Friendship In Of Mice And Men

Words: 586
Pages: 3

Of Mice And Men What is friendship? Friendship is a type of relationship between two people who care and look out for each other.The novel Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, exhibits this form of relationship between the main characters George and Lennie. Steinbeck explores this by showing how they watch over each other, how they are loyal to each other, and how they show compassion for each other. Lennie is not the smartest friend someone can have, but he’s loyal. George is not the most compassionate man, but he has a soft spot for Lennie. These two care about each other. They enjoy being with each other and sometimes that's the best hallmark for any relationship.

One of the ways Steinbeck explores their friendship is how they watch
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Lennie cares for George in his unique and foolish ways, but with a sincerity that demonstrates Lennie’s tender heart. Steinbeck shows this in various scenes, one instance is when Lennie and George are eating lunch. “I was only foolin George. I don't want no ketchup. I wouldn't eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me. If it was here, you could have some. But I wouldn't eat none, George. I'd leave it all for you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn't touch none of it.” (chp.1 pg.93-95) Neither have ketchup, but Lennie is willing to give George his share of imaginary ketchup. Lennie does this because he cares about George. Lennie’s not smart, but he's compassionate and loyal to George. George also shares this quality for Lennie. George tells Lennie, “look, Lennie if you jus’ happen to get into trouble like you always done before, I want you to come here and hide in the brush.” (chp.1 pg.130) This applies to their friendship because George cares about Lennie and he’s loyal to him. If George wouldn't have said that, Lennie would have gotten killed by the ranch workers instead of George doing it himself. He could have left Lennie at any time but instead he stayed because of how loyal he was to his friend. These two are friends to the seemingly end, each giving the other more than what they have.

Steinbeck portrays many different aspects to Lennie and George’s relationship. Friendship is the main theme in this novel and can stand out as a clear point the author is trying to make that even after all they’ve went through, they were still able to remain friends. The three key points to their friendship were caring, loyalty, and compassion. Without these their friendship wouldn't have been as strong and the reader wouldn't get such a point of view on why they need each