Of Mice & Men

In John Steinbeck’s book “Of Mice & Men”, we meet the two friends George Milton and Lennie Small, who are the main characters. They travel around to ranches in search for a job so they can fulfill their dream of having their own house with rabbits and other animals. George and Lennie are not similar to every other ranch workers that appears to be lonely. George and Lennie got a future and somebody to talk to, that cares about them. That is because George got Lennie to look after and the other way around. George knew Lennie’s Aunt Clara who took care of Lennie when he was a kid. When she died, Lennie came along working with George and after a while, they became good friends.

Lennie is like a kid inside and he has a bad memory. That is recognizable in the scene when he do not understand that he cannot pet the puppies, because they were born the day before.
Lennie does not changes through the story. From the beginning to the end, he remains as that person that cannot think on his own and constantly needs someone to tell him what is wrong and right to do. Even in the end, he still thinks that everything will be all right, although he killed Curley’s Wife.
The other way around George attains significant changes through the story. In the beginning, he seems like a low tempered person, as he talks about how easier his life would be without Lennie. That he could enjoy himself and easier get a job. He once used Lennie as a benefit for himself, because he knew Lennie could not suspect him. Throughout the story, he learns not to take advantage of the weak, which he admits that he did to Lennie.
Lennie is not the only weak person that works on the ranch. We meet Candy who is an old man with a damaged hand and his poor old dog. In contrast to Lennie, Candy knows that because of his damaged hand and his age, he will become useless. That gets