The Relationship Between George and Lennie in of Mice and Men

In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, two migrant workers, George and Lennie, travel together in search of work; but the friendship that binds them is neither typical of men like them nor a typical friendship at all. George is a small, sharp man, intelligent and resourceful; enough so that he is not obliged by nature to work as a laborer and migrant worker – and yet his relationship with Lennie makes it impossible for him to have other dreams and ambitions, much less achieve them, than those few he can have that include Lennie. Lennie himself is a gigantic bear of a man, burley, possessing immense strength; and yet his mind is that of a dim-witted, dependent child inside a strong man’s body. He is entirely dependent on George and as obedient and compliant with his orders as a trained – if not very bright, and prone to unintentionally stirring up trouble – dog. At the start of the story, the pair have recently fled from their previous job after Lennie is wrongly accused of raping a young woman, an accusation which puts his life - and quite possibly George’s by association - in danger; they are making their way towards Salinas, California, for a new job bucking barley. In the short span of a few days – and a few chapters – John Steinbeck manages to create not only a gripping, moving tale but one that offers an insightful view into the society of the time and the way it leaves so many of its members behind, unwanted and alone, for want of conformity to what is seen as good and normal and for want of ease in survival.
One of the characters who portrays this characteristic of his society best is Crooks, the black stable-hand living in an isolated room adjoining the main barn of the farm, tending the horses and living in a state of general loneliness and bitterness. The source of his name is his crooked back; his real name goes unmentioned or unknown - after all, he