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Relationships In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Relationships in Of Mice and Men Throughout the book Of Mice and Men there are different types of relationships ranging from health to unhealthy. Relationships are a main motif throughout this classic and those relationships drive some of the characters to their downfall. Two examples of friendship are George and Lennie, Candy and his dog. However, a negative relationship is created between Curly and everyone else on the ranch. To begin with, the friendship between Lennie and George is the main focal point throughout the story. Author John Steinback illustrates George considering Lennie as a burden or hassle that he has to take care of.An example of that is,"I wasn't kicked in the head with no horse, was I, George?" "Be a damn good thing if you was," George said viciously. "Save ever'body a hell of a lot of trouble." (2.61-62) Even though George berates Lennie on a daily basis, Lennie still trusts him and continues traveling with him. However, George might seem cold hearted and stern towards Lennie, but deep down without Lennie he would face being …show more content…

Now, this relationship is due to the workers only being there to work. Even Though, many men work on this ranch Candy cannot connect with any of them because once they get their earnings they leave. Due to that Candy has to befriend a dog to be his companion because the dog won’t leave him. This is why Candy is so affected when they put the dog down because he would have to subdue to his loneliness once again. A similarity in the relationships between George and Lennie, Candy and the dog is that they both felt the need to do the deed of killing their companions due to the strong bond created over time. However, Candy did not actually kill his dog but, had the feeling of regret that he didn’t dos it

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The relationship between George and Lennie is like a big brother little brother situation where George protects and takes care of lennie. They both share a dream of not being the loneliest guys in the world. George is more like a caretaker for Lennie and must be like his protector, Because when George told Lennie

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However, Candy is somewhat forced to have his dog killed to put it out of it’s misery. It can be noted that Candy did not want to loose him after reminising on all the history the two had shared together, “Well-hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him.”

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Starting in chapter one, Lennie was always a handful. George would get angry at Lennie sometimes, and lash out. George believes his life would be better without Lennie sometimes. He once told Lennie, “I could get along so easily and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail” (Steinbeck 7). In other words, George tells

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Of Mice and Men is one of those books that once it’s picked up, the reader becomes entranced in a world of hard-workers, caretakers, and most importantly of all, big dreamers. It takes the reader through the struggles of two men trying to get up in the world and fulfill some of their own dreams. The text does a great job of being able to relate to the reader's life, making the reader think about the choices made in the book, and just overall being an exceptional piece of entertainment. Most everybody in the world has some kind of a relationship, whether that be parental, brotherly, or just plain friendship. Lennie and George seem to have aspects of all three of those.

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At their their new job, Lennie got into more trouble when he ended up killing the owner’s daughter-in-law. Men were hunting him to compensate for the wrong he had done. George, knowing that his friend was about to be murdered, decided that he should do it himself instead of letting a meaningless person do it. Even though it is certainly wrong to murder, George was justified in doing so because he wants to protect Lennie and loves him, he knew that he would be punished, and he did not want anyone else to harm him. Even though he did not have to, George looked after and took care of Lennie.

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George protected Lennie a bunch of times, from taking care of their wife his belonging, like his work card and bus pass, to helping him escape to death after killing Curley's wife. Whatever crime he committed, George was there right by his side. Lennie couldn't do much for George; however, what he did, was all he could do which meant a lot coming from him. Giving up what he really wanted, like ketchup, meant the world to Lennie. This relationship is very unique because not everyone would help a friend escape from killing.

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Throughout the novella, Steinbeck shows the reader differences between characters with the presence and the lack of friendship. The presence of friendship in George and Lennie’s relationship is key to why they stick together through everything. At first, the novella makes it seem that George is only friends with Lennie because of Lennie's disabilities. George promised Lennie’s Aunt that he would protect him when she is gone. George states that “‘When his Aunt Clara died, Lennie just come along with me out workin’.

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Of Mice and Men has a great deal about friends and relationships. Everywhere in the book it showed that someone had someone else to go with. I think this ideology of relationships can really connect with everyone because almost everyone has a relationship with someone, and that is shown in the book. At many points in the book, if someone messed up or something got out of hand, if the person had a relationship with someone else there then it usually ended up being resolved or at least the person had someone on their side. This is shown a lot with George and Lennie especially.

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As George tells Lennie, “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl. ”(Steinbeck, page 6). This alone speaks for the genuine sense of companionship George feels for Lennie; he is willing to sacrifice a more stable life in order to keep Lennie with him. And although it is perhaps not tasteful nor considerate to remind Lennie of this constantly, it does not diminish the sacrifice George has made in order to essentially care for Lennie, and it is understandable given the endless frustration caring for Lennie inevitably causes.

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Candy’s companionship with the dog doesn’t seem to matter on the ranch, amongst workers who travel alone and don’t have friendships that are meaningful. Steinbeck shows that although Candy is a dog, it parallels to how men are treated the same way, as objects to be used up rather than beings who have a right to life without contributing anything in return. Carlson helps to convince Candy it’s the right thing to do by saying “I bet Slim would give you one of them pups to raise up”. This statement shows that Steinbeck is further emphasizing this system of replacement where once something becomes useless, it is replaced with something new that

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The relationship between the characters George and Lennie is a strong example of friendship in this novel. George and Lennie had been friends since they were kids; Lennie has always relied on George to get him out of tough situations since he is mentally challenged. When George and Lennie had arrived at the ranch the boss was wondering why Lennie couldn’t speak for himself; and that is when George had to step in, “George said, ‘He’s my … cousin. I told his old lady I’d take care of him.

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One of the key relationships in the novel is between George and Lennie. George, a small, smart man, acts as a caretaker and protector for Lennie, a large, mentally disabled man. Despite the challenges of their relationship, George is deeply loyal to Lennie and always looks out for his well-being. As George explains to Lennie, "Hide till I come for you. Dont let nobody see you.

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In John Steinbeck´s Of Mice and Men, the ideas of companionship and friendship are addressed greatly. George and Lennie are companions who have traveled alongside each other for a long time. They have to keep moving because Lennie causes trouble, and essentially strains their relationship. Although they have issues, they have a deep connection which benefits each of them. Steinbeck´s Of Mice and Men uses motifs and characterization to show that companionship is beneficial to individuals.

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Every time any character in the story gets attached or close to one another, something bad happens between the relationship and goes wrong. George is a very practical man. He gets the relationship between him and Lennie in a very practical way rather than being emotional. He can even kill another person just for his

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Lennie was seen as a burden when he wasn't working, and George wasn't afraid to tell him. “God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy,'' and, “You crazy son-of-a- b****, you keep me in hot water all the time.” (pg. 11 ) These words stuck with Lennie.

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