The Relationship Between John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

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George is introduced as a nurturing character, with the objective of caring for Lennie and protecting him from harm. This is demonstrated in at the beginning of the novella when George prevents Lennie from drinking ‘so much’ water, so he will not be come ‘sick like [he] was last night’. This implies that George has to protect Lennie from his own naivety and the negative implications it has on his health. Despite not wanting to allow Lennie to suffer in any way, George is unable to watch over Lennie constantly and is frequently unable to stop Lennie from making the wrong decisions, which is ultimately the cause of Lennie’s death.
The relationship between George and Lennie is strengthened by George’s caring temperament and paternal love for
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This isolation is inferred by the games of ‘solitaire’ George plays to entertain himself. The word ‘ solitaire’ refers to the card game that is played by one player and was originally derived form the Latin word solitarius meaning alone. Throughout the novella George never invites Lennie to participate in any card game, this is because George believes that Lennie does not have the mental capacity to play and will get bored easily. By playing solitaire George can find solace and no longer be burdened by his responsibility to look after Lennie. Whilst George has a companion in Lennie, he believes he ‘ain’t got nobody’ this may imply that George has no one to care for him outside of his relationship with Lennie, but he is too scared of becoming ‘mean’ to desert Lennie. At the end of the novella Steinbeck portrays George as another lost soul of The Depression, he has become what he was afraid of. George tells slim how he has abandoned his dream and how he plans to waste has money by spending it in a ‘cathouse’ or a ‘poolroom’, demonstrating that he has no desire to save more money to buy the farm. Without Lennie to encourage him George has lost his ambition and has become a man the does not ‘belong no place’ and has ‘nothing to look ahead to’. Steinbeck presents George as a victim of the American dream as his unrealistic dream has consumed his optimism; George is now a lonely ranch hand identical to the men he describes at the beginning and will drown himself in menial work to forget his

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