Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Lennie Small Character Study
Lennie Small is a large man and is often described with animal like features (such as paws). He and his friend/cousin of George Milton and they travel around California looking for work. In today’s world he would probably be classed as mentally disabled and he is very simple, clumsy and could be classed as stupid. He enjoys stroking soft things such as mice, dogs and soft clothes and he also enjoys hearing George talking about their American Dream, to own their own ranch. George acts like a father figure towards Lennie and he always looks after him and makes decisions for him as Lennie is mentally incapable. He is a very good worker on the farm but is unable to do many jobs other than moving barley.
In the novel Lennie is one of the main characters, if not the main character. He is the reason they are at the ranch (Lennie was accused of rape) and he is the reason the story ends (with his death). Lennie creates stories and most of things that happen are because of Lennie’s misfortune.
Lennie represents the poor and sorry as he is always getting in to trouble, has no real prospects and is mentally disabled.
This makes us feel sorry for him and show affection towards him. He is a victim and a symbol.
Lennie is the main catalyst for a lot of things in the novel. He is the reason him and George are at the ranch. He is involved in the fight between him and Curley. He then kills Curley’s wife and is the reason George is forced to kill him to stop the oncoming force from the rest of the ranch workers lead by
Curley.
Lennie speaks in a very simple way. He often repeats himself and he gets excited very easily. He uses very small sentences as he is unable to think of longer ones. “But not us, George, because I... see, I got you to look after me, but you got me to look after you.” He is unable to talking fluently and consistently and this is shown throughout the novel with his short, stuttering sentences.
Lennie behaves a lot like a child and is often unaware of his actions. For example when he kills Curley’s wife he did not mean to do it but he did not know his own strength, and also when he attack Curley he is unable to stop himself. He is also easily amused by the rabbits stories and petting rabbits. He behaves like this as he is mentally disabled and he still thinks like a child. “Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time.” Steinbeck has done this to make us feel sorry for Lennie and give sympathy towards him. Lennie’s movements are described in the story with animalistic ways. He is seen too “lumber like a bear” and move slowly. Lennie is of course described by Steinbeck to be the way he is portrayed in this analysis. He is shown to be childish and mentally challenged. However Steinbeck does allow Lennie to show some animalistic cunning for example he is aware of when George will feel guilty and when he is able to tell the ranch is “no good place”.
Steinbeck Shows Lennie in these ways to show clearly what he was exactly like. He uses it to create Lennie as a victim figure in the story and the antagonist within the story but still makes it seem as though he does not know what he is doing.
Both George and Lennie are taken in by the American Dream which was a prominent part of society during the 1930’s when the story was written. They both believe they will buy a ranch and live off “the fatta the land”. They are the simple people who the American dream was aimed at when it was created. Lennie reflects the social misunderstanding of people in the 1930s with special needs such as Lennie’s mental deficiencies. This is not significant today as people with mental problems are normally cared for but many people are still taken in by the American Dream. The Dream is that if you work you can achieve whatever you want. This is the philosophy which keeps most of the people at the ranch working hard.
Lennie contributes to the theme of friendship. He and George are clearly good friends and this is continued throughout the play. From the start when they escape from Weed together to the end when George shots him for his own good. This shows George’s true loyalty to Lennie and takes his life for the greater good. He adds to the theme of dreams as his and Georges dream is one that takes a lot of the novel.
Lennie and George have a very strong relationship and Lennie relies on George to help him through his mental disabilities and George uses Lennie for company “it’s a lot nicer to go around with a guy you know”. This is significant in the story as people like George and Lennie who travel around looking for work are often very rare and this surprises people on the ranch. Lennie also has a strange relationship with Curley’s wife. He also tries to make friends with Crooks. Steinbeck does this to show that they are similar social levels. The black person and the person with severe mental difficulties.
Animalistic ways are portrayed when talking about Lennie. His mental capabilities are often referred to as being like a mouse. This is possibly where the title of the novel comes from. He is also likened to a bear in physical stature (“Lennie covered his face with his huge paws”) and towards a dog in his obedience with George for example when George realises Lennie has a mouse “George snapped his fingers sharply, and at the sound Lennie laid the mouse in his hand” and also “If I told him to go walk over a cliff he’d do it.”
Lennie does not really progress throughout the story. He does the same things at the start like petting rabbits and asking George to tell him about their story. He leaves Weed because he made a mistake and he had to lose his life because he made a similar mistake in Salinas. He is acts like a child at the start and still acts like one at the end. The only way he develops is that the audience gives him more sympathy at the end because of his mental deficiencies
The audience’s attitude to Lennie is of that of most people to mentally disabled people. It is one that is of a lot of sympathy and good feelings. The audience is able to see Lennie has severe problems and they can give regards for him. This attitude does not change throughout the story.