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Consequences Of Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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The Unknown Consequences Imagine how Lennie Small would be in today’s world, would he be treated any differently than he was in Of Mice and Men? It is clear to see that in the novella by John Steinbeck, Lennie is by no means treated the same as his best friend George Milton. Often, the men of the ranch would even tease him, knowing he was so incoherent he would not even know the difference between himself and the others. In the story Of Mice and Men, Lennie is always undermined because of his mental illness and he is never able to act for himself because of his disconnection to the reality of his identity. George Milton lives with guilt ever since the incident at the Sacramento River. George used to make fun of Lennie, play jokes on him and even put his life in danger. He only did this because he could succeed without anyone …show more content…
George knows the consequences of letting Lennie pet an animal, but George still allows Lennie to take a live puppy into his own hands. But George still has some rules, “You get right up an’ take this pup back to the nest. He’s gotta sleep with his mother. Out want to kill him? Just born last night an’ you take him out of the nest. You take him back or I’ll tell Slim not to let you have him.” (Steinbeck 43). Although there is truth in George’s statement, he still does not trust Lennie because he knows Lennie’s mental illness will lead to Lennie accidentally killing the puppy. Lennie does not mean any harm in his actions but George has to remind Lennie of what could happen because of his actions. When Lennie actually does kill the puppy, he does not fully understand the concept of death but he understands that what George told him was true. George is right to not let Lennie deal with serious matters like taking care of a puppy because he knows that Lennie’s condition is dangerous in him not knowing what he is doing will have any

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