Premium Essay

Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Submitted By
Words 838
Pages 4
John Steinbeck’s novella Of Mice and Men, is a novella telling about life during the Great Depression and how people with certain traits and disabilities are regarded as the untouchables. Lennie Small a big guy with a small mind has a tendency to touch and feel objects he thinks that are soft and cuddly and cannot let go without some force. Lennie has a very close relationship with George and it could be viewed as close relatives, despite that they have nothing in common. Unfortunately, during the time, people like Lennie are regarded as stupid and are unable to act in life. Lennie has the characteristics of being an affectionate person while being a childish person at the same time. Even though Lennie has these traits, he should not be considered an outcast by the others because just like George, Lennie is special in his own ways because he can be a good sidekick, he can be a good caretaker, and he can also be a hard worker.

Lennie should not be looked upon as a fugitive because he can be an affectionate person. George describes Lennie was “jus’ wanted to touch that red dress, like he wants to pet them pups all the time” (22). It basically explains how Lennie has an affection to cute things and how loveable they are and how he himself as a mature adult should not be doing …show more content…
Lennie was laughing about the fantasy farmland is going have with George but Curley thought he was laughing at him. “Come on, ya big bastard, Get up on your feet. No big son of a ***** is gonna laugh at me.” (31) Lennie did not even have to use his big fist to punch him. Instead, he just used his hand to squeeze Curley’s hand. George can use Lennie as a defender if they are in a scenario that they are vulnerable to attacks. So even if Lennie is an affectionate person known to the workers, he can also be a good defense mechanism for himself and the

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Protecting Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...Not all of relationships are going to be healthy. The people in a relationship may care and love for each other but still exercise behaviours that is harmful to the other person. Protecting your friend can become too much like isolating them from everything and defending them could be burdensome. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George takes up the responsibility of caring for Lennie, who seems to have a childlike mind despite being a grown man. George deeply cares for Lennie and has good intentions, but his ways of trying to protect Lennie do not always have good consequences. First off, Lennie and George have negative feelings towards each other, more evidently in George. Lennie constantly fears George’s judgement and thus always tries...

Words: 548 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Lennie Justified In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...According to John Bouvier, a justifiable homicide is, “a killing without evil or criminal intent, for which there can be no blame.” Without out a doubt whether it may be justified or not the act of murder is messy. John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, almost concludes when Lennie Small, a guy who had a mental illness accidentally kills Curley’s wife. Unfortunately, the book tragically ended with George Milton, another struggling migrant worker and Lennie’s friend, murdering Lennie. On the contrary, many people see how George can be justified for this action for having Lennie's best interest in mind and for saving him from a path of destruction in the future. However, George’s decision in ending Lennie’s life can not be justified because George did it for his own selfish needs, Lennie could have escaped like he did in Weed, and even though he was mentally ill, he still had the right to live.     For example, George can’t be justified for killing Lennie because he killed Lennie...

Words: 700 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...novel, “Of mice and men” Jhon Steinbeck makes explicit that Lennie’s strength is his worst enemy. Throughout the novel Lennie’s burliness gets him into various sorts of trouble as he is unable to control it. His physical strength, as well as his lack of dependence and common sense, are all major downfall’s which get Lennie in continuos trouble. Lennie’s physical muscularity and his lack of controlling it, is one of his biggest obstacles. In the novel there are various scenes where Lennie’s physical strength gets the best of him and he is unable to control it. On page 64 of the novel, Lennie is seen fighting with Curley where he breaks his hand from clenching it so hard. This is made evident when George shouts over to Lennie, “Leggo his hand, Lennie. Leggo. Slim, come help me while the guy got any hand left”. This quote shows that Lennie does not realize how powerful he is and that he does not know how to control his strength, without himself getting into trouble. Another example that re-emphasizes this, is when Lennie is in the barn with Curley’s wife. In the barn Lennie is seen roughly pulling Curley’s wife’s hair while she is screaming for help. This is...

Words: 410 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...There are many people in this world with mental and physical disabilities. Everybody has seen one or more persons with these handicaps. These people with disabilities have trouble functioning on their own in the real world. In the story Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, we see with the character Lennie how difficult it is to function on his own. In the novel, Lennie is not able to control his actions when he gets scared. As we read in the first chapter, we find out that Lennie likes to pet soft things. Lennie holds onto a girls soft dress and he gets scared because the girl screams and he wouldn’t let go (11). This shows that when Lennie gets into a situation where he gets scared, he doesn’t know what to do. In the late chapters...

Words: 308 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...Panic In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. George and Lennie are close friends, while George is not very big Lennie is the opposite. Steinbeck describes Lennie as a strong and powerful figure which results in Lennie having negative impacts. It is vital for readers to associate Lennie as an animal due to the actions he has committed. A reason one could consider Lennie as an animal is because he killed Curley’s wife in a state of panic and fear. For example, ”Lennie was in a panic. His face was contorted. She screamed then, and Lennie’s other hand closed over her mouth and nose”(Steinbeck 91). Lennie did this because he was stroking Curley’s wife’s hair and thought he was doing nothing wrong, but Curley’s wife thought he was being...

Words: 463 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...In the book Of mice and Men, George says about Lennie “He ain’t bright. Hell of a good worker, though. Hell of a nice fella, but he ain’t bright. I’ve knew him for a long time.” Then I began to think of how this quote shows how George feels about Lennie even though he isn’t smart like George implies in the story. I noticed that behind Georges’ hard shell he really cares about Lennie and doesn’t want him to get hurt, and so that’s why he sticks by Lennie and helps him. George knowing how Lennie is and how he can’t control his anger, George still sticks around to help Lennie out, by making sure they have food, work, ect. I suppose that the quote is important to the whole story because it shows the bond of their friendship, it shows no judgment...

Words: 281 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...The conclusion of the book Of Mice and Men suggest that George's action to shoot Lennie was justified for acceptable reasons. The first reason would be because George had to look for a new job in a new place due to Lennie's misbehaviour. He would cause many problems that led them to move from place to place so they wouldn't get mobbed. For example, they had to flee from Weed because Lennie felt a lady's dress very roughly and she thought Lennie wanted to hurt her so the men were looking for Lennie because they thought he wanted to rape the lady. Another reason would be Lennie seemed to forget every single thing he was told. George would have to repeat himself over and over again so Lennie could remember the things he wasn't allowed to do for...

Words: 282 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...In a similar riverbed where the story started, it is an excellent, quiet late evening. A heron remains in a shaded green pool, eating water winds that skim between its legs. Lennie comes taking through the undergrowth and bows by the water to drink. He is glad for himself for making sure to come here to sit tight for George, yet soon has two upsetting dreams. His Close relative Clara shows up "from out of Lennie's head" and scolds him, talking in Lennie's own particular voice, for not tuning in to George, for getting himself into inconvenience, and for causing such a large number of issues for his lone companion. At that point a monstrous rabbit appears to him, additionally talking in Lennie's own particular voice, and discloses to him that...

Words: 334 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...“All brawn, no brain” In the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, every man symbolizes their larger group. Lennie Small symbolizes different things but he is mostly symbolic to the archetype, “all brawn, no brain.” He is very childish and innocent, but is strong as a bull. Lennie is not aware of how strong he really is. The consequences of him being so strong and not very bright gets him in huge trouble. The novel shows his all around character and portrays his simple life and how he handles it. Lennie is a hard and dedicated worker on the ranch. He is huge in size and is strong as bull. The boss pointed a playful finger at Lennie. "He ain't much of a talker, is he?" "No, he ain't, but he's sure a hell of a good worker. Strong as a bull." Lennie smiled to himself. "Strong as a bull," he repeated. George scowled at him, and Lennie dropped his head in shame at having forgotten. (35-38) Even though he’s strong and a good worker, he is not very bright. He will do anything you tell him to but is often forgetful. Lennie can’t help how he is, he was just born this way....

Words: 551 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...In John Steinbeck novel ¨Of Mice and men¨ was made into a popular movie about two men George and lennie who travel together trying to make a living during hard times. George the one who talks for them both and is the one who makes the decisions for the two, Lennie who is the one who is the one who does all the heavy lifting. George who is played by Gary Sinise was a very good actor for this character, who was also a director for this film. Lennie who was played my John Malkovich was too old for this character in this movie he needed to be younger. But they all acted there parts very well, it was just like the book no different. They didn't try to do anything really amazing or fantastic just made it how the book was. It is the Great Depression, people are doing anything to survive trying to find work to get as much money as they can. This is a story about two men during that time. They both work together to get through it as they work on a farm with many other guys. These men George and Lennie would make a great person....

Words: 479 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

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

...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...

Words: 986 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

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

...As Steinbeck introduces us to the characters of George and Lennie, we see how completely opposite they are. We can see some conflict brewing as well. George has a very complex character .On one hand we see him being mean to Lennie and on the other we see him care and be scared for Lennie. As George says, “‘Well, that was a lie. An’ I’m damn glad it was. If I was a relative of yours, I’d shoot myself.’ ” (Pg-24), on the contrary, we see how much he cares for him as well, “ ‘Look, Lennie! This here ain’t no setup. I’m scared. You gonna have trouble with that Curley guy.’ ” (Pg-29). Through Lennie’s strong physical character and George’s leadership qualities and sharp mind we can see a theme emerging; two people, who are completely unrelated to...

Words: 270 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

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

...Many people have complication in their relationships, but George and Lennie are the same way through out the novel. John Steinbeck expresses George and Lennie’s relationship on different levels through out the showing the reader the different relationship. George and Lennie have three key relationship. George and Lennie have a very special relationship that can change depending on the situation that they’re dealt with. John Steinbeck wanted the characters, George and Lennie, to feel connected to each other through out the novel, and one of the relationships is brotherhood.George explains to Slim about how George and Lennie’s past,“I used to play jokes on "‘im ‘cause he was too dumb to take care of ‘imself ”(Steinbeck). Brothers play jokes on...

Words: 363 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Lennie Small In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...Of Mice and Men Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck tells the story of two migrant workers who are very dependent of each other. George Milton and Lennie Small have been friends since before the Great Depression began. The story follows their friendship through the twists and turns of the Great Depression. George Milton is not a strong man physically, but what he is lacking he makes up mentally. On the other hand, Lennie Small is a very strong man. In the book Lennie is referred to as,” strong like bull.” Lennie is mentally handicapped and has the mind of a chill. Due to Lennie illness he has a hard time grasping events such as death and change. George who is not mentally handicapped helps Lennie navigate life. Together, traveling place...

Words: 333 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

The World And Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

...The World and Lennie in It In the book, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows people and situations negatively influence Lennie and his actions over the course of the novel. Steinbeck portrays Lennie as a man who does not understand the outside world. He also shows the reader that George realizes Lennie’s shortcomings in social and complex thinking. When Lennie and George talk to the boss of the ranch, George does not let Lennie speak because George knows that Lennie does not understand the situation and will most likely say the wrong thing (18). There is a major difference when George and Lennie are by themselves because when they are by themselves they are completely functional without any influence from the outside world. This is shown throughout...

Words: 295 - Pages: 2