Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Friendship is described as a relationship of mutual affection between two or more people. In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, the relationship is between George and Lennie. Rather than a friendship, George and Lennie have a father-son kind of relationship. They live in the California during The Great Depression. The two of them are constantly moving around in search of jobs because Lennie does something to get them fired. After leaving from their previous job in a town called Weed, George and Lennie find new jobs. While in this new town George watches over Lennie because he is mentally disabled and George watches over Lennie. Steinbeck uses symbolism to compare Lennie to a young child in the novel and to compare George to a father. George is the caretaker of Lennie and helps to fix any problems that he makes.

He has never had to solve any of them alone because he has George to as a companion to help him. They have been together since Lennie’s Aunt Clara passed away and she trusted George to watch over Lennie. To get what he wants, he “[holds] out his hands” and begs George to give him what it is that he wants (Steinbeck 43). Children typically do this to their parents when they want a treat.To have fun in the water, Lennie “wiggl[es] his fingers” similar to how a child would (Steinbeck 5). Lennie later finds a mouse but accidentally kills it and George tells him to get rid of it. George protects Lennie from anything that might hurt him and would do anything to keep him safe. Steinbeck