Sunday, March 11, 2012

Of Mice and Men Chapters 3-4: Lennie and George Part 2

     On the rubric for this project, it says you may pick one central theme and write about it for every post, so I have decided to write about Lennie and George's relationship for all of my posts.  I believe that this is a very important and central theme to the entire plot. 
     Prior to this point in the story, it wasn't exactly clear why George continued to stick around with Lennie, besides pure pity out of leaving a mentally challenged man to fend for himself in the Great Depression.  Now, it is slightly more clear.  Physically, Lennie is an extremely strong man.  This means that he is able to work very difficult and laborious jobs, while exerting only a portion of the effort.  Because of this, people love to have him work for them.  He is very agreeable, mostly due to his mental disability, and willing to do difficult work.  Working with Lennie very beneficial to George.  For example, if there is a very high paying job open at a ranch, then the head of the ranch will want Lennie to work there. However, Lennie won't accept the job unless George can work there as well.  So essentially, George can get jobs at places that he wouldn't be able to otherwise.  Lennie has many reasons to want to stay with George, such as how much he helps him and how nice he is to him.  Their friendship is defined differently by each person.  For Lennie, it is moral support and help with living a normal working life.  For George, it is out of pity and economic benefit.
     As the duo begin working at the ranch, they meet many new people.  Lennie, being a friendly person, begins talking to people and making new friends.  However, George cautions him against this.  I find this interesting, but very important and a useful safeguard for George to implement.  If Lennie becomes too friendly with people, he could grow more comfortable around them, and eventually make serious mistakes like he did by grabbing the ladie's dress.  It is better for everybody to keep their distance from him, and give him less of an opportunity to create problems.
     At this point in their story, Lennie and George's relationship is fairly consistent, but I feel that it will change soon.  As is with Lennie, problems will probably arise that affect their relationship.

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