Friendship in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men Essay Example

Friendship is far much more than just being there for a person, it can mean a variety of very many distinct things, but it can also be a very difficult thing to work with. Sometimes friendship displays in the most back-breaking decision. In John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” a man who had so much power in just his hands causes chaotic turbulence on the ranch. Lennie Small, a big and very childish migrant worker who does not know his strength, arrives at a ranch in the 1930s with his best friend George Milton. After years of going from job to place and place to job Lennie and George both finally believe that they have found a job that is going to stick, that is until Lennie forgets the amount of power he holds and accidentally murders a lady on the ranch. In the end, Lennie was youthful, powerful, and not aware of his strength, which led him to use his strength and power accidentally on a woman on the ranch which made her tragically suffer. 

Lennie is a powerful and strong individual; he rarely trusts or pays attention to anyone except George. However, all his strength, power, and lack of maturity allow him to accidentally harm anyone who tries to mess with him. When Lennie accidentally murders a woman on the ranch an eruption forms among the plantation and all the men except George revolt to kill Lennie. George knew that Lennie’s death was not going to be very peaceful for the men were planning to “lock him up an’ strap him down and put him in a cage “ (Steinbeck 94). George sees the situation spiraling out of his control and realizes that he had to be the one to kill Lennie if he wanted the death to go down peacefully and comfortably rather than a frightening and uncomfortable slow demise. George decides to spare Lennie some pain and resort to his only option, to give him a peaceful death. This response alone makes it clear that at his core, George is kind, loving, and willing to sacrifice his mental health trauma of murdering someone just so Lennie doesn’t have to die horrifyingly and painfully by the other migrant workers. George did make the best decision to murder Lennie because if he had let someone else do it, it would have probably ended in a very catastrophic and agaonizing death. Or if George decided just to release Lennie without any consequences, Lennie could have the potential to accidentally hurt someone again. 

Power and strength are extremely dangerous if put in the hands of someone like Lennie. Although he might have had a chance for good in this world, he was born into a childish adult in a world where individuality is always going to discriminate against the population of this world. His strength was used as a weapon against him, and so Lennie naturally became the most alarming and powerful one on the ranch. Friendship comes in the way of very many things but sometimes friendship means more than just being a good friend, it can mean as much as having each other back even if put up to the most difficult and punishing decision ever.