Short Description Of George and Lennie

George Milton

George Milton is a very sharp-featured character, small and intelligent compared to his bearlike companion Lennie. George and Lennie are two friends who share almost a brotherhood unbreakable bond strengthen by a dream. A dream of happiness and safety. This dream carries them through harsh and difficult times pushing them forward despite the obstacles on their way. Throughout the novel George undergoes a huge change concerning the dream and finally, with Lennie’s death he realizes that the small farm invading his dream is only an UTOPIA and that despite how much you struggle for justice the world is designed to prey on the weak and only the strongest resist. This understanding leads George to loneliness (“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don't belong no place). George Milton (taking his surname from John Milton, Steinbeck’s favorite author) can be compared to Adam and Eve (from paradise lost by John Milton). Paradise lost Narrates the story of Adam and Eve and their unaccomplished struggle to regain paradise and leave the harsh and lonely earth but despite their efforts they remain doomed. George Milton reflects in this as a hero looking for a home in which to live with his friend away from injustice ad loneliness f the world (similar to the Eden Garden) but despite his efforts he is not capable of reaching this and inexorably falls, with Lennie’s death into loneliness and depression. George represents a doomed hero who is despite his struggles overcome by how the world works. George personality is very controversial especially in the presences of his big retarded friend Lennie. The friendship that ties them is very uncommon amongst the people in the world “Because I have you to look after me and you have me to look after you”. They are like brothers, not by blood but by heart. George has a huge sense of responsibility towards Lennie and Lennie is blindly faithful to George giving him complete powers over him. George first moment of growth is in his discussions with slim during which he admits his guilt of making fun of Lennie for his personal amusement but then he tells slim that from that time he has grown up and became a better man. Now he shares a strong friendship with Lennie and he is very remorseful for his actions. By admitting his guilts George demonstrates he has grown up as a man and as a friend. George’s relationship with Lennie is very strange. He often get’s angry ate Lennie because of his ungratefulness and hi mental weakness “Well, we ain't got any,' George exploded. 'Whatever we ain't got, that's what you want. God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an'work, an' no trouble....An' whatta I got,' George went on furiously. 'I got you! You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time. An' that ain't the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.'" He often tells Lennie that life would be better without him “God a'mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an' work, an' no trouble....An' whatta I got,' George went on furiously. 'I got you! You can't keep a job and you lose me ever' job I get. Jus' keep me shovin' all over the country all the time. An' that ain't the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out.”

but deep inside his heart he feels a huge love and responsibility towards Lennie. George Even understands Lennie his childlike behavior, his innocence and his lack of rationality lead him to do what he does he is honest and sincere and it is only due to a mental weakness that he is such a difficult man to cope with. Despite this George fells a sense of compassion and sorrow for Lennie that usually fade his anger away. When the anger fades away George gets very protective in regard of Lennie (the first scene of the book at the Salinas river) “Don’t drink so much or you are going to feel bad as last night”.As Their dream with Candy’s contribute gets nearly possible George gets ever since more worried about Lennie and foresees complications especially with Curly’s wife, the woman on the ranch. George see’s in Curly’s wife a real threat for their dream. He fears that the corrupting power of women (men change in presence of a woman) could have effect on Lennie’s weak mind leading to big trouble so he warns Lennie to stay away from her. This unfortunately for George is not enough to save his dream. Soon enough Curly’s wife get’s in contact with Lennie and this action leads to the inevitable doom of George Lennie their friendship and their dream. "I think I knowed from the very first. I think I know'd we'd never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would [be able to have the farm.]". By shooting Lennie, George spares his friend the merciless death that would be delivered by Curley’s lynch mob, but he also puts to rest his own dream of a perfect, fraternal world reassigning to be forever sad and lonely.

Lennie Small

Lennie Small, ironically surnamed “small” because of his huge body volume is a huge man flat and shapeless very strong but contradictorily weak minded with some mental handicaps such as short memory. He is a huge bear like creature in the book often compared to an animal both because of his physical appearance and behavior. “The Second was a huge man shapeless of face…” Lennie Small is a character constructed to be loved by the reader. He is innocent, sincere, transparent (a huge kid).Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men is very short but in it’s pages especially at the end it is able to give great impact. This is mainly because of Lennie’s characterization. He is simple and as George the reader feels a deep sense of compassion towards Lennie and this love and appreciation of the character is put under pressure by Lennie’s death. The big man’s death upsets and saddens the reader so giving a strong unforgettable impact.Lennie can be compared to a glass for his transparency he has no back thoughts or cruel feelings towards his oppressor. He is sincere and innocent. Further more Lennie is mentally handicapped and doesn’t understand abstract thought’s such as life, love, sadness, death, loyalty but despite this his spontaneity put’s these feelings in act. The purity in Lennie’s feelings foreshadows his inevitable doom. His innocence makes him an easy prey fro the obstacles of human kind. Often throughout the book Lennie is oppressed by people mentally stronger than him who cruelly take advantage of him. Crooks for example admits his weaknesses of being a lonely crippled black man without a friend but then he zero’s in on Lennie bringing it almost to tears. During this scene Steinbeck reveals a uncomfortable truth of human kind: People no matter how good they are feel better when somebody feels worst than them. This truth is sad because it one sentence kills all the ideals of a world with no oppression, equality and people who believe in being purely hearted. The novel tries to say that there is no place in the world, no matter how much you search, in which there is a lack of oppression, freedom, contentment, and safety. The world is no place or dreams (this statement renders impossible the dream of the farm).

Lennie’s personality is simple and undergoes no change throughout the novel. His pure childlike feelings towards George continue to exist despite the difficulties they encounter. This innocence and transparency that rules over Lennie is mostly determined by his mental handicap and his incapability of connecting actions to reactions. Every human being sees a relationship between what he does (action) and what is the response to what he does “Reaction” “For every action there is an equal but opposite reaction, Isaac Newton”.But Lennie sees nothing and this affects his sense of death and how terrible it is to cause one. This incapability to connect things in his mind foreshadows Lennie’s inevitable doom.One of Lennie’s main characteristics in the book is his determination to fulfill his dream of happiness and safety or more simply “Tending the rabbits” (“We're gonna get a little place. Lennie: Okay, yeah, we're gonna get a little place and w're gonna... George: We gonna... Lennie: ...have... George: We're gonna have a cow, and some pigs, and we're gonna have, maybe-maybe, a chicken. Down in the flat, we'll have a little field of... Lennie: Field of alfalfa for the rabbits. George: ...for the rabbits. Lennie: And I get to tend the rabbits “) (Lennie usually pet soft things because they make him feel safe). As for his devotion to George Lennie is completely faithful that one day he will be able to tend the rabbits, It’s mostly his childlike enthusiasm and his innocence that convince Candy and even George that nothing is impossible, Things are impossible only if you think they are and that one day their dream will be fulfilled. Unfortunately the dream dies with Lennie dooming George to bee forever lonely.