Of Mice and Men Lennie and George's Relationship Analysis Essay Example

Of Mice and Men is a story that follows the journey of two men, Lennie and George, who are always on the lookout for work in order to realize their dream of owning a farm. They meet a variety of people whose thoughts are centered on the laws of social Darwinism, which is the concept that some people are inherently more "powerful" than others. Candy and his dog are the only characters that, although being disabled and old, embody companionship and go against this stereotype. When Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife, George loses faith in their ambition of owning a farm, and he is compelled to shoot Lennie. Due to the author's subtle contradictions, specific interactions that occur throughout the story, and the hopeless dream that these characters rely on for their relationship, the student's essay argues that Lennie and George's relationship is deceptive and flawed. The student's use of evidence to demonstrate George and Lennie's emotionally manipulative relationship, as well as the consideration of negative aspects of their relationship, are both valid; however, the student's claims lack empathy for the characters and create a superficial understanding of their friendship, ignoring the reality of human nature.

By generalizing the characters' actions and comparing them to the rest of society, the student demonstrates her lack of empathy for George and Lennie. On page 2 of the essay, it is stated that "George's only reason for being acquainted with Lennie...was for self-gratification." When George and Lennie arrived at the ranch and spoke with the boss,at the beginning of the story, them student’s statement was proven false. The boss, who is owner of the ranch, speculates that George is "taking away his [Lennie's] pay," which creates contrast between the common worker, and Lennie and George because "there never seems to be a guy who takes so much trouble for another guy" (22). It is important to note that society appears to be an overwhelming force against which one cannot fight against, but the "false hope" identified by the student within Lennie and George's relationship isn't entirely useless due to the emotion and self-fulfillment it provides. On page 94, Lennie says, "I think I knew from the beginning. I had a feeling we'd never do her. He used to like hearing about it so much that he thought maybe we would." The student,to and interpret the quote as proof that “George manipulated Lennie into believing the dream” (Student 3). Although, it also allows  the reader to understand Lennie's awareness of the impossibility and absolute meaninglessness in their actions to achieve the dream of owning a farm, regardless the so-called "false hope" has given Lennie, as well as George, meaning in life or a source of happiness in the rather solitary society. George has no intention in harming Lennie or himself in any way; rather, both appear to be looking for some comfort and companionship. In a sad and tense moment, just before Lennie is about to be killed, George and Lennie recite their motivational speech:. "If you don' want me, I'll go right off in the hills and find a cave," George shook his head again. "No," he replied, "I want you to stay with me here," demonstrating that their mutual threats to leave each other were irrational and that neither of them intended to abandon the other (104). At the beginning of the story, Lennie says, "I'll go right off in the hills an' find a cave if you don' want me," presumably to guilt trip George, but as the story progresses and reaches its conclusion, George responds, "I want you to stay with me here." The context in which this is said suggests that their relationship has deep and honest feelings, despite the appearance of a manipulative one on the surface.

George and Lennie have a much deeper relationship that can only be understood by putting oneself in the shoes of the characters. As a means of disciplining Lennie, George mentions how "easy life would be if he was alone and how easy it would be to earn a job" on page 11. Obviously, this is contradicted by his parental tendencies toward Lennie. After meeting Curley's wife, George warns Lennie to avoid her: "Well, you stay away from her, 'cause she's a rat-trap if I ever saw one. (32)" This suggestion foreshadows that the problem that arises will involve Curley’s wife. Near the end of the story Lennie encounters Curley’s wife accidentally snaps her neck whilst petting her head, which leads to Lennie's pitiful death. George always tries to keep Lennie away from any sort of danger in order to live a peaceful life, although it is evident that he lost the aspiration to achieve the dream, both him and George planned for so long, at the end of the story. 

Although there are times throughout the story in which George and Lennie’s relationship fails to achieve the expectations of a perfectly "pure" relationship, it is often overlooked that they are two men going against all odds in society. All animals, as the student mentioned in the essay, are nothing more than miniscule things: like Candy’s dog- who was shot "for being no good to Candy nor himself " (44). Lennie's rabbits are a representation of the unachievable dreams, and since there is an equivalence between impared individuals like Candy, who is missing an arm, and Lennie, who is mentally disabled, due to their lack of usefulness; means that Lennie getting shot was a way to save the remaining hopes and dreams that both Lennie and George had. In the Catcher in the Rye, there’s a boy who commits suicide in order to prevent submiting to a group of boys in his school. The parallel meaning between the boy and Lennie is that both managed to escape society through death, and somehow keep their dreams and ideals alive in an unorthodox way. The key contrast between the deaths of these two characters is that the boy willfully takes his life, but Lennie is killed by George; even though they have a common enemy: society. The boy dies due to his own stubbornness and in order to runaway from society; his only way to escape that is in death, since nobody can intervene. On the other hand, Lennie was fated to die. Knowing this, George, who knows that they can’t keep running away due to his helplessness, murders Lennie as an act of love and sacrifice. The relationship between George and Lennie has been described as "dog and master," and there are hints that George is a parental figure rather than a friend. It may not appear so, but the common ground in these comparisons is that they both have the role of caring for their "dog," "child," or, in this case, "friend."

It is hard to understand the meaning of Lennie's and Goerge’s friendship, even to the point in which it may seem like both manipulate each other to achieve their selfish goals. Both of these characters are human beings with their own hardships which may reflect on certain behaviors during their interactions. Even so, the momentary moments of grief, as well as the brief moments of joy are what makes these two men’s friendship absolutely irrational but normal for humans. At the end of the day, one can’t deny, society will always find a way to break apart this sort of perfectly flawed human relationship.