How Does Steinbeck Define Friendship

How can one define friendship when they are only one person? The only way to answer this question is to observe Lennie and George. In the novella Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, Lennie and George, two migrant ranch hands of the Great Depression, look out for each other and provide each other with companionship. In the beginning of the book, they arrived in Soledad after being run out of the last town they were in, Weed, because Lennie, who has the mental capacity of a child and is overcome by a desire to touch soft things, grabbed on to a girl's soft dress and in fear grabs on even tighter not understanding is immense size and strength. George does everything he can to keep Lennie out of trouble throughout the book. They find themselves …show more content…
“If you love something set it free and if it comes back it was really yours” is an old saying that means that sometimes you need to put some else’s needs over yours. George had to think of how much suffering would go on in Lennie’s life if Curley got to him first, he went to jail, or he escaped and most likely killed again. The best possible thing for Lennie was to die and the only one who would let him die as peacefully as possible was George. Even though some argue that euthanizing Lennie was an act ending of their friendship, I would disagree and say that it was the ultimate sign of friendship. George not only had to shoot the only person he had in the world but also know that all of his and Lennie's hopes and dreams would never happen. It is made quite obvious how much George cares for Lennie by how distraught he is after shooting him, and it is most apparent when the book said that “but George sat stiffly on the bank and looked at his right hand that had thrown the gun away”. Even Slim recognized that this was the only option and a great act of friendship in saying that, “you hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me.”. Before euthanizing Lennie. George told him to, “look acrost the river, Lennie, an’ I will tell you so you can almost see it.” and he continued to tell him about their farm shakingly. Only a true friend would try as hard as …show more content…
The friendship between Lennie and George can only be described as everlasting. There is no doubt in my mind after reading Of Mice and Men that Lennie and George are true friends. George shows his friendship for Lennie by putting Lennie’s best interests first no matter the effects it has on himself. Their ability to look past each other’s faults and see how good of a person they both are shows true friendship. By both being there for each other and encouraging each other to achieve a common goal they prove their