Exam (elaborations)
ESSAY ON GEORGE AND LENNIE "OF MICE AND MEN"
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Essay on George and Lennie Of Mice and Men GCSE English Literature
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SAMPLE ESSAYTHE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GEORGE AND LENNIE
In the novella 'Of Mice and Men' Steinbeck depicts the friendship of two migrant agricultural
labourers George Milton and Lennie Small. They are travelling to a ranch outside Soledad
where they hope to secure work. George and Lennie are the complete antithesis of each
other which immediately raises questions in the minds of the reader as to why they are
travelling together. Soledad means lonely and this makes the reader wonder whether this
unusual friendship is a means of evading loneliness. George is described as "Small and quick,
dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features", whilst Lennie is “dragging his feet
a little, the way a bear drags his paws”. It was very unusual in 1930s America for a typical
ranch worker to have a companionship due to the loneliness of migrant life. Some of the men
on the ranch are suspicious of their closeness; the boss asks “what stake you got in this guy?”
and suggests that George was stealing Lennie's "pay". Even Slim comments to George “Funny
how you an’ him string along together”
The only other friendship bond in the novella is that of Candy and his ”drag footed sheep
dog” which can be seen as mirroring the friendship of Lennie and George. When the old and
infirm dog is shot, Slim perceptively says "that dog ain't no good to himself" which
foreshadows the death of Lennie as we know that Lennie cannot control his physical strength
and therefore was a danger to himself and to others.
George serves as a father figure to Lennie as his puerile nature meant that he could not look
after himself; "You never ought to drink water that ain't running, Lennie" and we as readers
see the dependency that Lennie has on George to protect him from danger. Beneath the
surface of their relationship, there is a co-dependency. Caring for Lennie gives George a sense
of responsibility and purpose. Ranch hands during the 1930s were characterised by loneliness
and powerlessness and Lennie offers George a sense of status as his guardian. Instead of
being a solitary ranch worker, he has "someone to talk to that gives a damn ". George
frequently reminds Lennie that without him he could “live so easy and maybe have a girl”;
such protestations can be seen as George masking his own need for this companionship. A
father and son role is formed between them "Look, George, look what I done". Due to
Lennie's disability, if George were not present to assist and protect him, Lennie would have
been placed in the "booby-hatch". There was no welfare-state at the time and psychiatric
institutions were very cruel to their patients. Lennie would have been abused and unfairly
treated. George also prevents any potential prejudice towards Lennie by telling the other
ranch workers that he had an "accident" as a child. He does admit that he used to abuse his
power against Lennie to make him look "goddamn smart beside him" but has learnt from his
actions and does "nothing like that no more".
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