Of Mice Of Men By John Steinbeck

In the book Mice of Men by John Steinbeck, we explore what friendship means, as well as many other themes. The book is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression. George, a small, intelligent man, and his best friend Lennie, who is a big, sweet but mentally disabled man, travel around together looking for a place to begin their dream of owning a farm. They go through many challenges together, mostly caused by Lennie. George tends to fix Lennie's mistakes and guide him through life. So how would I define friendship? Friendship is loyalty, trust, and support. George and Lennie's friendship is a strong example of these qualities. They stick together through thick and thin, look out for each other, and share the dream of a better, more stable

In Chapter 4, Crooks confronts Lennie about what would happen if George didn't return. Lennie “growled back to his seat on the nail keg”. “Ain’t nobody goin’ to talk no hurt to George,” he grumbled” (Steinbeck, 71). This quote shows that even when George is not around, Lennie stays loyal and devoted to him. He stands up for him when George himself can't. In Chapter 1, when George and Lennie are talking about their dreams and hopes, Lennie states that “I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you___” (Steinbeck, 14). They both understand that they will be there for each other and will stay loyal no matter what. Another characteristic of friendship that is just as important is trust. In George and Lennie's relationship, there is a trust built between them, this is why their friendship cannot be broken even due to the many dilemmas they go through. Although that trust goes both ways, we can conclude that Lennie has put more trust in George by relying on him his whole life. He believes that no matter what happens George will never leave him, He expresses this trust by saying, “George won't go away and leave me. I know George won't do that” (Steinbeck,

It’s mean here.” “We gotta stay,” George said shortly (Steinbeck 33). This quote indicates that one, Lennie trusts George's judgment, and two, George trusts Lennie to listen to him and understand. Throughout the novel, Lennie looks up to George and his decisions. He puts trust in George when letting him make decisions and tell Lennie what to do. The third quality that makes a friendship solid is support. The friendship between George and Lennie is also contrasted with the loneliness experienced by other characters in the book. As George mentions, “Guys like us, who work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world” (Steinbeck, 15). This emphasizes the significance of how George and Lennie support each other in their friendship. It provides them with security and the safety of knowing that through many ups and downs, they will stay loyal and support one another. When George and Lennie arrive at the ranch they talk to the boss about working on the farm, he is very suspicious and accuses George of taking away Lennie's pay from him, he says “I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your interest is” (Steinbeck,