Lonliness and Friendship in ’of Mice and Men’

Lonliness and Friendship in 'Of Mice And Men'

In terms of emotional stability, there is one thing in life that is really needed, and that is friends. Without friends, people would suffer from lonliness and solitude. Lonliness leads to low self-esteem and deprivation. In the novel, Of Mice And Men, by John Steinbeck, the two main themes are friendship and lonliness.

There are two main characters, George and Lennie. Lennie is a massive man with incredible strength, but has a childs mind. George is a fairly sized man who is not incredibly strong, but has good common sense. What one man lacks, the other man makes up for. It is a perfect example of how opposites attract. They are a perfect match, and that is why they have a truly great friendship.

Although, no matter how much he tries, George cannot make up for the huge gap in Lennie's mind. Lennie is so childish it is hard to believe; for example when he sees things, he wants to touch and grab them. Throughout the book, the stress of Lennie's retardation begins to weigh down on George. Because of Lennie, they are drifters. Wherever they go, Lennie gets them into trouble. At their previous location in a town called Weed, Lennie grabbed a little girls dress to feel it and soon startled the girl with his overwhelming strength. So once again George had to rescue Lennie, and they had to move on. George knew he could leave Lennie and have a great life, but they had a true friendship and George apreciated that.

At times, George became agitated with Lennie, though. He would yell at Lennie and tell him if he didn't

have him he could go and do as he pleased. When in reality George did not want these things. He was grateful

to have a friend in Lennie, so he would not have to be alone. With Lennie's simple mind, he could not comprehend what George was talking about most of the time. He believed that George got upset over simple things such as ketchup. He too was very thankful to have George to go along with. Although he did not understand the complexity of things sometimes, he knew that he had a true friend who he trusted wouldnt leave him.

The friendship between Lennie and George went beyond what was unambiguous, they shared a common dream, and they never stopped trying to achieve

their dream. They dream of