John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men: An Analysis

In John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, George Milton’s feelings towards Lennie Small, his companion, changes significantly throughout the course of the story. George is a migrant worker during the time of the Great Depression; he travels, searching for work with Lennie Small. George is a parental figure and a friend to Lennie. Along his journey to achieve the American Dream, he befriends a man by the name of Slim who in the end of the story reveals his deep connection with George. Curley, the Bosses’ son, does not like George primarily because he’s insecure and jealous of Lennie, George’s companion. Steinbeck describes George as being “small and quick” (Steinbeck 2). George’s physical appearance is described as being “dark of face, with

During the time of the Great Depression, two men travelling together was not common which is expressed several times throughout the novel. However, in this case it is necessary for George and Lennie to travel together in search of work because Lennie isn’t capable of taking care of himself and George feels obligated to take care of him. In the article “Of Mice and Men: A Story of Innocence Retained” McEntyre, a critic, explains how Lennie’s dependence and his innocence weakens George. She says that George is “the one to see the larger picture, to foresee consequences and to control Lennie’s behavior for their mutual behavior (McEntyre).” Therefore, McEntyre is saying that Lennie is a parental figure to Lennie. When they travel together to find work Lennie is not independent. He has to depend on George for food, shelter, a job, etc. Also, Lennie is constantly getting in trouble which George has to get him out of as well as disciplining him. McEntyre also mentions that “…one man’s innocence may require another man’s guilt…to preserve innocence is costly and undesirable (McEntyre).” This shows that during the Great Depression and even currently now in modern-day, innocence is not desired. Furthermore, George had too much responsibility with taking care of both of them and with dealing with Lennie’s