Charley offers him a job, trying to be a sympathetic friend and neighbor. “You want a job.... Don't get insulted.” Charley puts up with Willy like a good friend would. You take it too hard. To hell with it. When a deposit bottle is broken you don't get your nickel back.” Bernard, Charley's son, is a loyal character as well.
Lennie is incapable of making decisions by himself and relies and depends on George entirely and also looks to him as sort of a big brother. Lennie also sees that George is helpful for guidance and answers which relates to Lennie’s mental abilities. Lennie feels a sense of safeness and comfort when he is with George, whereas when Lennie is without George he sometimes feels awkward and misunderstood by others. George refers to Lennie as his cousin in the book, only to avoid questions being asked and hassle from the ranch owner. But the truth to the matter is that George promised Lennie’s Aunt Clara that he would take care of him when she passed away.
There are numerous examples of this in Of Mice and Men. Relationships between the characters in Of Mice and Men suggest that human nature is inherently predatory. Each character possesses strengths and weaknesses; however each character finds a way to flaunt his or her superiority over another individual by belittling that person’s weaknesses. Each of the major characters is weak in their specific circumstance of isolation and need for emotional support. Most people in our present day society are afflicted by the same basic human need.
Of Mice and Men Essay By: Amir Robinson In this story Of Mice and Men, there are many themes. One theme that I chose is loneliness. Loneliness plays an important role in the novel. Throughout the story many characters encounter loneliness and author John Steinbeck, illustrates how these characters dealt with it. The two main characters George and Lennie both encounter different but somewhat similar acts of loneliness.
Right from the beginning, an atmosphere of solitude within characters is portrayed which helps readers learn the impact loneliness has on individuals. All humans also desire to be accepted for who they are – to be loved by other humans for who they really are, while some of us change our personalities to fit into a certain group, we cannot change our race, ethnicity, gender or physical characteristics. The character of Crooks is perhaps the most apparent example of loneliness in Of Mice and Men. Being an African American stable buck, Crook is faced with racial prejudice and is secluded throughout the novel. His
“God almighty, if I was alone, I could live so easy. I could go get a job, and work, no trouble… and what’ta I got, I got you, you get in trouble, you do bad things, and I got to get you out!” (Page 12). George usually feels sorry, after he’s got annoyed with Lennie, but he does warn Lennie to hide in the brush, if he gets
Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, a guy gets lonely an' he gets sick." (Crooks) Steinbeck also portrays loneliness through characterisation. He uses sexism, racism and ageism to get him message across. Of Mice and Men is filled with characters such as this, which are unable to find a way out of their lonely lives.
The Bitter Truth Many of the characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men dream of a better life. These dreams are supposed to help them deal with their difficult environments. Unfortunately, John Steinbeck’s world is a tough and inhospitable place where dreams do not come true. His story has dreamers and strugglers, with both external belief, where dreams seem to be plausible and a contradicting internal confinement, where dreams generally fade into vanity. Once dreams are abandoned, happiness is impossible to achieve, leaving a person trapped in a cycle of misery.
Unwillingly Discriminated As often discrimination is demonstrated in Of Mice and Men, one would think that John Steinbeck saw humans as afraid or disgusted by someone who is different. If a person is not a certain standard of normal, it seems that people will cast them out. Physical and mental handicaps, race, gender, whatever it is, they all appear to be excuses for this behavior. This will alienate people and slowly devour a person mentally and emotionally. Is it possible that discrimination-hate is only a product of a person's fear of something outside of the norm?
We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us” (Steinbeck 13). George and Lennie’s lifestyle encourages their closeness because they have no one else to rely on. Like George and Lennie, Crooks’ isolation leads him to desire companionship. Crooks illustrates this need when he invites Lennie into his home and attempts to educate Lennie on the repercussions of loneliness, “A guy needs somebody—to be near him.