In Of Mice and Men Lennie Small and his friend George Milton travel and work together as migrant workers on ranches bucking barley for a living. In contrary to his name, Lennie Small is a very large man with incredible strength. However, he is unaware of his own strength. Lennie’s strength is obviously helpful for work, but is harmful in other situations he is faced with and ultimately causes his death. Lennie makes his living bucking barley on different ranches in California. Strength is needed for his type of work so Lennie has an advantage being as “strong as a bull” (Steinbeck 22). To buck barely, workers had to pick up the grain, place it in a large bag, and pack it in a truck. A full bag of barley weighed at least seventy-five pounds, …show more content…
Lennie is “jes’ like a kid. There ain’t no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he’s so strong” (Steinbeck 43). His problem is, he does not know of his own strength and does not know how to control it in certain cases, especially when he is frightened. For example, when Curley attacked Lennie, Lennie grabbed onto Curley’s hand and held on. He was so frightened he could not let go, busting every bone in Curley’s hand. Lennie “didn’t wanna hurt him” but he is just too strong (Steinbeck 64). Later in the story, Lennie’s incredible strength causes two deaths, first he kills a puppy and then Curley’s wife. Lennie didn’t mean to kill the puppy, he explained that he “was jus’ playin’ with him… an’ he made like he’s gonna bite me… an’ I made like I was gonna smack him... an’… an’ I done it. An’ he was dead” (Steinbeck 87). Lennie was worried after he killed the puppy because he thought George wasn’t going to let him tend to the rabbits when they bought the farm. Shortly after Lennie killed the puppy, he killed Curley’s wife. He likes to touch soft things and when she lets him touch her hair, “she jerked her head sideways and Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on” (Steinbeck 91). She started to scream, which made Lennie panic. He tried to get her to be quiet “and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (Steinbeck 91). After he
Relationships are based on give and take. Three things that Lennie contributes to his friendship with George and vice versa are easily shown through the text. Lennie contributes by being the main breadwinner, his strength, and how he understands George. Lennie is the main breadwinner because he is strong and a fast learner. Lennie’s strength helps and hinders the friendship. His strength can help with work but it can also hurt when he doesn’t realize how strong he truly is in fights. Lennie also understands George. George says multiple times that he wouldn’t be the same without his “brother”. George contributes with his brains, helping Lennie keep on track, and being a smooth talker. Lennie has got into a lot of trouble, but George is always there to save him. George is the one that is able to keep Lennie on track and get the jobs they need. His brains also help when he has to speak for Lennie, because if Lennie
In the Salinas River Valley, after the Great Depression, there were a large number of unemployed workers seeking jobs. In the fiction novel "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck, Lennie Small is among one of those men. Lennie and his friend George both have just received jobs on a ranch as farm workers. What brings the two together is their dream to someday own their own land. Lennie has a lot of character and personality traits that define him. One trait that he has is he is very forgetful. Another trait he has is he is very curious. A final trait he has is that he is very reliant. Although he might not be the intelligent person in the book, he has a very well developed personality. Lennie demonstrates his personality and character
ways. They rely on each other. Lennie is more of a bulky type of guy. And
Lennie is physically powerful. He is a big guy, with so much strength that he literally doesn't know he has it. Time after time he is told by George to be careful and to not hurt anything, Lennie is confused by this sometimes because he doesn’t know how strong he is and what problems he can cause. When he gets himself in tough situations, he still is unsure of what he did and how. “”Why do you got to get killed? You ain’t so little as mice. I didn’t bounce you hard”” (85). His strength is so powerful he was able to kill a puppy, just by lightly hitting him for barking. This leads up to him eventually killing Curley’s wife by breaking her neck. Not many people are strong enough to kill a human being with their own bear hands, but Lennie Small
Have you ever wondered why Lennie Smalls acts a different way than others around him? Lennie is a character in Of Mice and Men. He tries to make a life of himself with the help of a guy George. Along the way he creates problems that may cause him trouble in the future. Lennie represents several things, although he’s strong that’s mainly all he has going for him.
A man that works with George is telling his friend about how George is at a bar instead of back at the ranch working to make money. George and Lennie share their earnings from work to pursue their American Dream, which is owning their own farm. Still, between the both of them, they do not have enough money they would need to reach their
In the book Of Mice and Men, the main characters were George and Lennie. George is a small person. He looks like a fast, skinny person. Lennie is a Big fellow. He is muscular and he is really tall. In the book, Lennie is slow in the head and he likes to pet soft pretty things. Well one day he went up to a little girl and he started petting her dress but she didn’t know what he was doing. All of a sudden the girl started to scream. When the girl started to scream Lennie grabbed her dress and didn’t let go. Everyone thought he was trying to assault to little girl. Well on down the line they got a job working on a farm hauling feed. There was this girl who was married to the bosses son and she was kinda hoeing around. Well she was letting Lennie
Although Lennie is very kind and he follows the rules. He is immensely strong, and Lennie starts fondling Curley’s Wife's hair and it goes too far, “Don’t you go yellin he said, and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (Steinbeck 91). Lennie does not like that she is yelling because he is petrified that George will hear and won’t let him tend the rabbits. Lennie has indescribable strength and Curley’s wife should’ve known what the outcome of letting Lennie pet her hair would be.
“I di’n’t forget, you bet, God damn. Hid in the bush an’ wait for George” Lennie said softly in the bush as he waited for George. In this book Of Mice and Men there are two main characters; Lennie Smalls and George Milton. They are ranchers going to look for new work. Lennie is a bigger guy, like a bear who is very sweet and never means any harm.
In John Steinbeck’s novel, “Of Mice and Men”, the story revolves around two main characters: George Milton and Lennie Small. George Milton is a smart and small man. In Chapter one he is directly characterized: “The first man was small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose.” He cares for Lennie, makes sure he stays out of trouble, tells him how to act in certain situations, and takes care of him. For example, when Lennie was drinking big gulps from a pool of non-running water, George told him to stop because he could get sick. George also doesn’t allow Lennie to carry his work card because it is important and he knows he would lose it. Lennie Small is also directly characterized in
Lennie has the brain of a 4 year old and the combined strength of several sumo wrestlers. In the beginning of “Of Mice and Men” by George Steinbeck, Lennie fails to follow George’s command on staying quiet when he’s talking to the boss. Later in the novel, he can’t defend himself against Curley because he doesn’t know how to use his strength. In the climax of the book, Curley’s Wife angrily orders Lennie to stop stroking her hair, but Lennie ignores her and his fingers close in on her hair. After some struggling, Lennie breaks her neck due to his overwhelming power. Steinbeck characterizes Lennie by his little kid brain and his mammoth-like physical strength to point out that utilizing your physical capabilities is going to make you useful.
“Curley was white and shrunken by now, and his struggling had become weak. He stood crying, his fist lost in Lennie's paw” (Steinbeck 3). Lennie, as said before, has a great amount of strength. However he doesn’t realize that he has so much physical power. The thing that holds him back is his mental state. “‘I forgot,’ Lennie said softly. ‘I tried not to forget. Honest to God I did, George’” (Steinbeck 1). Lennie’s mental state is less than ideal and is very much so like a giant child. Lennie doesn’t have the mental capacity to understand that he is so strong, which, in the end, is what leads him to have no
In the 1930 's, migrant workers often experienced powerlessness. Migrant workers were stuck in one place, were poor, and had little to no education. In the story, migrant worker Lennie becomes helpless when trying to respond to the boss. His boss questions, "Lennie, Small! [...] What can you do?" (Steinbeck 22). Since Lennie is slower than the rest of the men mentally, he is dependent upon George. George has the first and last say in everything Lennie does. So, when Lennie is faced
Lennie is rejected by everyone at the ranch, except George, because of his mental disability (“Of Mice and Men” 248). People with a mental disability are often looked down upon in society. Lennie is a very large, strong man, however, people on the ranch don't believe he is a good worker because of his disability. Although Lennie has a mental disability, he has the strength to do a lot of the ranch work and is a very good worker. The men on the ranch do not realize the strength that Lennie has until he breaks Curley’s hand and ends up killing Curley’s wife. Having a disability does not imply that the individuals aren’t skilled in different areas. Handicapped by his lack of adult intelligence, Lennie is doomed in the world of a migrant worker (“Of Mice and Men” 246). He is not able to think as highly as an average adult and often times does not make the best decisions. In the novel, we are able to see the strength that Lennie has and how he is not able to control it when Steinbeck talks about how Lennie killed the mouse, the puppy, Curley’s wife and crushed Curley’s hand. Curley is a small man who tends to pick fights with the bigger men to show his strength. Curley knows about Lennie's lack of intelligence and decides to start hitting him. Lennie doesn’t do anything back until George tells him to fight back. The next punch Curley threw, Lennie caught it and squeezed Curley's hand
Lennie is strong, but he has a hard time using his strength the right way. “I didn’t mean no harm George, I just’ wanted to pet ‘um a little” George is accusing Lennie of killing a puppy because Lennie pet him too hard. Lennie tries to touch and hold things much harder than he should because he still doesn't understand his strength and how it can affect what he’s holding. Lennie’s strength helps on the ranch when throwing hay, but when he does normal daily activities that aren't working, Lennie is no help and can distract others from living their life because they have to worry about taking care of him. Lennie has gotten into trouble with his strength many