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In the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the character Lennie Smalls is a large man who is physically fit but immature emotionally. He poses a danger to the other characters, as he is responsible for the death of various creatures, the accidental injury of Curley’s hand, and the gruesome murder of Curley’s wife. Although the outcome of the situations was unintended, innocent lives were lost as a result of his lack of fast reaction and childish mentality. Through the actions of Lennie and the negative reactions that followed, Steinbeck reveals that Lennie’s powerlessness over his physical strength acts as his Achilles’ heel.…
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Lennie was often treated similarly to a small child who needed protection, but his great amount of strength caused problems. He was extremely forgetful, and lacked the common sense needed to keep him out of trouble. After the death of Lennie’s aunt, George Milton began caring for him. He took on the role of a parent, always making sure Lennie was safe. His role as a parent becomes evident when he tells Lennie “I ain’t takin’ it away jus’ for meanness. That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse thats fresh and I’ll let you keep it a little while.” (Steinbeck 9) He treats Lennie as if he were a small child, providing him comfort in the fact that he will be able to get a mouse. As written by Luchen and Schultz, “George, on the other hand, fully comprehends the ramifications and risks of his unlikely friendship with Lennie. In this sense, he is a far more tragic figure than his friend, because he knowingly chooses to be Lennie's protector, confidant, and surrogate parent.” Lennie often acts as a child would; not thinking about the results of his actions and often impulsively using strength he does not realize he has. This strength is shown when Lennie explains to George, “I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead- because they was so little.” (Steinbeck 10) In an article written by Schultz and Luchen it was stated that Lennie was unaware of his strength, and he was described as a mentally challenged giant. When Lennie accidentally kills a woman on the ranch, George fully shows his love and care for Lennie. A search party goes out to find Lennie and kill him, but George finds him first. He softly tells him his favorite story and kills him before Lennie knows what is happening. After killing Lennie, George is deeply saddened. A friend comforts him by saying “You hadda, George. I swear you hadda.”…
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In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is portrayed as an innocent figure. He is described in a simplistic way and with nature and animal terms. As Lennie is being described in the beginning of the novel, his walking is described as “the way a bear drags his paws” (Steinbeck 2). Although the bear is known to be scary and dangerous, it can also be a lovable, stuffed teddy bear that a young child would want to play with. On that notation, Lennie is classified as a harmless, lovable man who is dumbstruck and has no intention on harming anybody. However, Lennie’s friend, George, is described with the opposite of what Lennie was. He is classified as a man that was “small and quick, dark of face” (Steinbeck 2). Dark symbolizes evil or bad. So as Lennie is enjoying life, George will indeed know how to mess things up. Steinbeck makes the readers feel affection towards Lennie as he stumbles on throughout the novel. He is also recognized as being child-like. George describes Lennie as either a domesticated dog or a young male child when he says,…
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Lennie Small was born with a mental disorder and lived with his Aunt Clara until she passed away. Lennie did not attend school and did not have a spouse. All he had was his best friend, George Milton, who was his caretaker throughout all their endeavors. Lennie depends on George for knowledge and protection because he doesn’t know any better and could hurt himself and others. Although George was his caretaker and best friend, he decided to shoot Lennie in the back of the head because he caused too much trouble and was being hunted down to be tortured. Lennie was a large man who couldn’t do much but who worked ranch to ranch along with George. Lennie loved petting animals and was especially fond of mice. Although Lennie is a gentle and kind man, he doesn’t know his own strength and ends up killing the mice he pets.…
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A large, lumbering, childlike migrant worker. Due to his mild mental disability, Lennie completely depends upon George, his friend and traveling companion, for guidance and protection. The two men share a vision of a farm that they will own together, a vision that Lennie believes in wholeheartedly. Gentle and kind, Lennie nevertheless does not understand his own strength. His love of petting soft things, such as small animals, dresses, and people’s hair, leads to disaster. Lennie is unnaturally large and has a shapeless face. He drags his feet when he walks and lets his arms hang. He is mentally retarded and needs George's constant attention and care. (2, Steinbeck)…
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Regardless to the fact Lennie is considered one of the principle characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’, he is arguably the least exciting. Throughout the novel he seems to be the same person as on the first pages, enduring no development, growth or significant changes. His character is very simple, in most scenes he is in, it is reinforced that he is very strong, he enjoys petting soft things and is devoted to George and the American Dream, that he and George will someday own a farm. It is this simplicity and helplessness in everyday life that earns the readers sympathy, and also forms the idea in the reader’s mind that Lennie is doomed. The powerful impact is created by the inevitability of Lennie’s death, so the reader’s sympathy and understanding…
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Who are Lennie and George? Lennie and George, the two main characters of the fantastically written novel, Of Mice and Men, go on a life changing journey while pursuing their “American Dream”. Their dream is to own a few acres of land along with a small ranch. In the book, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck makes comparisons as well as contrasting ideas based on the two main characters, Lennie and George.…
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From the beginning of the book we can see that Lennie is an interesting character due to his mental disability. He is a huge, powerful character but he is also very innocent. He seems to have grown up physically but not mentally. In the book George says Lennie is ‘just like a kid’. This is very true because he takes orders from George, he asks George a lot of questions and he is very stupid. George, his best and only friend, even says, “Sure. He’s as dumb as hell.”…
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Lennie was a large and childlike worker who moves from ranch to ranch with his best friend George. Lennie depends on George for knowledge and protection because he doesn’t know any better and could hurt himself and others. Lennie loves to pet soft things such as mice. Even though Lennie is gentle and kind, he does not know of the strength he possess so he ends of killing the mice he pets.…
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Lennie Small has a very symbolic importance in the novel Of Mice and Men. In the novel George Milton and Lennie Small both migrant workers pursue their dream of someday owning their own ranch by travelling around working as ranch hands to earn a living. The dream they share is to be able to "live off the fat of the land,". Lennie Small is a very complex character, although he may not appear to be at first glance. Lennie is the most interesting character in the novel because he differs from the other is many ways. Lennie Small ironically is a man of large stature and is very strong. He is child-like in his emotions and has a diminished mental capacity. Lennie's feelings are much like that of a normal person when you take into consideration that he is mentally retarded. One of Lennie's biggest concerns is that of a continued friendship with George. Throughout the novel their friendship is affirmed as Lennie states, "Because because I got you to look after me and you got me to look after you,". Lennie has a distrust of people except for George. Also, Lennie is not always sure about what is right and what is wrong; he relies on George to make the distinction for him. Lennie lacks the understanding that his actions have consequences. This is seen when he holds on to his pet mouse so tightly that he kills it. Lennie walks his way through life completely oblivious to the dangers of the world holding on to the dream of someday owning a farm with his best friend George.…
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George Milton and Lennie Small are friends who travel together. They both share the same dream, which is to one day own their own ranch. George is quick-witted and intelligent. He takes the parental role of looking after Lennie, a simple-minded man who in the book is described as a giant. Lennie is kind hearted with huge physical strength. He does not know how powerful he is and likes to pet animals. The other men on the ranch find their relationship unusual, they do not know of their past. George describes himself and Lennie as the loneliest guys in the world.…
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Lennie is a clumsy and confused character, however this is shown to the extent that suggests that he is mentally handicapped “Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water and wiggled his fingers,” for example, which shows – at the time what would be considered as – very strange behaviour for a fully grown adult. Not only is this shown by direct speech, in order we fully understand what he his saying and the manner in which he is expressing it, but Lennie’s speech is written in such a way that suggests a child has said it shown by “dabbled” and “big paw.” Lennie is also very interested in childish things, such as petting animals “You broke it pettin’ it” –George. This refers to the disability, or childish behaviour, again shown by the abbreviated name “Lennie”, short for Leonard in order for it to be simple to say and less sophisticated (a quality that Lennie doesn’t seem bothered about.) As well as direct speech this is shown by narration: Lennie continued to snort into the pool, not…
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Lennie, a big simple-minded character, is a highly disadvantaged individual due to poor mental health. As Lennie is one of the predominant characters in ‘Of Mice and Men’, he is perhaps the least dynamic. He experiences no change in developing or growing in mental or practical abilities; the plain figure remains as illustrated at the start of the opening pages in the novel.…
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Often in literature there are lots of characters that have lots of connections. They have times where they become closer and where things happen that takes them apart. Just how in “Of mice and men” they are two characters George and lennie that practically grow up together. George and Lennie relationship is strong where they look out for each other. Sometimes lennie can get out of hand do things that causes them to move or relocate. George and Lennie relationships stands strong until Lennie gets out of hand and has to be dealt with for the better of their friendship.…
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Throughout the novel, it is apparent that Lennie is a big and strong, yet mentally deficient individual. In the opening scene, he is depicted gulping down water like an animal, and his friend and fellow main character, George Milton, claims that he would drink out of a gutter if he were thirsty. Based on a conversation between the two men, it can be seen that Lennie is extremely forgetful, both long and short term. He forgets of his aunt who he had known all his life, and he forgets details of what George had told him just earlier that day. More notably, Lennie forgets the bad thing he did at the ranch in Weed, as George states, “Oh, so ya forgot that too, did ya? Well, I ain’t gonna remind ya, fear ya do it again.” (Steinbeck 73). Not only is Lennie forgetful, but it is also made clear that he does not think like a grown adult. He is absolutely fascinated with soft things like mice, rabbits, puppies, and even women’s dresses and hair. It is almost as if he is a full-grown child, as George…
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