Of Mice And Men Essay #2

Explain an idea or theme that interests you and explain what you think about it.

In the novel Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck a theme that interests me is friendship. It interests me because it is rare to find a friendship like George and Lennie's during the 1930's. I think this is because of the great depression and how it caused the every man for himself lifestyle.

A theme that interests me in the novel is friendship because there was a lack of them in the story which made George and Lennie's stand out.George and Lennie's relationship is unique and rare for the particular time in history which shock most characters in the book such as the boss, as he thought George was only hanging around Lennie for his money "what stake you got in this guy? you takin' his pay away from him?". During the 1930's it was not normal for two grown men to hang around like George and Lennie did especially when they are not related " If I was relative of yours i'd shoot myself".This was generally because of the great depression which meant there was a lack of jobs and an even bigger strive for the American dream, which resulted in a lack of trust amongst peers as everyone was just trying to get by meaning it was every man for himself.

I think that George and Lennie's relationship is unique in itself because it is very interdependent. Their relationship comes across as just George looking after Lennie because he is 'slow' and is very dependent on George " Jesus Christ, Lennie! you can't remember nothing the happens, but you remember ever' word I say". George seemed to get very frustrated with Lennie as he always gets them into trouble, like when he grabbed the girl's red dress or breaking Curly's wife neck. This puts a lot of stress onto George as he always has to get them out of trouble "when I think of the swell time I could without you". In the novel it isn't explained why George puts up with Lennie when they are not related, and he could be having a successful job working his way to his American dream. I think it is purely because George likes the company as he has no family left, and that he likes the responsibility and control he has over Lennie making himself feel important.

Once Lennie breaks Curly's wife neck I think true friendship is shown by how George shoots Lennie because like candy said " I shouldn't have let another man kill my dog". George was saving Lennie from a painful death from Curly, which he didn't deserve as it wasn't in his intentions to harm his wife. It would of been hard for George to shoot him as he was his best friend and without him he had nothing.He did what was best for Lennie as he had no hope of escaping Curly. George did the shooting tastefully as he told Lennie their lifelong American dream that they had made together as part of their friendship, so Lennie was as close as he was ever going to get to that dream and died remembering pleasant thoughts. "look across the river Lennie, an' I'll tell you so you can almost see it". George shot him right in the back of the head so Lennie wouldn't feel any pain, George knew it had to be done as Lennie could not control his strength and could easily harm others.

In conclusion I found friendship an important theme in the novel as it was a rarity as was shown so clearly between George and Lennie. I think there friendship was very unique and interdependent which was why it was able to function. I think George did the right thing by shooting Lennie as showed true friendship as he had Lennie's best interests at heart.

By LilyRose