George And John Clare's Relationship Essay

George is regarded as a leader and paternal figure towards Lennie who is there to guide and protect him with his moral power. In the line: ‘they had walked in single file down the path”, we can see that Lennie is behind George following like a father and son. The reason I think that Steinbeck has used the phrase ‘single file’ is to create a visual image in the reader’s mind as they read to help them immediately imagine and have the precise perception of how the relationship between George and Lennie works. George was always the one in front who wanted to protect him and wants to be in control in other words: the leader, and Lennie: the follower. Additionally this signifies an unbalanced friendship, the opposite of what was mentioned in the …show more content…
This also indicates how Lennie wants to learn from George and wants to be able to do things that George does, however we are aware that it will never happen. Even though George is the smaller individual he still has power over Lennie as he is mentally challenged, the author has used irony to express why you would typically assume that the greatest and strongest person walks in front and leads the other people behind them yet in this book it is the contrasting idea and displays what John Clare is trying to show. In society we should care about people who are more vulnerable in times and people we love such as the Great Depressions for example mentally disabled people like George does with Lennie. George genuinely cares for Lennie, “you gonna be sick like you was last night”, this clearly shows how much he cares and doesn’t want anything to happen to Lennie as he only wishes the best for him. He is trying to help Lennie realise the consequences of his actions. This signifies paternal characteristics, any father would want to protect and have the best for their