Similarities Between George And Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Author John Steinbeck once stated, “When two people meet, each one is changed by the other, so you’ve got two new people.” This quotation’s meaning has different definitions, depending on the person but overall, has quite a similar idea. This quote as a whole means that people are slowly but surely influenced by others. People change for other people, and it may not seem like much, however, the slight influences one has on another can and will slowly transform that person into an unrecognizable figure, an entirely different person than whom the original person was. A clear representation of this quote in a fictional aspect is George and Lennie, in the book Of Mice and Men. George and Lennie have both changed themselves, or at least attempted to, so much that they are both distinguishably different people from the start of the book to the end of the book, which is what makes these two so perfect for this quote. In the book, Of Mice and Men, George is essentially the guardian of Lennie. However, being a guardian for a mentally-disabled person is not as luxurious as one may assume. George has put so much pressure and strain on himself in an attempt to simply get Lennie out of trouble and to prevent him from causing any more trouble. It has even gone so far that George has a plan if Lennie messes up again or makes another mistake, repeating to Lennie multiple times saying, "Lennie—if you jus' happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' hide in the brush" (Steinbeck 15). George’s stress and pressure he puts on himself and the anger and ferocity he has inside has turned George into a

George has shifted from that scrawny guy who makes some insulting jokes now and again, to a cautious protector of Lennie, and Lennie has shifted from a childish buff guy who lacks intelligence to an anxious child-like man who wants to appear independent and reliable in the