How Friendship Is Portrayed In Of Mice and Men Steinbeck shows the importance of friendship in the novella Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck shows that friendship is a key to life; without it, you’ll have a long life ahead of you. He does this by showing characters with both strong friendships and some with a lack of friendship. He portrays George and Lennie as having the strongest connection and greatest friendship in the world. While Crooks lacks it all. Throughout the novella, Steinbeck shows the reader differences between characters with the presence and the lack of friendship. The presence of friendship in George and Lennie’s relationship is key to why they stick together through everything. At first, the novella makes it seem that George is only friends with Lennie because of Lennie's disabilities. George promised Lennie’s Aunt that he would protect him when she is gone. George states that “‘When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’. Got kinda used to each other after a while’” (40). After spending time together the two of them got to know each …show more content…
Crooks is an African American, stable buck who gets his name because of his crooked spine. Because of his skin color, Crooks is constantly pushed to the side and ignored. Crooks is not allowed into the bunkhouse and can not play cards with the men. The only reason the boys associate with him is to make him do things around the farm. In chapter 4 when Lennine walked into Crooks’ room unannounced Crook was shocked. “Crook sharply said ‘You got no right to come in my room. This here's my room. Nobody got any right in here but me’” (68). Crooks believes that if a black man is not allowed in a white man's house, then whites are not allowed in his. Crooks is rude and unaccepting towards Lennie at first because he is not used to being seen as more than a slave. Friendships require traits that some men like Crooks