Compare And Contrast George And Lennie

Set in California during the Great Depression, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck tells a tale of two friends, George and Lennie, who are trying to make money and to stay out of trouble. George is a witty fellow who is aware of his surroundings while Lennie is a very large man without much understanding of his environment. Comparing George and Lennie obviously reveals one thing: they both care for each other. However, George protects Lennie using his reasoning and leadership skills while Lennie attempts to protect George by acting on his emotions and by using brute force.
George shares Lennie’s dream to live on a farm and does everything to help Lennie; in contrast to Lennie, he is an intelligent man and a good leader. When George describes
his dream of owning a farm with Lennie, he reveals how much he values their friendship. Likewise, George will do almost anything for Lennie, which he shows when he helps Lennie flee from Weed. Instead of leaving Lennie, who got into trouble for touching a girl’s dress, George escapes with Lennie to safety. However, George uses intelligence to look after Lennie. When George sees Lennie staring at Curley’s wife, he infers that Lennie should avoid her based on the past events in Weed. After Lennie kills Curley’s wife, George dreadfully—yet cleverly—decides to kill Lennie to save him from being publicly lynched by the ranch workers. George’s intelligence also makes him a good leader. Since they were fired in Weed, George finds Lennie and himself a new job and leads the journey there. George also shows his leadership skills when he confronts Candy about the lice powder in his bunk to save Lennie and himself from a potentially hazardous residence.
Lennie shares the same dream as George and also cares for him; even so, Lennie is unintelligent and a follower. Lennie reveals that he cares for George in a conversation with Crooks. When Crooks asks Lennie what he might do if George were harmed, Lennie thinks that George has actually been injured; so Lennie becomes very angry and threatens Crooks in an attempt to find out who wounded George. Lennie also surely tries to please George. After George yells at him while they are walking to the farm for being a nuisance, Lennie suggests leaving George to please him. When he kills his own puppy, Lennie realizes his terrible mistake; therefore, he tries to cover its body to keep George and himself out of trouble. Unlike George, Lennie is unintelligent; so he tries solving problems with strength and emotion. When Curley’s wife starts to scream, Lennie accidentally kills her by grabbing her head too harshly to keep her quiet; but he poorly hides her body due to his fear of being caught. Since Lennie cannot make decisions for himself, Lennie is a follower. Before arriving on the farm, Lennie has no idea where he is going; he doesn’t even realize why he is going to a new place. Instead, he relies on George to lead him. After arriving on the farm, Lennie hardly speaks to the farm owner; he lets George talk to secure the job. George and Lennie are similar in one key way: they are fond of each other. Because of George’s intelligence and Lennie’s lack thereof, George is much better at keeping the two out of trouble; however, Lennie still cares greatly for George. Everybody expresses their friendship in different ways