The Role Of Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

The Great Depression brought hardships to families across America. People battled these hardships in many ways, but John Steinbeck’s weapon of choice was something that would live on forever: his words. Throughout his career Steinbeck wrote over 31 books. His classic novel, Of Mice and Men, portrays a heart wrenching story of two men that are beaten into the ground of the Great Depression. While Steinbeck shows that dreams and planning can create hope and aspiration, friendship is shown to be the deciding factor between a content life and the search for more, that can ultimately lead to less.
Throughout Of Mice and Men, friendship affects the relationships between each of the characters. For George and Lennie, friendship is what keeps the

He says, “An’ I got you. We got each other…” (Steineck 104). They keep each other going like an engine to a car; without one another, they are useless. George is always busy looking after Lennie and keeping him out of trouble. To bystanders, in the book, it is hard to understand how close the pair actually is. For example, when they first arrive at the ranch and they are speaking to the boss, he questions George’s motives for speaking in place of Lennie by saying, “I said what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?” (Steinbeck 22). The boss does not understand how tight of a bond George and Lennie have; so to him, George must have a different motive for caring about Lennie. Yet, the truth is that George was willing to take Lennie’s life in order for him to escape the pains he would have endured. On the contrary, the lack of friendship between Curley’s wife and anyone else causes Curley’s wife a feeling a boredom and frustration. Because of this, she searches the farm for a partner to comfort her. This angers Curley and creates a foundation of mistrust between Curley and everyone on the farm. Curley displays this mistrust throughout the book, especially towards Lennie. Lennie is seen by Curley as a threat to his marriage, and