The Role Of Friendship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

707 Words3 Pages
In all that has changed throughout history, in every way of life, there is one commonality of mankind: the desire and importance of friendship. In his novel Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck paints a picture of this idea disguised as two traveling farmhands: a small, street-smart and prosperity-driven man named George, and a large, mentally challenged but kind-hearted man named Lennie. The peculiar pair’s bond stands out as one of the purest examples of friendship and sacrifice known in American literature. In the midst of 1930’s farmland, George and Lennie make their home on yet another farm to work. George keeps Lennie going by telling him, time after time, of the great life they will one day have: a farm of their own, plenty of money, and, Lennie’s favorite part, soft rabbits to be…show more content…
Pages later, however, Candy is ashamed and admits to George that he regrets letting a stranger be the one to kill the dog. The bond between Candy and his dog is surely not an accidental reflection of the bond between George and Lennie. As George raises and lowers the Luger, the same gun used on Candy’s dog, to Lennie’s head, he is reminded of the long time he had taken care of and watched over Lennie. He remembers the disrespect that comes with having a stranger be the one to shoot, or lynch, your dog. And he knows that, without Lennie, he is only half the man he pretends to be. It is in this moment when George finally expresses the genuine love that Lennie has always had: the ability to overlook one’s own needs to better another. In the loneliness-driven world they lived in, George and Lennie’s friendship provided them both with a sense of purpose and hope, and, ironically, the death of this friendship was the strongest act of love and sacrifice George could have given Lennie: the death of his own purpose and the end of Lennie’s
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    Why do people need friends in their lives? Friends help you through tough times and help you in your life, but even the strongest of friendship can be broken. SteinBeck purpose of the story is to tell that dreams cannot always come true and friendships can be broken even though those people are loyal to each other. Even though Lennie was loyal to George, and listened to him all the time, George shot Lennie in the head because to George, Lennie was holding him back from reaching his full potential

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