George and Lennie in “Of Men and Mice” Essay

George and Lennie are the two main characters in this book. They look after one another and stick together. I think that that itself is quite strange as they are both completely the opposite to each other. Lennie is very dependant on George and probably wouldn’t be able to survive without him; he certainly wouldn’t be able to get himself out of trouble. But George is much more Independent than Lennie. George is also quite bossy, like a parent but is responsible and practical too. He acts like a parent to Lennie sometimes: â€Å"Lennie! Lennie for Gods sake don’t drink so much.† He often tells Lennie what to do like this example. But he is forced to because of Lennie child like behaviour and sense. Lennie very much in his actions and words reflects the personality of a young child. This is sometimes quite admiring and amusing, â€Å"You drink some Lennie, take a good big drink† he smiled happily.† He is also described in a way that a child would be, by saying, â€Å"he smiled happily† Even though Lennie annoys George, George still cares for Lennie. An example of this is when George warns Lennie about drinking the water. This also reflects his intelligence. Which he definitely seems when he’s described with Lennie because Lennie really does lack intelligence. Lennie ignores the warning showing his shortage in common sense. We find out that George is slightly short tempered by two incidents. One is when he talks about the bus driver giving them the wrong information. â€Å"We could just as well of rode clear to the ranch of that bastard bus driver knew what he was talkin’ about† He’s quite rude in this statement and we can tell that he is angry. Because he is already angry about this he snaps at Lennie. He talks about how much better off he would have been if he didn’t have Lennie with him and in my opinion he saws some quite harsh things, â€Å"You crazy son of a bitch you keep me in hot water all the time.† He seems determined to hurt Lennie in this paragraph when he talks like this to him. Particularly during this part of the story, you’re forced to feel sympathy for Lennie and feel that George is the ‘bad guy’. But we also see Georges caring side again when he sees’s Lennies anguished face and he is ashamed of himself. I think George is a compassionate person though. Because he still cares for Lennie and sticks by him and helps him out of trouble by choice. Lennie is purposely portrayed in a child like manner. You can tell by his tone of voice, the things he says, the way he’s described and his actions. â€Å"Lennie who had been watching imitated George exactly† â€Å"Where we goin’, George† â€Å"Ain’t a thing in my pocket George, honest.† Lennnie imitates George quite a lot, he looks up to George and trusts him. He tries to obey George and attempts really hard to remember what George tells him. He asks questions like a child constantly. And he tries to act clever in a child like way. Lennie also has a child’s imagination too; He is also attracted to petting things because of his child like gentle nature. â€Å"Let’s have different coloured rabbits, George† he makes silly comments like this as well. George doesn’t really trust Lennie. Not because he’s not a good person but because he’s forgetful and makes silly mistakes which lead to big trouble. Lennies stupidity, need of understanding and strength causes him to unknowingly make these mistakes. We know that he’s forgetful because he doesn’t remember where he is going and has to repeat things over and over again to remind himself. We also know that George doesn’t trust him because he doesn’t let him keep his own workers ticket. Both people think of the dream in different ways, Lennie thinks about it in a very childish dreamy way, and as you’d expect, George thinks practically and really about it. And when he realises he’s being unrealistic he stops himself: â€Å"-Nuts† I think this shows that he doesn’t get his hopes up too high and that he is a down to earth person. George is a planner, he likes to be organised and know what’s happening. He plans and tells Lennie where to go if there’s trouble at the ranch. George and Lennie are very different people but they both benefit and appreciate the companionship that they share. â€Å"But not us! Because†¦because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you and that’s why†