George sacrifices the chance to have a better and more fulfilled life to stay with Lennie. First, when George was introducing himself and Lennie to their new boss, he said, “I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy.” This shows that George was portraying that he cares about Lennie enough to be picked up on by others. He was willing to lie about being Lennie’s cousin to get him a job. Also, when George and Lennie were talking to each other at their camp spot George said, “I could get along so easy and nice If I didn’t have you on my tail.” By saying this, it shows his willingness to give up some good in life for another person. It also shows what negative outcomes can come out of doing this. For example, he also said, “I could
At first my thought was, when George realized Lennie would do whatever he wanted him to do, Lennie decided to help him out. Then I realized that George also could have decided that Lennie will do whatever he is told, and he can use Lennie to his
In a way, George was like a parent or a big brother to Lennie. He scolded Lennie and yelled at him, but, all in all, George was just looking out for him. Readers see how George is like a guardian to Lennie in the first chapter when George says, “Lennie!... For god’ sakes don’t drink so much... Lennie.
This also shows the overpowering control George has over Lennie’s conscience, and the consequence that Lennie can’t remember his own actions, only the stories George repeats. He is never truly angry with Lennie for his petty mistakes, he is simply thinking of the limitations of their dreams because of Lennie’s unpredictable actions. It seems George can only control Lennie by threatening him with the thing he cares about most which is the farm, “But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble, because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits” he threatens, trying to make Lennie remember the importance of his actions (36). George is constantly complaining that he could have a better life and even have a farm without Lennie to look after, but he also wants a companion. Lennie is often simple minded and easily influenced, but intuitive enough to manipulate George’s loneliness, “If you don’t want me George I can go up in that cave over there and leave,” George quickly denies this saying “No, look I was just foolin’ Lennie, ‘cause I want you to stay with me” (20).
In other words, George Milton did not gain any advantages with having Lennie follow him from job to job. So why did George drag Lennie around everywhere? Jurors, please keep in mind that George and Lennie labeled each other as friends, but by definition “friends” means: (1) one attached to another by affection or esteem, or (2) one that is not hostile. If we look at this definition in context with George and Lennie, we can see on numerous occasions where George could be seen giving false information, berating, downgrading, and threatening Lennie. George viscously gnarled at the poor Lennie, “You gonna give me that mouse or do I have to sock you” (Steinbeck )?
George and Lennie 's relationship is closer than most friendships now a days. George is like Lennie 's big brother and cares for him like their family. For example, when Lennie got in trouble in Weed, George did not leave him and helped him escape. Another example of George acting like a big brother to Lennie is, he holds on to Lennie 's work card so he does not lose it. George also really cares for Lennie and does not want him to leave.
To be honest George and Lennie were really good friends but they were more than just friends they were like family. I believe that George and Lennie were meant to be together. George protected Lennie and makes sure that no one hurt him because George cares about Lennie and promised to be there for him. George also promised Lennie that he would be there to protect him and that he would never let anyone hurt him. Sure enough, George kept his promise to Lennie.
So, for the most part, George talks for him and always makes up excuses as to why things happen. George does his best to keep him “in check”, but it proves to be harder than it appears. Throughout the book, George was a loyal friend to Lennie because he saved Lennie from
He owed it to Lennie to have him do it. George has just done something that he wished would never had happened. George had to face that he was not going to be able to complete his dream with Lennie, after all of the trouble he got himself
Being friends with Lennie has led to sacrificing things in George’s life. In the first chapter, we get this message clearly when In a forest George goes off on Lennie when he keeps complaining about wanting Ketchup on his beans when they do not have ketchup George goes on to tell Lennie all the things he could do if he didn’t have to take care of Lennie and to finish it off he says “I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get“ (Steinbeck 11). George chooses to stay with Lennie despite losing things that would make his life more comfortable. He also chooses to kill Lennie at the end of the book because he doesn’t want the Mob looking for Lennie to kill him and his last moments to be filled with fear.
What comes to mind when the word loyalty is mentioned? A dog, a pet, friends or family is what most people think of when the word is mentioned. However, many would not associate the word loyalty with loneliness. When John Steinbeck thought of loyalty he wrote of deep friendships and a dog and its owner’s love. Loyalty can be associated with loneliness because by the end of a friendship or family member, someone is always gone before the other, due to old age or a medical issue that has come up.
The responsibility that George has for Lennie is overwhelming. George and Lennie’s relationship shows how George was forced to make a difficult decision in order to protect Lennie, which suggests that being responsible for a person can cause one to make strenuous decisions for their well-being. From the beginning, it is evident that George is left to cover for Lennie’s actions because Lennie can't remember anything. He had done something wrong in their previous town, causing them both to flee even though it was only Lennie who should’ve fleed.
Every time any character in the story gets attached or close to one another, something bad happens between the relationship and goes wrong. George is a very practical man. He gets the relationship between him and Lennie in a very practical way rather than being emotional. He can even kill another person just for his
George always wanted to get rid Lennie but, his bond with Lennie made it hard for him to ever let go. “We got a future”(Steinbeck 14) this quote shows how while George is a hot head, he cares for Lennie and always wanted him to know they were family and they had something to look forward to. George and Lennie’s past shows that George used to take advantage over Lennie, “I’ve beat the hell outta him, and he could bust every bone in my body…,but he never lifted a finger against me”(Steinbeck 40). Lennie could have smashed every bone in George’s body, but never raised a finger towards George showing that their bond was stronger than family. George and Lennie cared for each more than family from the beginning and show it throughout the story with making the choice of George ending Lennie’s life absolutely agonizing, but the right
George even lies that he and Lennie were cousins so The Boss wouldn’t suspect anything showing that George is ashamed of Lennie but also cares about him. George tries many ways to cope with Lennie’s mind, strategies such as making Lennie repeat what he said and punish him by reminding Lennie what his dream is and how George can ruin that dream for him. Unfortunately none of these strategies successfully ‘fixed’ Lennie but instead made him scared and traumatized by George. By using little events where George stands up for Lennie, Steinbeck drives the story to be more suspenseful because readers become aware that George will do whatever it takes to protect Lennie, building up tension and question of what else will George do and how far will he go to keep Lennie
Ch 1: George complains about having to take care of Lennie, though continues to travel with him. Why might George keep Lennie around? What does this suggest about George’s character? George might keep Lennie around because workers like them are the loneliest guys in the world.