Relationships in Of Mice And Men Essay

How does Steinbeck present the relationship between George and Lennie in chapter one of, Of Mice and Men? How does this prepare us for what happens later in the novella?

Of Mice And Men is a book that was written by john Steinbeck in 1937. It was written in a time where things where very hard for the American people. In the 1920s Americas economy boomed, they had everything and once theyd distanced themselves from Europe and their antics they decided that America was to stay that way and to not deal with countries outside of it and during these times things couldnt be better. However as the 1930s emerged, America was hit by a huge economic depression due to the wall street crash, people who were once rich, were left penny less and jobless, banks collapsed and so did the whole of Americas economy. People committed suicide because they believed it was so bad they didnt want to live anymore. With no house, no money, no job, no food, no water, no nothing, people where just left with their families for a lot of people that wasnt enough. A lot of people starved, most people where drove to the edge. But for some there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The American people strongly believed in the myth that was the American dream. The American dream was the belief that if you are willing to work hard enough you will be successful. For some people this belief made them think that they could make something out of themselves even in those tough times in the 1930s.

During the 1930s farmers were hit drastically when a huge dust bowl covered their farm land, ruining their chance of making a living. Most people believed back in those days, like we do now, that California was a lush fertile state and so farmers moved to California to find work and earn a living. These people were called migrant farm workers. They were farmers that never really stayed in one place and were always on the move but making sure they stayed in the green, fertile state, California.

George and Lennie shared these attributes and they had a dream of their own. George is a smart small man, with sharp features and a restless face. George can be portrayed to be Lennies father in the book as he sometimes loses his temper with Lennie but then shows he cares for him by making sure hes alright, this is shown in the book Steinbeck writes Lennie! he said sharply. Lennie for god sakes dont drink so much. Lennie continued to snort into the pool. The small man leaned over and shook him by the shoulder. Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night. However George and Lennie are no more than friends.

Lennie has a child-like mind in the book and a huge manly figure, dragging his feet a little away a bear drags his paws. Suggests his animal like body and also the book reads Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers so that the water arose in little splashes; rings widened across the pool to the other side and came back again. Lennie watched them go. Look, George. Look what I done. Implies he is mentally retarded and sub human.

The pair have a dream together that one day they will own their own little house, work when they want, benefit from all the products of their own labour, be self-sufficient, live of the fatta the land. This dream that the two share is repeated 3 times in the novella, once at the beginning, once in the middle and once at the end. It seems like a ritual or a bed time story for Lennie and it comforts his when something goes wrong. Georges voice became deeper. He repeated his words rhythmically as though he had said them many times before.

George and Lennie arent like many migrant farm workers; they go everywhere together and stay together throughout. I got you to look after me and you got me to look after you. They dont like what they do but its the only thing they can do to earn money. Guys like us guys that like on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. But they believe they can be happy and successful not like other workers. We got a future we got somebody to talk to who gives a damn about us.

This relationship shown in the book helps us to understand and prepare us for what happens at the end when George kills Lennie. Throughout the book Lennie makes a lot of mistakes and finally he does one that he cant make up for and as we learn how strong the bond is between George and Lennie and how much they care about each other we can come to terms with why George does what he does at the end in killing Lennie. He does it because he cares about him and he knows Curley and the other men will catch him and cause great pain upon him before ending his life, so George decides to save him from that and kills him himself.