The Bond Of Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Shalika Devireddy

Of Mice and Men is a story of two completely different guys who travel together from ranch to ranch and have a strong bond of friendship. Throughout this story, their friendship and loyalty to each other is tested in the most drastic ways. In "Of Mice and Men" ,Steinbeck uses the bond of friendship between Lennie and George ,the two main characters, to demonstrate how their unique history binds them, how much they depend on each other, and how they trust each other. Every friendship has an unique history that binds them. In this case George and Lennie have long and deep history that binds them. A time where that is portrayed is when George and Lennie are talking near the campfire. They share a common dream in which they

Trust means to have faith in someone and to have faith, you have to have a strong relationship with someone. In this case George and Lennie have immense trust in each other and Steinbeck reflects this by showing their deep friendship. The first example of trust is shown after Curly exits the bunk house after meeting George and Lennie for the first time. George warns Lennie to stay out of Curly's way. Lennie then suddenly yells out : “I don’t like this place, George. This ain’t no good place. I wanna get outa here." George later replies that they have to stay there until they have enough money(32). Although Lennie doesn't like the ranch, because of George's words and Lennie's trust in George, Lennie stays on the ranch. Their friendship is being tested with the trust that Lennie has in George. Another example of the trust between George and Lennie is when they are in the clearing. George tells Lennie if he gets in trouble to "come right here an' hide in the brush… Hide in the brush till I come for you." (15). Later in the story after Lennie kills Curly's wife he comes to the brush to wait for George. Friendship between the two characters is palpable. George tells Lennie to come hide in the brush because of their bond of friendship. Lennie also trusts George because of their friendship and comes to hide in the brush once he gets in