Extracts from this document... OF MICE AND MEN LOYALTY & PROTECTION I feel that loyalty and protection play a big part throughout the whole of this story, from the start right up to the very end. The first sign of loyalty in the book is when George tried to stop Lennie from drinking too much of the pond water in case he became ill. This showed that he felt responsible for Lennie's well being. "'Lennie for God' sakes don't drink so much' Lennie continued to snort in the pool and the small man leaned over and shook him by the shoulder 'Lennie. You going to be sick like you was last night.'" The novel goes on to explain that slow minded Lennie had cost them their previous jobs because he became innocently fascinated with a young girl's dress and frightened her. So the two men had to leave town quickly before a lynch mob found them. George could easily have left Lennie to the consequences, but he gave up his job to protect him and took him off to find another job in another town, Soledad. ...read more. George is continually showing his frustration with Lennie, by telling him he could do much better without him. He could live a normal life and settle down with a wife and kids and a proper job and not be on the move all the time. Although he says this to Lennie, he knows that he would never leave him to do this. Curley's wife hangs around the workers looking for attention. George knows that she could cause a lot of problems for Lennie. "'She's purty' said Lennie defensively. 'Listen to me you crazy b*****d' he said fiercely 'don't you even take a look at that b***h I don't care what she does. I seen 'em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be.'" Because of what happened with the girl in Weed, George knew he had to keep Lennie away from her so he told him not to talk her at all. As the story goes on it continually shows George's loyalty to Lennie in many ways. ...read more. The men from the ranch were out for Lennie's blood. If they caught him they would make him suffer greatly before being killed. George knows that and whilst keeping up the pretence of their dream to him, he shoots him in the back of the head to save him from the pain he would suffer when Curley and his men found him. The very last act of loyalty was when Slim helped George away and understood how bad he felt. There is a lot of loyalty throughout this book between various characters. But the strongest bond of loyalty and protection is between the two main characters, Lennie and George. Throughout the story George is loyal to Lennie by allowing him to travel with him and looking out for him everywhere they go. Lennie also is loyal and protective towards George and won't let anyone say anything bad about him. Sometimes Lennie loses hope on that loyalty by wondering if he should run away to live in a cave and leave George on his own to live his own life. But he never does this. ...read more.
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John Steinbeck was born in 1902, in California's Salinas Valley, a region that would eventually serve as the setting for Of Mice and Men, as well as many of his other works. He studied literature and writing at Stanford University. He then moved to New York City and worked as a laborer and journalist for five years, until he completed his first novel in 1929, Cup of Gold. With the publication of Tortilla Flat in 1935, Steinbeck achieved fame and became a popular author. He wrote many novels about the California laboring class. Two of his more famous novels included Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck got the title for Of Mice and Men from a line of Robert Burns, a Scottish poet, “The best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry." In Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck includes the theme of loyalty and sacrifice between friends. Steinbeck illustrates the loyalty and sacrifice between friends through the friendship of Lennie and George. The issue of loyalty is embodied in the character of George. He is an intelligent man who could make a successful living for himself on his own. He chooses to stay beside his friend Lennie. George can never get a steady job to fulfill his long-term goal of having his own farm. The first job that Lennie and George have together goes well for a while. Eventually Lennie ruins everything that is going good for them. Lennie sees a pretty dress that a girl is wearing. Without thinking about what he is doing, he goes up and grabs the dress to feel the nice fabric. This scares the girl and she tells the boss. Soon the whole town is after Lennie. This is the perfect time for George to start a new life, without Lennie. However, because of his loyalty to Lennie, he chooses to help Lennie escape from the town. Lennie needs George to survive. It is this that propels George to make the sacrifice that he does. After Lennie kills Curley’s wife, George knows that this is the end for Lennie. No matter what, someone will eventually kill Lennie. And if Lennie gets away this time, there will be another time, and eventually the inevitable will happen. He truly loves Lennie, so he shoots Lennie painlessly in the back of the head. Lennie dies with the happy thought of the dream of the farm they want to own some day. When asked what someone wants in a friend, a typical response would be loyalty. Best friends can not have a long term relationship without loyalty to one another, so people look for loyalty in a friend. However, loyalty comes with a cost. There are consequences of being loyal to others, like selflessness, devotion to the friendship, and more. Throughout Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, loyalty to others causes significant consequences because it can either result in harming oneself from selflessness, or abrupt betrayal. Examine how far George and Lennie are loyal to each other throughout 'Of mice and men' |
Why is George loyal to Lennie?
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