Of Mice And Men George And Lennie Friendship

Forever Together Does anyone have a true friend in Of Mice and Men? George and Lennie seem to be the only people that have a true friend. The other men on the ranch are friendly but only truly look out for themselves. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck uses George and Lennie to illustrate the theme of friendship. Most people in Of Mice and Men don’t have anyone to look out for them and they are all alone. George and Lennie are different “because [Lennie’s] got [George] to look after [him], and [George’s] got [Lennie] to look after [him]” (Steinbeck 14). George continues to look after Lennie because he knows that Lennie wouldn’t make on his own. Lennie does his best to help George and to not cause any trouble which is his way of looking after George. The other guys on the ranch aren’t completely alone, “there are other friendships in the novel” but “the bond between George and Lennie, which goes back many years, is different” (Telgen 248). George and Lennie have always had each other when others didn’t have anyone. They have a deeper connection and friendship than the temporary ones formed by other workers as they travel from place to place leaving people behind as they go.

When George got mad at him for complaining about not having ketchup Lennie makes up for it by saying, “I don’t want no ketchup. I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me… I’d leave it all for you” (Steinbeck 12). Lennie does this because he doesn’t want to upset George or to do anything to make his life harder. Trying to keep George happy is Lennie’s way of taking care of him since he isn’t able to really look out for him. George’s “freedom is grotesquely limited by [Lennie]” (Unger 58). Lennie knows that George’s life would be easier if he wasn’t there, but George refuses to leave him on his own. Because Lennie relies on George, he tries to do everything he can to help