George of Mice and Men: Delving into the Characters of Lennie and George

George is small and quick, dark of face, with restless eyes and sharp, strong features. Every part of him was defined: small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin and bony nose. He moves away quickly and adroitly, and thinks entity through before acting. In terms of the entire novel, he stands in diametric contrast to his large clumsy companion. Outwardly, George seems to be an angry man who is disgusted at having to mind for his simple minded companion. He grew up in the same town as Lennie, and when Lennie's Aunt Clara dies, George took the responsibility upon himself to look after Lennie, and that in itself is a job.

The nature of George is such that he must constantly complain about the amount of trouble that Lennie causes him. O.K. -O.K. Ill tell ya again. I aint got nothing to do. Might just as well spen all my time tellin you things and you forget em, and I tell you again. I could get along so easy, and so nice if I didnt have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl.

Georges job is to work on a ranch bucking grain bags bustin a gut. Primarily, that is his official job, but the most important of them all is to watch his simple-minded friend, Lennie. George has to speak for Lennie, lest he slip away and give the reason why they ran out of weed. In the beginning of the book, the first impression is that George is harsh with Lennie, but in terms of the entire novel, we might say that he was, if anything, not strict enough.

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George and Lennie have created a dream of their having a place someday, and a reason for that, since they dont wasnt to be bossed around by anyone else except for themselves. However, the crux of the dream is that, once there, no one can harm Lennie. George then is anxious to secure his own place so that Lennie can live the type of life where he can be happy, and not be hurt by people who don't understand him.

Thus, ultimately, in spite of the way that George talks and complains on the outside, we should see that he has a strong protective feeling about his big companion on the inside. Most of the things he does are for Lennie's sake or to protect Lennie. For example, he gets Lennie a puppy from Slim in order to keep Lennie occupied with something that he is happy with. Finally, in the end, George must kill Lennie in order to avoid him from being brutally murdered, by the vicious Curley, and George raised the gun an d straddled it, and he brought the muzzle of it to the back of Lennie's head he pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again

Although George murders his friend intentionally, he believes that he has done so for Lennie's benefit. However, George can never really forgive Lennie for the homicide that he has perpetrated. Lennie Small Even though Lennies last name is small, he is, physically, just the opposite: a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders. He walks kind of gaudy as a bear might walk, with prodigious strength having the power to kill. George describes Lennie to the boss as a hell of a good worker strong as a bull.

Lennie is the antithesis to George in several other ways. He is very slow and clumsy. He can remember nothing except the things that George says. He is very frightened of people and is constantly trying to avoid them. Lennie was born as an outcast of society because of ignorance. Lennie was born with the mind of a child, just like anyone else, except his mind never developed. The only chance Lennie has to become more than society expected of him, is to own a field with George, and have others working for him. Someday, were gonna get the jack together and were gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an a cow an some pigs Lennie worked as a laborer following George to wherever work could be found on the farms in California. When Crooks, a black farm hand teased Lennie about the possibility of George spending all of the money they would need to buy a place of their own, Lennie said, He wont do itGeorge wouldnt do nothing like that. It is in situations such as these where Lennie projects his childlike mannerisms.

In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is conditioned by the simple childlike manner in that he does and sees things. This causes him to be an outcast. In the first chapter, he delights in making the water ripple the water ripple. He drinks in big long gulps, snorting in the water like a horse. Lennie is also very content in being a dead mouse. His pleasures are those of the innocent and nave child, and it is this quality which characterizes his every action in the novel.

He sees nothing wrong with the act because he does not function in terms of the dictates set up by society. Consequently, we must judge him by relative standards rather than the absolute ones of a normal society. Lennies greatest difficulty is remembering things. While he never plans on doing anything wrong, he cant simply remember what is wrong and what is not. When Lennie at first started killing the rabbits, he told George, I swear- I didnt mean to do any harm. Lennie forgets that little animals must be treated gently. Also, when Curleys wife appears and allows Lennie to stroke her hair, he could not remember to stroke softly, and furthermore, could not remember the power that his strong body had. This lead to his accidentally killing her in the same way as he did the animals he loved, and also for getting chased out of weed for the same reason.

In the end, George kills Lennie out of sympathy, because if he didnt take matters into his own hands, Lennie would suffer a much more painful death at the hands of the farm help.

Crooks was the Negro stable hand who lived alone in a shed on the inside of a barn. He was a proud, aloof man who kept his distance and demanded of other people that they keep theirs. His body was bent over to the left by his crooked spine, after being kicked in the back many years earlier by a horse. When the boss gets angry, he takes it out on the Negro stable hand; the reader gets the impression that the Negro is a kind of whipping boy. Curley told George that the boss gives him hell when hes mad. But the stable buck dont give a damn about that.

Crooks is regarded as a minority person, eventhough he most definitely is the most intellectual of all of the workers. Only at Christmas is Crooks allowed into the bunkhouse, and often is greeted with a fight upon entry. Crooks knows that he is unimportant in society because of his color. He explains to Lennie that he is just a nigger talkin, an a busted black nigger. So it dont mean nothing, see? Crooks promises that if he had a chance to work for something, he would, such as sharing the little farm with George, Lennie, and Curley.

Crooks is warned by Curleys wife that if he starts up with her, He would get strung up on a tree so easy it aint funny. As a black man, Crooks had no chance against the white social power group. Crooks assumes the role of a distant and self contained farmhand.

Prior to the visit of Lennie, no one has ever tried to visit Crooks quarters because the white farmhands are aware of social prejudice and distinction. Lennie, however, approached Crooks to pet his pups, since Lennie views Crooks as just another human. Crooks wonders why Lennie is associating with a black man, for he has been alone so long that he does not know how to relate to a white visitor. Crooks asks Lennie dont come in a place where youre not wanted. Woodenly, Lennie stands there looking confused until Crooks allows him to come into the room.

Once inside, Lennie begins to talk about the rabbits he is going to raise and pet when he and George get their farm. Crooks, at first, becomes sarcastic and ridicules the plan as just another wild dream. He even begins to tease Lennie about George disappearing and never coming back.

As Lennie continues to talk about the farm, Crooks is convinced that they will purchase the farm, and agrees to contribute $350 dollars towards the purchase, and work for no pay.

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