How Does Steinbeck Present George And Lennie's Relationship

Man is a social creature. Throughout all of history, the brain has been known to perform better while around others. All great civilizations started with a few and more came with a subconscious need to belong. People are naturally drawn to one another for many reasons. One of the mains reason is that man needs a companion, a friend, an ally. Something to make them feel wanted, to make them feel like they belong. Not all of man's relationships are the same though. Some are similar to others and some are very different. The relationship between two people can be many things but those things are often close together. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the main characters George and Lennie are close, they travel together, share money, and

So at some times, the relationship they have almost makes them seem as if George is just the boss of Lennie. Some of the conversations they have and things George says are so impersonal it makes one wonder if George likes Lennie at all. “If I was a relative of yours I’d shoot myself” (24). It almost seems as if they are in a survival relationship. Two people that are put together because they can not feel they can make it on their own. It almost seems at points that George is like a plant and Lennie an animal Lennie needs George but George does not necessarily need Lennie. So George is calling all the shots while Lennie just does what he is told. George does not seem to care about Lennie feelings at points. A good example is when George basically tells Lennie to hurt himself and eventually drown himself. However, George is also seen to have a grudging affection for Lennie at times. This is almost as if they are in an employer/employee relationship today. The employer tells the employee what to do and the employee does not complain and just does it. The employer does not care about the employee and can fire him in a second if the employee does not perform