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

Friendship and social interactions are part of what makes humans truly unique. Friendship is an integral part of the message and plot in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck portrays friendship as a give-and-take relationship, where sacrifices are made by both members as a prevention to loneliness. First, George sacrifices many things in order to maintain his friendship with Lennie, displaying that sacrifice is necessary in order to build strong relationships. The second element of this theme is friendship is a method to combat loneliness. Finally, Lennie’s execution is an act of friendship by George. Friendships require sacrifice in order for them to thrive. George is missing a lot of opportunity because of his friendship with Lennie. When George gets mad at Lennie, he says “God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy” (11). George can live a much simpler life without Lennie as a burden. He rants about how he could just make his fifty dollars a month and spend it how he pleases, the way most men are. None of the other

Humans need social interaction to be mentally healthy. Crooks is dealing with many problems due to his isolation, and he tells Lennie that “A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody” (72). Crooks is one of the characters who represent loneliness, and the primary reason he is lonely is because he has no friends to be with or just talk to. A second example of the requirement of friends is that without anyone to use as a reference, people may lose grasp of reality. Crooks tells Lennie that without a friend or companion “if he sees somethin’, he don’t know whether it’s right or not” (73). The absence of friends and the loneliness that follows is driving Crooks mad. He is getting desperate for people to talk to. In order to avoid crippling loneliness, people need to interact with others