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True Friendships In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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According to my observations, the vast majority of life's contacts function only to make us feel alienated and unwanted. Traveling with someone helps us feel less alone than traveling alone. George and Lennie, the characters of John Steinbeck's classic Of Mice and Men, are two outcasts. They may appear to be different on the exterior, yet they are incredibly similar on the inside. Simply said, here is where true friendships are formed. To begin, in Steinbeck's short novella, George and Lennie have just set up camp and are getting ready to prepare dinner. While Lennie moans over a tiny convenience, George retorts, "I could live so easily." [He] was able to get jobs and begin working without incident (Steinbeck 11). After George's eruption, a perplexed Lennie responds sheepishly, "I don't want no ketchup," as if he'd been caught red-handed with a bunch of cookies. I wouldn't eat ketchup if it was sitting next to me (Steinbeck 12). To continue, Lennie's submissive attitude toward George demonstrates his wish for peace. Lennie is fixated on the mental image of George and the small farm he has created in his mind. Lennie's fatal lack of reaction to adversity adds to the creation of an …show more content…

After the murder, Lennie "appears out of the brush" in George's thoughts, bringing back good memories (Steinbeck 100). Thus, this piece of Lennie and George's friendship is more than coincidence; it demonstrates Lennie's complete disregard for the wants or memory of anybody other than George. As George arrives to the bush and sees Lennie in shock, he feels forced to act. When the lynch mob approaches, George has time to repeat his agricultural dreams before "saving" Lennie's life. Yet, as he places the pistol to Lennie's head, George puts an end to any possibility of a happy future with

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562 Words | 3 Pages

When Lennie was afraid that he was a burden to George, but George put that idea down when he said that Lennie wasn’t actually a burden and that he didn’t want him to leave (Steinbeck 104). While he was about to shoot him, George kept Lennie distracted by reciting their dream to keep Lennie from noticing what was about to happen and stay happy (Steinbeck 104). In the midst of it all, George kept hesitating the whole time, showing that he didn’t actually want to kill Lennie (Steinbeck 104). However if George waited any longer, then Lennie would be lynched and died a painful death, but he shot Lennie so Lennie wouldn’t suffer any more than he already

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701 Words | 3 Pages

By the end, it’s determined Lennie has become a danger to society. Considering the fast progression of Lennie’s behavior, George takes it upon himself to do something about

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758 Words | 4 Pages

Some relationships depend on who your friends in which you have a good or bad relationship with each other. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the two main character are not related, but they become family to one another. The quotation that friends are family, we choose to apply to George and Lennie throughout the novel. George and Lennie are 2 ranch hands who travel together looking for work. As the novel unfolds, the reader is shown how strong their relationship becomes.

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748 Words | 3 Pages

Lamentably, Lennie, who had the mind of a child, accidentally broke the neck of a prominent workman’s wife, killing her. His friend and caretaker, George, told him to hide in the brush just outside the farm and wait for him in case something disastrous occured. When George found him, he distracted him with the story of their future farm and shot him in the back of the head. George was justified in his actions because he sacrificed his success for Lennie’s wellbeing, he prevented a savage execution or abusive treatment at an

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853 Words | 4 Pages

George asks him to turn his head and look beyond, then says, “I’ll tell you so you can almost see it” (105). Even if this was a furtive way to get Lennie to turn the other way so he could shoot him, it still had the effect of making Lennie feel at peace and it was a way to give him hope. By helping Lennie imagine the farm they had dreamed of, George creates a sense of security and promise for Lennie, which was an image that kept him going day after day. Something else George does to comfort Lennie before he kills him is reassure him with his words, which often held the most significance to Lennie. Lennie asks George if he’s going to give him hell and George responds by saying, “I never been mad, an’ I ain’t now.

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1510 Words | 7 Pages

Lennie is very childish in the mind, he does things without really knowing if they are harmful or not. This in turn gets George in numerous binds when he’s having to help Lennie out so it doesn’t cost them their jobs or their money. At the end of the book, Lennie accidentally kills the ranch owner’s son’s wife. Which causes all the guys to gain a vengeance to kill Lennie. Shortly thereafter, Lennie runs off in fear of his life from the guys, this leaves George to come to his rescue.

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712 Words | 3 Pages

At their their new job, Lennie got into more trouble when he ended up killing the owner’s daughter-in-law. Men were hunting him to compensate for the wrong he had done. George, knowing that his friend was about to be murdered, decided that he should do it himself instead of letting a meaningless person do it. Even though it is certainly wrong to murder, George was justified in doing so because he wants to protect Lennie and loves him, he knew that he would be punished, and he did not want anyone else to harm him. Even though he did not have to, George looked after and took care of Lennie.

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1457 Words | 6 Pages

Furthermore, Lennie and George end up finding a job at a farm, and George ends up having a conflict with Curley because he hates the type of person he is along with his wife claiming to be promiscuous. Despite from the conflict, George gets close to Slim and shares a secret as to why Lennie and himself are working at the farm. He admits that Lennie was accused of rape for wanting to feel a girl's dress at a bar. Because of the situation, many people wanted to lynch Lennie. In continuation of the novel, George constantly reminds Lennie about their plans for their future farm.

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450 Words | 2 Pages

After all the anger that George has shown towards Lennie, he utters these words now so Lennie can die with a sense of peace. George does not want to pull the trigger, but he knows that the further consequences of Lennie’s actions will only worsen. To save Lennie from Curley’s wrath, possible imprisonment, and perhaps years of suffering, George takes Lennie’s

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1455 Words | 6 Pages

As a result of the chaos created by Lennie, the true morbidity of the other farmers is revealed after forming a group with intentions to lynch Lennie. Even George, Lennie’s only true friend in life, makes the final decision to shoot Lennie in the back of the head in order to relieve himself of the burden that is Lennie, himself. The men’s inability to look past Lennie’s mistake reveals their lack of trust and companionship amongst one another, all of which was foreshadowed by the blatant words spoken by Curley’s wife. Lastly, Steinbeck foreshadows the betrayal of friends, leading to loneliness, pain, and suffering. After an outburst between George and Lennie, Lennie decides that it would only be best if he leaves George to go live alone in a cave.

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527 Words | 3 Pages

When George got mad at him for complaining about not having ketchup Lennie makes up for it by saying, “I don’t want no ketchup. I wouldn’t eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me… I’d leave it all for you” (Steinbeck 12). Lennie does this because he doesn’t want to upset George or to do anything to make his life harder. Trying to keep George happy is Lennie’s way of taking care of him since he isn’t able to really look out for him.

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650 Words | 3 Pages

George and Lennie are a great example of, “friendship is necessary to human survival” because they always stick together and are good friends. On page 4 and 5 it says, “His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse. “Lenny!” he said sharply. “Lennie,

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1145 Words | 5 Pages

However he first tells Lennie about their dream, about tending rabbits, living off the land from the crops, and shoots him. Friendship and Loneliness is shown here where George is Lennie’s best friend, and everyone else stays away leaving Lennie alone. Other times in the novel the reader witnesses many other characters face this same factor of isolation. Some examples are,

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1216 Words | 5 Pages

In John Steinbeck´s Of Mice and Men, the ideas of companionship and friendship are addressed greatly. George and Lennie are companions who have traveled alongside each other for a long time. They have to keep moving because Lennie causes trouble, and essentially strains their relationship. Although they have issues, they have a deep connection which benefits each of them. Steinbeck´s Of Mice and Men uses motifs and characterization to show that companionship is beneficial to individuals.

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769 Words | 4 Pages

What makes a true friend? A true friend is someone who sticks with one through the hardest times, is trustworthy, sees past one’s flaws, and sees one’s values. Friendship is so important that there are multiple people seeking it including Crooks who wants friends and Candy whose best friend, his dog, is killed, but George and Lennie are the role model of friendship throughout the book. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck presents the relationship of George and Lennie as the quintessential friendship and shows the reader that supportive, true friendships are necessary to every person’s happiness.

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