Friendship Theme in Of Mice and Men Literary Essay Example

In “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns,  the speaker claims “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley,” meaning that the best-laid plans can often go wrong. John Steinbeck wrote, Of Mice and Men in 1937 during the Great Depression, a time when many plans were going wrong. The novel is about the friendship between the two main characters Lennie and George. They attained a new job on a farm however the best friends dream of owning their own farm someday. That is to say, John Steinbeck weighs the measures one should go to for friendship through the symbolism of Candy’s dog’s death and the characterization of Lennie being mentally disabled. 

Steinbeck uses the symbolism of Candy’s dog death to reveal the concept of killing something for the sake of saving it from a miserable life to support some reasoning on why George kills Lennie. Candy is an elderly worker on the farm that owns a dog. The workers suggest killing the dog to put it out of its misery. Candy gives in therefore Carlson one of the workers, kills the dog. As a result, Candy is grieving about his dog's death, for this reason, he cries, “ “I oughtta of shot the dog myself, George. I shouldn’t oughtta of let no stranger shoot my dog’” (61). Hence when Lennie kills the worker's wife, the worker wants to harm Lennie. One of the workers even told George that Lennie would have a troublesome life on the farm after his actions. George being his best friend took it into his own hands to shoot Lennie. George is driven to do it himself, rather than a stranger because, through the symbolism of the dog, the purpose is a merciful death. This provides some context on why Geroge did what he did. Another key point is when Geroge reminds Lennie of the farm in order for him to die thinking about something that makes him happy. George has Lennie start talking about his dream, infatuated with the idea of the farm, “Lennie begs, ‘le’s do it now. Le’ get that place now.’ ‘Sure, right now. I gotta. We gotta.’” (106). In this period, the great depression having a toll on everything. It is everyone's dream to work for themselves, to have their own farm, yet that was so far out of reach due to the circumstances of the crisis going on. Because of this, the only choice to help the candy dog is to put it out of its misery by putting it down. It was every man for himself but George and Lennie traveled together, George took responsibility for Lennie. Granted this is why George is compelled to make a decision for the sake of Lennie, the love of the friendship came into play. This leads to the merciful death of Lennie. 

Steinback characteristic Lennie with the lack of intelligence, and prodigious strength, to present dependence within George and Lennie’s friendship, in addition, to test how far George will go for Lennie.  Lennie is mentally handicapped, moreover, George takes care of him,  “ ‘Good boy. That’s swell. You say that over two, three times so you sure won’t forget it”(6). Lennie must repeat it over and over to himself, similar to how a child must repeat to memorize it. However, in the time period of the book, mentally ill people did not have effective treatment due to the great depression crisis. Lennie cannot live without George because he is mentally unstable, this goes to show how much dependence there is within the relationship. Not only does it show dependence but light and dark sides of love. George loves Lennie, enough to keep him around for so long during such a harsh time period in history, the great depression. Lennie could be a burden at times, causing both of them to lose jobs because of his lack of intelligence. George gives Lennie countless chances, is understanding toward Lennie, regardless of the opportunities, George misses because of Lennie. However, when will Lennie become too much? Lennie is physically strong, thus when the workers were asking about Lennie's ability George responds “ “No, he ain’t but he’s sure a hell of a good worker. Strong as a bull.” (22) Lennie can not comprehend his strength because of his mental capacity. This makes Lennie dangerous because he is a colossal guy. Throughout the story, his strength leads to the accidental death of small animals or crushing a worker's hand. Since Lennie is mentally handicapped, it is hard for George to keep Lennie contained because George can only control so much. Lennie has been this character from the opening pages of the book, Lennie has always depended on George for everything. Lennie's characterization highlights the dependence between the two, it is evident that their bond is tested multiple times in the book because of Lennie's strength. It is difficult for Lennie to live due to his mental illness, the time period, and limited medical help. Regardless of the good intentions, Lennie has planned, he is dangerous. The character we have known since the beginning of the story has always been set up for inevitable destruction with his strength, regardless of how hard George tries to help/support him. 

John Steinbeck illustrates the measures one should go for friendship, through the merciful death from the symbolism of Candy’s Dog death and how there is dependence in the friendship due to the characterization of Lennie being mentally disabled.  The death of a friend, especially by one’s own hands, is not an easy [thing] to live with. At the same time, the killing of his best friend is out of love, with the best of intentions. Steinback does a phenomenal job of providing a theme of friendship, but also a story that has powerful insight into the reality of life, where concepts arent so simple. Especially during this time period, the reality seems to be “black and white”, where the grey would not be sought out. George our character, had many factors in his life that were and weren’t in his control, one of the factors is Lennie, someone where it’s difficult to seek the grey in. With the circumstances of the plot then time period, as well through symbolism and characterization, Steinback can justify George  killing Lennie. However, this may not be the best advice in the current world.  There are bounteous ways to seek help for the mentally ill, we have phone numbers, facilities, medication, therapists, etc. For a friendship, it might take going out of your way to support someone you love by helping them receive the help they need, this is how we make the world a better place. We can help heal and help battle our loved ones fight with mental illness, by seeking the proper care.