John Steinbeck, throughout Of Mice and Men, explores the essence of male companionship. Despite the fact that most of the migrant workers are solitary, friendship is desired among them all. The bond of male friendship, they believe, will combat the pain of loneliness the field laborers feel. Steinbeck demonstrates the theme of male friendship throughout the characterization of Crooks, Slim, and through the bond between the protagonists, George and Lennie.
Although being the most isolated ranchman on the farm, Crooks, a “negro, [disabled,] stable buck (Steinbeck 66),” craves the company of others. He claims, “A guy needs somebody – to be near him. […] A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s …show more content…
When he is first introduced to the intimate relationship between George and Lennie, he says: “Ain’t many guys travel around together, […] I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other (Steinbeck 35).” Migrant workers often travel alone not only because of being on the constant move, which makes it difficult to make and keep friends, but because finding work is a competition. Doubts and suspicions can also arise against each person for example: the boss accuses George of stealing Lennie’s pay (Steinbeck 22) but the underlying reason was because: “Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy (Steinbeck 22),” meaning that it was more common for migrant workers to be alone than to be together. Although Slim is the one to point out the abnormality of George and Lennie’s relationship, he is the only worker at the ranch to understand the power and innocence the friendship truly holds. As a result, after George killed Lennie, only Slim was able to understand the pain and sorrow George held from the loss and only he knew it was out of mercy. Overall, Steinbeck demonstrates the theme of friendship through the characterization of Slim.
Although many of the migrant workers present in Of Mice and Men are solitary, Steinbeck, through the characters Crooks, Slim, and through the bond of George and Lennie, demonstrates the theme of
Although being the most isolated ranchman on the farm, Crooks, a “negro, [disabled,] stable buck (Steinbeck 66),” craves the company of others. He claims, “A guy needs somebody – to be near him. […] A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s …show more content…
When he is first introduced to the intimate relationship between George and Lennie, he says: “Ain’t many guys travel around together, […] I don’t know why. Maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other (Steinbeck 35).” Migrant workers often travel alone not only because of being on the constant move, which makes it difficult to make and keep friends, but because finding work is a competition. Doubts and suspicions can also arise against each person for example: the boss accuses George of stealing Lennie’s pay (Steinbeck 22) but the underlying reason was because: “Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy (Steinbeck 22),” meaning that it was more common for migrant workers to be alone than to be together. Although Slim is the one to point out the abnormality of George and Lennie’s relationship, he is the only worker at the ranch to understand the power and innocence the friendship truly holds. As a result, after George killed Lennie, only Slim was able to understand the pain and sorrow George held from the loss and only he knew it was out of mercy. Overall, Steinbeck demonstrates the theme of friendship through the characterization of Slim.
Although many of the migrant workers present in Of Mice and Men are solitary, Steinbeck, through the characters Crooks, Slim, and through the bond of George and Lennie, demonstrates the theme of