Essay on Mice of Men

Submitted By madam5
Words: 626
Pages: 3

In Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, friendship becomes very valuable early on. Lennie and George are seen as an odd pair since no two men usually travel together, but as the story goes on their friendship is what so many of the ranch workers long for. The characters that Lennie and George run into are hard and tough men but even though they put up walls against others, they want a friend just like Lennie has George and vice versa. We can see that the friendship Lennie and George bring to the story is valuable not only to them but to those around them. The idea of someone always having your back is an idea that so many of the men have never experienced.
We can see that George and Lennie are an odd pair very early. Lennie is a bit off and George mostly takes care of him. Though there is an uneven balance of skills and smartness, the two work well together and everyone notices them when they come by. The other characters in contrast are sometimes mean and always worried. Because they have no one to watch their backs or help them out, they are simply trying to get by. With Lennie and George, they have a little fun while going through life, but most of the men are too busy working or worrying that their lives don’t involve fun. The men are shocked to see two men traveling together because it is so rare, but after getting to know the pair, they seem to desire the kind of friendship they have.
For example, Curly is a character who obviously hasn’t had many friends. He picks fights with men bigger than him to feel confident and he always wants to fight. His wife wants nothing more than attention he doesn’t give her and he is always worried about where his wife is. His exterior is hard shelled, and even after his wife dies he doesn’t cry or sob, he just wants revenge. Having no friends in his life really affected him and Steinbeck shows this difference to show the huge contrast in actions between George and Lennie versus Curly.
Another character that shows the importance of friends is Candy. He had a faithful dog since it was a pup and it was his only friend. It got old and useless and the other men shot it, but Candy’s personality is like one who had friends. He is nicer than the others and calmer. Candy is a