully hated. Everyone was out to get him and George is the only one looking out for him. This is one of the reasons Lennie never wants George to leave he
Lennie cares about George. Lennie always wanted to be with George because, he needed a companion, but he may have trusted him a bit too much. “I turn to Lennie and say jump in and he jumps, couldn’t swim a stroke. He damn near drowned."(Steinbeck, 40) Lennie is dumb, but listens to George because he trusts him and Lennie gets hurt and doesn’t get mad at George. Lennie always wants to make George happy. "If it were here you could have some. I don’t want no ketchup." (Steinbeck, 11) Lennie always wants to give George everything he can and even when he has nothing he wants George to have some ketchup. Even when Lennie thinks George is mad at him, he still tries to find him. "Aint you gonna give me hell." (Steinbeck, 103) Lennie knew that George
Some decisions you have to make in life are so difficult that we would rather not have to deal with them. George Milton had to decide the fate of his closest friend’s life. Lennie Small, a character from John Steinback’s book Of Mice and Men, is a childlike adult that George looks after. They were best friends until he accidentally killed the wife of their boss’s son. George had to decide whether or not he would kill Lennie mercifully, or let the rest of the worker's murder him. I believe George should have killed Lennie because he has hurt people, can’t control himself, and would have probably ended up in a horrible mental institution anyway.
Although described as a rather large man, Lennie’s role between the two men is very childlike. Lennie is treated like a child by George because Lennie does not have the maturity or mental capability to make decisions for himself. For example, George must continuously remind Lennie of the spot he must come to if in trouble because Lennie cannot focus long enough to process this information. Lennie is also fairly unintelligent and blindly loyal to George. This loyalty is seen when George tells Lennie to jump into a river, and Lennie obeys even though he is unable to swim. Although George sometimes abuses Lennie’s blind loyalty, they think of each other as family and establish that they will always be there for each other. For example, George and Lennie share a dream in which they own a farm and live off of the land and look out for each other as a family.
Ch 1: George complains about having to take care of Lennie, though continues to travel with him. Why might George keep Lennie around? What does this suggest about George’s character?
What is right and what must be done are two different concepts. Often times, life requires people to do what must be done in order to save themselves, or others, from negative consequences. The characters in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men illustrate how people implement remorseful decisions with astute intentions to help ease the consequences for those they care about.
Everyday we are influenced by our goals or dreams. George was also influenced by his dream of protecting Lennie. This one dream has influenced George by so much that it began to take most of his freedom, and in the process, becoming an aspect of his life. According to the text “All the time he coulda had such a good time if it wasn’t for you. he woulda took his pay and raised hell in the whore house, and he coulda set in a pool room an’ played snooker, but he gotta take care of you” (Page#101, Steinbeck). This basically proves and enforces the reality that Lennie influences almost every part of Georges life. This also shows that George could have had a good life, even a better life if his dream of being able to take care of Lennie did not become a burden upon himself and influenced his life so greatly. Everything that George did or tried to do was always influenced by Lennie’s wellbeing.