Of Mice and Men - George and Lennies Relationship

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How does Steinbeck present George and Lennie’s relationship in sections one and two of the novel? In the first two sections of the novel we see that the relationship between George and Lennie is very much like a relationship between a parent and a child. In the section one of the novel, Steinbeck shows us that Lennie is completely depended on George, much like a child is completely dependent on their parent. This is evident to us when the two men are talking about work cards and Lennie says, ‘George. I aint got mine. I musta lost it.’ and George responds by saying ‘Think I’d let you carry your own work card?’ This shows us that Lennie has to have George look after him and his possessions so they are not to get lost. This is much like a child parent relationship because parents have to look after things for children so they do not loose things. To further this family relationship, in section one see Lennie’s childish ways and George’s maturity as they are walking along to the ranch. An example of this is when Lennie says, ‘I forgot. I tried not to forget. Honest to God I did, George.’ This shows us that Lennie has a very childish behaviour as this is the sort of thing you expect to hear from a young child, not from a grown man. But whilst this is happening we see George’s maturity when he is dealing with Lennie. He tells Lennie, ‘Now you listen and this time you got to remember so we don’t get in no trouble’. This shows us that this is not the first time that Lennie has forgotten what he has been told and that George, much like a parent, does not get angry but remains calm and explains once more. It also shows us that George cares for Lennie and doesn’t want him to get in trouble but this develops more later on in the novel. In section two, when the men meet the boss, the parent-child relationship is shown yet again, but this time through George’s language. We see
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