How Does Steinbeck Present Lennie's Relationship In Of Mice And Men

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Steinbeck presents George and Lennie’s relationship as a strong bond between two completely different characters. Even though their friendship can be tense at times, they still both care deeply about each other. Although George is portrayed as the more dominant and more intelligent character, while Lennie is the more gormless and kind-hearted, they still learn lots from traveling with each other, making them a refreshingly unusual pair. Firstly, Steinbeck proves that George is obviously the more dominant figure between him and Lennie. Even within the first few pages this is portrayed; the first time we hear about the protagonists is the quote, “They had walked single file down the path, and even is the open one stayed behind the other.” As George always walks in front of Lennie, we can tell that his is a more assertive character; he is always…show more content…
For example when George calls Lennie a “Poor Bastard,” he isn’t being rude towards him by using expletive language; he instead feels sympathy towards him and is full of pity. This is confirmed by the adverb softly which it used to describe how George curses. When Lennie claims that everything would be better if he ran away, George replies with, “Where the hell could you go?” and, “How’d you eat?” This proves that George would constantly worry about his friend, as he knows that Lennie wouldn’t survive alone without him. It could also insinuate that George would actually miss Lennie’s company and their travels together; as he is trying to persuade him that leaving is not a clever idea. When George takes Lennie’s mouse away you can see that he obviously feels empathy for him by saying, “Aw Lennie!” He clearly shows sympathy for Lennie; knowing that he doesn’t know any better, but George also knows that Lennie cannot keep hold of the mouse. The exclamation mark at the end of this statement enhances this
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