Any help would be appreciated. I also tried to apply the feedback from last time by using key words from the question.
Describe an important character. Explain how this character is revealed to you throughout the text.
In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck an important character is Lennie Small, who has an unbreakable bond with his travel companion, George. However, he is also mentally disabled. Through his methods, actions and characteristics, Steinbeck reveals to the readers that Lennie is someone who is loyal and also very child-like.
Lennie is someone who has a strengthened connection with George, which reveals to the readers that he is devoted and would do anything to protect those he cares about. When Lennie and George are huddled together by the Salinas river in the opening chapter, George and Lennie promised one another that “you (Lennie) got me (George) and I got you.” Through this, we can see that they are not just travel companions, but brothers who would do anything for one another. This revelation is further reinforced when Crooks mentally tortures Lennie, threatening him with George leaving him. Here, we see a drastic change in Lennie from being friendly and passive to confrontational and menacing, demanding Crooks “who hurt George.” Through this change in Lennie, it emphasizes just how much he George means to him and how devoted he is to their relationship to the point where he even goes against nature to start a fight. This is unlike that of Lennie as he is the type of person who would rather avoid them at all costs, despite being very immensely strong. Through George and Lennie’s relationship, Steinbeck helps the readers gain a better understanding of the novel’s historical context. During the 1930s, unemployment rates were at an all-time high, forcing many men to travel around the country in search of work. Often the work that they do manage to find is temporary and due to their nomadic lifestyle. They didn’t even have time to form human connections with others, which makes George and Lennie’s bond all the more unique and endearing.
Lennie is mentally disabled, which reveals to the audience that he is child-like. His child-like tendencies can be seen when the ranchmen were insulting Curley for always being worried about his wife. Lennie didn’t even notice that he, too, was joining in by “smiling with delight” at the thought of their “dream farm.” Here, Lennie is unable to contain his excitement and fails to appropriately respond to the social situation. Instead of being aware of his surroundings , he is stuck daydreaming about their farm, like a child. This is further reinforced when he had “done another bad thing, [which will cause] George to be very angry.” After killing Curley’s wife and saying that “he had done another bad thing” it shows to the readers that he does not even know that he killed her, or the implications and consequences of his actions, as he is not even shocked or remorseful. All that he is feeling is confusion and distress as he does not want George to be angry at him. Part of Steinbeck’s purpose is to provide a social criticism of how society fails those who are vulnerable and weak by not giving them the protection, understanding and security that they need. As the reader, we sympathise for him. Had Curley and the others taken a moment to consider and understand Lennie’s reaction, then perhaps certain events wouldn’t have enfolded the way it did.
Of Mice and Men is a challenging and thought provoking piece of literature. An aspect which I adored is George and Lennie’s undying friendship and loyalty to one another, despite their differences. Lennie’s hopes, struggles, quirks and relationships with others in the ranch is what makes this character all the more real, making it easy for the readers to relate to and sympathise with him and his situation.