Loneliness In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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Life alone is one many if not all people fear. Fear is the driving force that keeps us on the path leading headed towards our dreams. The fear of loneliness; not having anyone there when he needed them drove George to seek out a life with the companionship of Lennie. George continuously reminds himself and Lennie that no one cares about the farmhands, but they are different because they have each other. George takes this a step further by seeking out a way he and Lennie could always be together caring for each other. The quest for companionship drives George to chase his second goal. George desires to buy a piece of farmland, where he and Lennie can go have a farm and live not being reliant on working from ranch to ranch. The fear of loneliness…show more content…
George does not even appear to be very fond of Lennie saying “God you’re a lot of trouble I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl.” Despite Georges harsh treatment of Lennie the story is riddled with evidence he values Lennie’s companionship. George shows this by jesting at the other farmhand’s saying “Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch an' work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they're poundin' their tail on some other ranch. They ain't got nothing to look ahead to. With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don't have to sit in no bar room blowin' in our jack jus' because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us." Lennie agrees completely with George and for a while George had accomplished hi first quest. The quest for companionship in the lonely world of being a…show more content…
Lennie continuously has no measure of the strength he possesses and as a result kills almost anything he lays his hands on. George and Lennie have been running from ranch to ranch because Lennie keeps on killing things. Lennie has no real grasp of his actions apart from them being a bad thing. George to keep Lennie out of trouble hopes to someday buy a farm where he and Lennie can live on their own. Lennie also shares this quest with George always asking George to tell him about it as a bed time story. George repeats the words rhythmically “O.K. Someday—we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and—live off the fatta the lan” Lennie likes this dream because he can tend to the rabbits with no issue since he won’t get in trouble for killing them. George wants this for his friend and tries his best to achieve it despite the fact that when he got close enough to see his dream come to fruition. Lennie did another bad thing causing George to make a very emotional decision regarding their future lives or lack there
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