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

What do you think Steinbeck says about the theme of friendship in Of Mice and Men?

What would you do, if you had a friend that always got in trouble and prevented you from being where you want to be? In the novel, “ Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck, there are two great friends George Milton and Lennie Small who travel everywhere looking for work and chasing their dream. While taking care of Lennie, George demonstrates being kind and caring, which shows how people who are inspired to push harder to achieve their goal. Throughout the novel, George demonstrates kindness towards Lennie. At the beginning of the story The boss questions George for looking out for Lennie so much, “‘ Well, I ain’t never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.’” Furthermore, The boss observes that George is taking a lot of trouble to take care of Lennie. After this, George denies this statement by claiming that he is his cousin. The readers do not know if this is true, but not to mention it leaves us to believe that he is lying. When this occurs, it gives the readers clues that there strong friendship may not go unnoticed. The author does this to make the readers think that their friendship being recognized, likewise may happen later on in the story. Again, someone recognizes their friendship and how kind George is to lennie to go through all of this trouble with him. While George meets slim for the first time, Slim says, “‘ Funny how you and him string along together’” then George replies “‘ What’s wrong bout it?’” (39). Again, someone recognizes their friendship.

Is the love of your friend unconditional? Would you care for them if they were mentally retarded? What if they had unpredictable behavior that could be lethal to others? This was the daily life and burden of George in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. George and Lennie are great friends that are two migrant workers in California during the 1920s. George is physically a small man that takes care Lennie. Lennie is unaware of his largeness and strength that has a gentle heart and likes to pet soft things. The story begins when the two men are dropped off by a bus two miles away from the destination of the farm they are going to work at. George and Lennie stop by a river to get a drink of water before they walk to the farm. When George takes a sip of water, he notices that Lennie is hiding something in his pocket. So George asks Lennie what it is, Lennie pulls out a dead mouse. Lennie says that it feels soft and he likes to pet it. George, out of fear, takes the dead mouse and throws it into the river. George tells Lennie that he could get really sick from the mouse.

"Of Mice and Men" is a book about two men and their struggle to achieve their dream of owning a small ranch through their companionship. The two men are completely different, one being a retarded fellow (Lennie), and the other, a typical ranch hand(George) who travels with him. On the path to achieving their dream, they run into obstacles, but stick together, stressing the importance of true friendship. Steinbeck wrote this book to tell us how important it is to have a friend to share your life with.

One of the major themes in John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is that having a dream spreads hope, friendship, and determination, which helps to strive onward in life.  Three major examples inside the novel show this idea.  The first example is Candy’s loss of his dog and following George and Lennie’s dream of owning land.  A second example is Crook’s memory of his father’s chicken ranch.  Anothert example is George's and Lennie’s dream of having their own place.  These three examples show the theme that having high aspirations breed hope, friendship, and determination, allowing one to strive onward with a sense of self-worth or importance.

Individuals have had to do something they do not want to do at least once in their lives. It could be something small, or something to a bigger extent. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, many characters struggle with loneliness because the novel is set during the Great Depression when many people found it difficult to make a living. This is one of the reasons why many readers find it odd that Lennie Small and George Milton travel together in these desperate times. George and Lennie look out for each other at every place they go. At the Tyler Ranch, Lennie’s disability causes him to get into trouble, big trouble. George has to make the toughest decision of his life: kill his friend or let him die a painful death. George decided to kill Lennie because he would not be able to allow Lennie to experience misery. George Milton did not kill Lennie Small out of hate, but out of friendship.

Good friendships make life easier. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, is about two men, George and Lennie, who go on various journeys in order to get a job. Although George would consider Lennie to be his closest friend, he ultimately ends up shooting and killing Lennie. George did this, not out of hatred, but rather out of protection. A good friend will always want what is best for one another. Steinbeck uses his protagonists’ friendship in order to show that true friendship can help make any of life’s hardships less difficult.

In the novel of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses multiple characters to show how companionship is valuable in rough times. The author places the setting during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. The Dust Bowl was a time of intense hardship and caused many people to lose hope. In the book, George and Lennie are ranch hands. They have been through, and taken care of each other in the rough times throughout the dustbowl. Steinbeck uses multiple unique characters to prove that people should learn how much companionship is valuable in rough times.

Being burdened by close friends or family can be especially bothersome or problematic, as there is a need to constantly attend to them. The responsibility of satisfying each other’s needs before one’s own or repairing their mistakes is often shared between both parties, as well as the negative consequences that may follow. At times, it may even seem simpler to just abandon hope and desert them; however, the fear of loneliness generally prevents this from occurring. John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men consists of a diverse group of people living and working on a ranch. Although they come from many walks of life, they all share one similar trait. Many of the characters’

One of the main themes John Steinbeck revolves around in his book, Of Mice and Men mainly has to do with loneliness and friendship. Lennie and George, the two main characters, have a strong brotherly bond that goes way back to when they were young. This book really stresses how Lennie and George are very different from the other ranchers. They stick together rather than being independent and solitaire: “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jacks jus’ because we got no place else to go. (14)”’ They both stick together and support each other while working towards their dream of having their own farm: “… I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you… (14)”’ The other characters don’t have this kind of bond with anyone. Characters such as Candy or even Curley’s wife either lost their best friend or was not allowed to talk to anyone except her husband. These two characters openly share their feelings of loneliness with George and/or Lennie throughout the book, resulting in false hope, lies, and murder…

In Of Mice And Men, what is the true meaning of friendship that blossoms between George and Lennie? Steinbeck's message about friendship is people don’t feel loved without a friend, and friends look after each other. In the novel, one of steinbeck's main messages is that you don’t feel loved without a friend. When George is having a conversation with Slim about lennie’s behavior, George state's, “ Course lennie’s a goddamn nuisance most of the time… but you get used to going around with a guy, an’ you can't you can’t get rid of him.”

“He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again” (Steinbeck 106). Of Mice and Men portrays a friendship of two nomads, Lennie and George, and they have a special bond. George is constantly telling Lennie what to do “if you jus’ happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right back here an’ hide in the brush” (Steinbeck 15) -to show that George is the parental figure to Lennie since his aunt died. Like father and son, they have their ups and downs but are unconditionally bonded together.

Friendship is having a conversation with someone and nobody speaks a word, but each person understands one another perfectly fine. Friendship is countless hangouts and sleepovers. Friendship is putting someone else before yourself. Friendship is listening to the other person because they know you as well as you know yourself. Friendship is giving up the last drop of ketchup and not even being upset about it.

Imagine going through life without having any friends. The story Of Mice and Men, by

In life friendships may be forever lasting or not at all. Experiences that occur may lead you closer or farther apart from those people. In a story of many friendships, John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men develops many perks and downfalls of having a close connection with another person. Also, learning about how life experiences that affect friendships are analyzed, in this Depression Era of California. By jumping from different relationships to the feelings of those characters, the reader gains a comprehensive understanding of characters choosing to fight for a friendship or fighting for what may be best for their own self. The fictional characters in Steinbeck’s novella are migrant workers trying to support themselves all while dealing with other characters’ problems, actions, and everyday needs around the ranch.