Companionship In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Friendships are incredibly valuable for everybody to have in their lifetime. Of Mice and Men highlights many important aspects of life. One of those aspects is how important companionship is in people's lives. Companionship is incredibly important in Of Mice and Men because friendship helps people get through tough times, being lonely can ruin somebody, and long friendships can drastically change a man's life for the better. One reason why companionship is of the utmost importance in Of Mice and Men is that friendship helps people get through tough times. John Steinbeck shows why friendship is so important when George says, "With us it ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us"(p14). This quote shows that companionship is important because Lennie and George have somebody that cares about them unlike others who have nobody. Another example of when Steinbeck shows the value of companionship through tough times when he wrote, "He can do anything you tell him', said George. ‘He's a good skinner. He can …show more content…
An example from the book that shows how loneliness can negatively affect people is when George says, "I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wanting to fight all the time"(Steinbeck p41). This explains how being lonely can completely change a person. Another example of how loneliness can hurt people is, "A shot sounded in the distance. The men looked quickly at the old man. Every head turned toward him. For a moment he continued to stare at the ceiling. Then he rolled slowly and faced the wall and lay silent"(Steinbeck p49).This shows how devastating a loss of a long term companion can be to somebody. The fact that loneliness can ruin someone's life is why companionship is so vital in Of Mice and