Sacrifice In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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“I would do anything for you”. Those words are used carelessly by people all the time. When people say this they don’t actually consider what it means to give up everything for someone. They don’t know what it means to make a huge sacrifice. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, people make sacrifices for the greater good of those around them, because helping those you love may be more important than helping yourself, even if it means sacrificing something you love. For example, Lennie will do anything to please his best friend George, no matter how much he has to give up. In the first chapter in Of Mice and Men, Lennie has gotten both himself and George kicked out of their old job, forcing them to run away. They are on their way to a ranch …show more content…
Near the beginning of the novel, George and Lennie are sitting around a campfire eating beans. George gets fed up with Lennie and says, “God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why I could stay in a cat house all night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of. An’ I could do all that every damn month. Get a gallon of whiskey, or set in a pool room and play cards or shoot pool” (Steinbeck 11). George is upset that he can’t do anything fun with his life because he always has to take care of Lennie. In spite of the fact that George is always giving Lennie a hard time for being stupid and forgetful, he still cares for him. He knows that it is not Lennie’s fault that he is not the sharpest knife in the drawer and is forgetful all the time, and deep inside George loves having a friend around for company. George realizes that he could have an easier and possibly better life without Lennie, but he knows that he would miss him and his carefree and cheery personality. This is why George sacrifices having a fun and carefree way of life for Lennie. He recognizes that their friendship is much more important than eating in a fancy hotel all the time or drinking whiskey. Although, in the end, George does have to kill Lennie, but in a way that is sacrificing something he loved for the greater good of others. Lennie was unintentionally harming others, and George knew that in order to save those around him sacrificing his best friend was necessary. At times, taking care of your friends is more important than being able to do what you want.
In conclusion, In the book Of Mice and Men, people learn the importance of sacrificing things that you hold close for the greater good of those around you.
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