Importance Of Friendship In 'Of Mice And Men'

Cristian E. Alvarenga Martinez

Harper/Buscemi

Honors English 9 B, Period 4

09 March 2023

The Importance of Friendship in Of Mice and Men

Friendships are an essential part of building social skills and help to configure a list of those to trust in supporting one another. They create bonds entangling the group's interests and struggles with one another, pushing people forward in life. Friendships are important in shaping who people are and their aspects of life. In the novella of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck expresses the importance of bonds between the two protagonists, as well as one supporting character, to demonstrate how these bonds helped them prevail in the face of obstacles and low points of life. Steinbeck illustrates numerous examples

In Chapter 1, George and Lennie have a repeated discussion about pursuing their version of the “American dream”, hoping to someday own a farm of their own to live on. He acknowledges the loneliness and otherness being a migrant worker brings. Despite this, George mentions that their life is different. George states, “‘[g]uys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place…[t]hey ain’t got nothing to look ahead to…[b]ut not us! An’ why? Because . . . . because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why,’ he laughed delightedly.” (Steinbeck 13-14). Of Mice and Men takes place during the Great Depression when there was a massive increase in financial struggles for many individuals. Lennie and George, being migrant workers, proves to be an obstacle in the way to their American Dream as it is a very low-paying job. To further add to this struggle, the book reveals the intellectual

Near the end of Chapter 6, George is sitting on the ground in disbelief at his actions after killing Lennie. Soon the other ranch workers catch up to where George was and Slim is the first to comfort George after the events. A quote that demonstrates this is, “Slim came directly to George and sat down beside him, sat very close to him. ‘Never you mind,’ said Slim. ‘A guy got to sometimes... [s]lim twitched George’s elbow. ‘Come on, George. Me an’ you’ll go in an’ get a drink.’ George let himself be helped to his feet. ‘Yeah, a drink.’ Slim said, ‘You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me’ He led George into the entrance of the trail and up toward the highway” (Steinbeck 107). Slim shows compassion towards George by reassuring him not to feel guilty about his actions and that it had to be done. Unlike the other Ranch workers, Slim prioritized seeing the situation from George's eyes and understanding how George was feeling. He also tries to get George's mind off of what had just happened by inviting him to a drink and assisting him back to the ranch. George had just killed one of his closest friends, leaving him feeling guilty, empty, and alone despite knowing it was what he believed had to be done. Losing close individuals is devastating to people and although George had