How Steinbeck Presents Lennie and George

For what Lennie has done, and with his condition, he could have been sentenced to death.

Lennie Small is a character that readers are drawn to right from the beginning of the book. His innocence stands out from the grimey coverings of loneliness and hopelessness that the other characters wear. The reason Lennie is so innocent is because he has a mental handicap, one that prevents him from understanding complex human emotions such as guilt, or concepts such as death. In addition Lennie has trouble remembering things, “" I tried and tried [to remember]...but it didn't do not good." Consequently, Lennie has trouble fitting in with society. Ultimately his mental disability is what leads to Lennie's demise at the end of the book. Another trait that is an essential part of Lennie's innocent character is his devotion to his closest friend George. In fact, the only times Lennie is shown to be angry is when George is insulted or threatened. When Crooks, the crippled, black, stable hand, implies bad things about George, this devotion is clearly shown. “Suddenly Lennie's eyes centered and grew quiet, and mad. He walked dangerously toward Crooks. 'Who hurt George?' he demanded" When it comes to George, Lennie would deviate from the normal passive motives of his persona. More support can be found when George is the only one who can convince Lennie to “get him[Curly]” when Curly attacks him, as well as being the only one to stop him. Perhaps the most prominent support for Lennie's childlike innocence is in his utter belief of George and his dream. No matter how

Although Lennie has the mental capacity of a child, he is innocent to doing anything wrong to George. George just seen him as a potential threat.

Lennie small is a large strong, and un intelligent man. He rarely thinks for himself and can’t hold his own. He does not understand Who you can laugh at or when you can laugh which makes him not have any social awareness. Lennie also never learns throughout the course of this story. He never learns to stay away from some people. For All these reasons we are sympathetic for him.

Lennie is described as a big bulky animal. But his brain, on the other hand, is slow as child’s. Because of this fact, when George was younger, he picked on Lennie and bullied him. In the book it states, “George’s voice was taking on the

George Milton and Lennie Small have traveled around the country as migrant farmers. George has been known to look over Lennie, similarly how a parent looks over a child. Lennie, for the most part, has to be watched and taken care of for the majority of the day. When Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife, George decides to take matters into his own hands and take Lennie’s life. Although Lennie and George were good friends, George was justified in his decision to shoot Lennie because Lennie’s death decreased George’s responsibility and Lennie’s suffering.

In the relationship of George of Lennie, George is similar to an older brother. George cares deeply for Lennie, but does not always show it. He is short tempered and get irritated very quickly by Lennie’s actions. When the two of them settled down to eat and Lennie was joking about

In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, he shows how the great depression is hard by showcasing Lennie and George's friendship. George and Lennie are in the middle of nowhere trying to get to the workplace they soon will be working at “He threw a scoop of water into his face and rubbed it about with his hand, under his chin and around the back of his neck. Pushed himself back from the river, drew up his knee and embraced them. Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, he pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes, the way George’s hat was”(3-4).

Lennie has his mind set on one thing. That is getting out of the barn and getting his own piece of land with George. This dream motivates Lennie to always listen and follow what George says. There he can finally tend the rabbits he has always wanted. Lennie loves petting things such as small animals and dresses which usually leads him to trouble.

Lennie doesn't seem to have the same thoughts about death as other people have. Death doesn’t really matter to him. His mental disability makes him closer to an animal than to a human.

George and Lennie are going to have a little piece of land for themselves one day. They are going to have animals and crops. They are especially going to have rabbits that Lennie can tend. They are going to live on land without people telling them what to do.

For Lennie, other than his friendship with George, raising and petting the rabbits is all he really wants in life. He wants to hear George tell him over and over about their future, and the rabbit farm once they “get the jack together” for a “little house, and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and ---” “An’ have rabbits” (14) For George, owning land was freedom and happiness, “S’pose they was a carnival or a circus come to town, or a ball game, or any damn thing.” “We’d just go to her,” “We wouldn’t ask nobody if we could. Jus’ say, ‘We’ll go to her,’ an’ we would.” (61) George never saw the dream becoming reality until Candy offered up his savings “This thing they had never really believed in was coming true”. (60) Crooks, another worker at the ranch, was the voice of a hard reality, “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back an’ that same damn thing in their heads . . . every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Ever’body wants a little piece of lan’. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” (74) After the discovery of Curly’s wife’s dead body in the barn,, George realized his dream was over and it was confirmed when Candy had asked him. “Then -- It’s all off?”

I could also notice when I was reading through the first chapter that George has a sense of authority over Lennie, “you gonna get that wood”. This is like a parent telling a child to do his chores. On some occasions though George shows a bit of hatred towards Lennie, he thinks of what he could have if Lennie wasn’t around and contrasts that with George.

Lennie is mentally disabled and so always ‘does bad things’, because of this, he constantly depends on George to protect him and get him out of trouble. For example, in Weed, Lennie constantly ‘wants to touch

Even though they both want their dream to come true, only George knew that it was very unrealistic that this dream would ever happen. Lennie on the other hand had very high hopes and because he was slower and wasn’t very smart so in his mind he truly believed that the dream farm was very realistic. George only pretends to have really high hopes for the dream farm for Lennie’s sake. Lennie tends to get into a lot of trouble. He doesn’t mean to get into trouble but he gets a little too rowdy. So in order to keep Lennie out of trouble he bribes him with the farm. He tells Lennie that if he is good and if he doesn’t do bad things then he can tend the rabbits on the farm. It works pretty well because Lennie is so passionate about the dream farm. George knows the truth that the farm probably won’t happen but he stays positive for