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

In the book Of Mice and Men, two men are traveling around California to find work during the Great Depression. They have known each other for a very long time because Lennie’s Aunt Clara wanted George to look after him. George, the leader, is the person who chooses where they go and work. Lennie just simply follows along and does the work. Lennie has a mental disability that causes him to forget things quickly, not talk properly, and do things that a normal man wouldn’t do. So, for the most part, George talks for him and always makes up excuses as to why things happen. George does his best to keep him “in check”, but it proves to be harder than it appears. Throughout the book, George was a loyal friend to Lennie because he saved Lennie from

George is a true friend to Lennie because, even though he doesn’t show it all the time, he loves Lennie. He supports Lennie and his dreams to own a farm of rainbow bunnies, even though they don’t exist. According to the article “The Measure of Friendship” it states “it was okay to be an outcast, and what the true measure of friendship was” (Davis, Zac. "The measure of friendship." America 21 Dec. 2015: 35. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.). George finds them places to live and work because he wants to be a good friend and companion to Lennie. He and Lennie are good friends because they balance each other out. They show each other different perspectives and they help each other see things differently. George shows Lennie love in weird ways. He shows him tough love because he knows that is how they will survive. He asks Lennie, “What you gonna say tomorrow when the boss asks you questions?’ Lennie replied, ‘...I...I ain’t gonna...say a word.” (Steinbeck 15). George made Lennie memorize that so they could work for their

The regret he would receive is in knowing that there could have been other ways to help Lennie escape. He would have contemplation of there being other options instead of barbarically killing his only companion off for the sake of putting Lennie out of his misery. It’s possible for George to feel some sort of repentance for what he did to Lennie. A major theme that Steinbeck was portraying in the novel was friendship and I feel he inserted the scene where George kills Lennie in the book to show the ultimate price of friendship. Also, to show the extreme lengths that companionship can take a person, but what great depth of despair and regret it can cause in the long run. In this article on the philosophy of guilt, this quote explains that some people can feel guilty for things they haven’t done,”Psychologists have helped us a great deal to understand these deviations and that other curious aberration by which some people feel guilty for things they have not done at all,” (Lewis, H. D. "Guilt." Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Donald M. Borchert. 2nd ed. Vol. 4. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. 193-195. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 29 Mar. 2016). I feel as though George may feel guilt and regret in the decision of killing Lennie and knowing the many other haunting possibilities of saving Lennie from a life of