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How Does Steinbeck Show Loyalty In Of Mice And Men

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Loyalty is a character trait that is highly valued in a true friendship. In Of Mice and Men Lennie Small and George Milton show loyalty by traveling together in the Great Depression when this was a time period when people would often travel alone. Jobs were hard to come by during the Great Depression, and harder for people with disabilities. As a person with a disability, it is necessary for Lennie to follow George’s guidance throughout the story in order to be successful and fit into society.He needs George’s help with everything he does and will believe anything George tells him. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men Lennie’s compliance, gullibility, and loyalty towards George and others show that throughout the duration of the novel Lennie does not change.

Lennie has a disability and because of that George doesn’t want Lennie to talk much and let George do the talking.Since George do the most for Lennie and himself, Lennie has to listen to George and because of that Lennie has become compliant.When Slim talks about how strong Lennie is George said “Jus’ tell Lennie what to do and he’ll do it if it don’t take no figuring.He can’t think of nothing to do himself, but he sure can take orders.”(Steinbeck 39)Even though Lennie has a disability …show more content…

He also can’t distinguish whenever a person is joking or not because of his disability.When Crook and Lennie were talking to each other, then Crook start to experiment and deceives Lennie by saying how George can’t come back because he got hurt or killed. Lennie said “Who hurt George,” Crook replied with “George ain’t hurt, He’s all right. He’ll be back all right.”(Steinbeck 72)When Lennie say who hurt George, Crook backed up because Lennie was dangerously approaching him. Showing that Lennie actually believed what Crook said and took it seriously. This proves that Lennie can be easily

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Even though Lennie and Curley got in a fight, and George warned Lennie not to get in any fights, George still wanted to make sure Lennie was okay. Since George is protective of Lennie, he will make sure Lennie is okay no matter what happens. When Lennie gets hurt in any type of way, George is always there to take care of

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S’pose george don’t come back no more. S’pose he took a powder and just ain’t coming back. What’ll you do then?”. Crooks tries put Lennie into a position without George which causes him to panic.

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Examine how far George and Lennie are loyal to each other throughout 'Of mice and men' In the novella 'Of Mice and Men', by the well-known author, John Steinbeck, the reader is introduced to a varied range of different characters on the ranch; within this realm loyalty between George and Lennie plays a significant role in the lonely itinerant lifestyle. The characters in this short novel act in a world of their own, having no connections to any other type of society; through this Steinbeck can strongly depict the theme of loyalty and friendship in dire situations during this period of time. During the 1930's, at the ranch, a predominant role of intelligent white-males is seen to retain power over lesser groups of people, of which Lennie is portrayed to be this part as he is mentally disabled. Despite this George and Lennie strike up a friendship of loyalty: showing firm and constant support. ' Guys like us got no fambly...they ain't got nobody in the worl' that gives a hoot in hell about 'em' sums up the reason why their loyalty and companionship is so vital and special to each other.

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In Of Mice And Men John Steinbeck creates sympathy for Lennie by writing him as a person with a disability, and a misunderstood character. Lennie is an easy character to sympathize with since he’s mentally challenged, and judged by others. Many times, in the book Steinbeck shows Lennie doesn’t know what he’s capable of, for instance when he kills Curly’s Wife. It is shown that Lennie lacks social skills since Steinbeck has George talk instead of Lennie in important situations. A final example of is how Lennie speaks; he speaks with improper grammar and his speech is underdeveloped.

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John Steinbeck illustrates the theme of trust and loyalty by demonstrating the enormous bond that George and Lennie have in the book, Of Mice and Men. In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck uses two distinct men who travel together in search of jobs to create this intriguing and diverse novel. Lennie Small, who isn’t so small, has a few mental issues.

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In the Novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, a variety of relationships, as well as the characters in them, meet a grizzly end. This is apparent in the deaths of both Lennie and Curley’s wife. Lennie’s dependency on Gerogoe led to him not being able to function and make rational decisions on his own. While Curley’s wife had no support from her husband and gave none in return leading to a lonely and loveless marriage, causing her to seek companionship wherever she could find it. Their unhealthy relationships led to their demise due to the lack of support they were receiving from their partners emotionally.

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When revealing his and Lennie’s past, George mentions an incident solely based on a misunderstanding involving Lennie and his desire to pet soft objects. As Slim listens, George recalls how Lennie “reaches out to feel this red dress an' the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on 'cause that's the only thing he can think to do” (Steinbeck 41). Without consent, Lennie decided to touch a woman’s dress out of curiosity and desire for its soft consistency. However, as soon as the woman struggled against him, Lennie had no choice but to hold onto the woman’s dress since he was unable to comprehend how to respond when under mental stress. Due to his lack of social cues and awareness, Lennie unintentionally harmed others with his undeniable strength.

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Lennie Small is one of the main characters in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Don’t be fooled: Lennie Small is the total opposite of small. He is quite tall and is as times compared to have the strength of a bear however, his actions are compared to be similar to the innocence of a dog or a child. Although Lennie is mentally handicapped he has a really good friend. So, why is George such a loyal friend to Lennie?

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Steinbeck used Lennie to educate readers to promote social acceptance. Lennie's disabilities make him not be able to understand certain things that may be easier for other people to understand and this makes him seem “out of the ordinary” during a time like

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First of all, George has authority over Lennie. In the opening scene when George and Lennie “walked in single file” (2) George is showing he is predominantly in charge. As the scene continues it is clear from the way that Lennie “imitated George exactly” (4) that Lennie feels he has to or wants to follow George’s actions. Once arriving at the ranch and meeting the other men Lennie has to obey the authority of Curley being the boss’s son. Where Curley uses social power to manipulate the ranch, Lennie uses intellectual and physical power to respond to certain events.

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Lennie’s strength and his childish mind is his biggest struggle that affects many people on the ranch and himself. Lennie is overprotective of George and about being with him he would do anything for the guy, so when Crooks tells him, “S’pose he gets killed or hurt so he can’t come back. ”(71) Lennie then contradicts his opinion”This ain’t true. George ain’t got hurt.

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In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, it is shown that even if someone causes another person mental or physical harm, that does not directly mean that they are a bad person. Foremost, George can be seen as verbally abusing Lennie. As soon as the two main characters are introduced, it is apparent that Lennie struggles with a mental disability. George, Lennie's only companion, is always telling Lennie how much better of a life he would have if he was not responsible for him, even though George voluntarily assumes the responsibility as a caretaker and confidant.

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Lennie is speaking with Crooks in his room, “‘I said s’pose George went into town tonight and you never heard of him no more’” (Steinbeck, 71). The weak, crippled, discriminated against Crooks utilizes fear to obtain the upper hand over Lennie. He commands the power over Lennie as he is often the one that is abused. Crooks, fearing for his own strong sense of self, establishes a strong hold over the weak Lennie by hitting an emotional nerve.

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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.

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If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job” (Steinbeck 6). George is very directive over Lennie, and does not want him to mess up anything. Lennie listens to George because he does not know any better, and is like a little brother who wants to please his

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