True Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Companionship is human nature; people strive to be admired, be praised, and find what is known as true friendship. True friendship means having someone always by your side, someone you do not need to ask why they stick around, and someone who knows you to your very core. In John Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, true friendship is a constant subject of the story. The two main protagonists, Lennie and George, have a unique friendship, uncommon among ranch hands during the 1930s. The duo met in Auburn, California, while working together, and have traveled together ever since. George constantly has to look after Lennie because of his mental disability, which causes him to be guileless, and is constantly under the stress of dealing with a society

In this novella, Of Mice and Men, the author uses Lennie and George’s conflicting relationships with society to develop the theme that true friendship does not always last, as some are fated to be lonely.

Initially, Lennie and George’s rare, inseparable friendship is challenged by their struggles with prejudice and social norms in society. Yet, in return, it draws them closer together. Near the beginning, after a long day of work, George expresses his gratitude towards Slim, his section leader, for giving Lennie one of his puppies, which Lennie badly wants. Slim tells George that Lennie deserves it, as he has "never seen such a strong guy" (39), and chuckles at the fact that someone like George would travel with Lennie. Slim mentions it is abnormal because "hardly none of the guys ever travel together [as they] never seem to give a damn about nobody" (39). As commented by Slim, ranch hands, like George and Lennie, rarely travel together, which shows their immediate bond. This quote communicates that despite social norms and Lennie’s disability, George will risk traveling together and Lennie’s troubles

Previously, Lennie and George camped by the Salinas River before arriving at the farm. As they cook food, Lennie begs George to tell him the story of their dream ranch—about the rabbits, the little house, and the acres of land. Before George starts, he warns Lennie that ranch hands "are the loneliest guys in the world [as] they [have] no family [and] they don't belong to no place" (13), though they are the only exception. The quote indicates Lennie and George’s close-knit relationship, but it also draws attention to the fact that the relationship between ranch hands and companionship is lonesome. Their lives are desolate, as they cannot obtain companions even on the farms since they only temporarily work from farm-to-farm. This quote also contrasts George and Lennie’s friendship throughout the book, consequently foreshadowing how George will be alone at the end of the novella, proving the fate of ranch hands. Equally important, after Lennie accidentally kills the comely Curley's Wife, he runs away to the place where he and George had camped. Weighing his options as George rushes to find Lennie first, he decides it is best to shoot Lennie so that he will not be tortured by the police or by a hubristic Curley, who seeks revenge for his broken hand caused by Lennie. George chooses to kill Lennie as he knows the authorities would not understand that Lennie killed Curley’s