How Does Steinbeck Use Indirect Characterization In Of Mice And Men

When someone less fortunate or with things that hold them back come into your life it’s how you react to them that shows your true personality, not how you interact with someone better than you. In “Of mice and men” Steinbeck, the author, uses this form of indirect characterization very often, generally dealing with Lennie. A main character in the novella, who suffers from a mental handicap. In “Of mice of men” three people really showed their true personality by how they treated Lennie. Curlys dad owns the ranch in which Lennie works on. He treats Lennie like a dog. Curly always tries to fight people even though he is a very small man, Lennie on the other hand is a giant on the ranch. Lennie can do the equivalent of two people's work by himself. The readers can infer from the …show more content…
When George was younger he told Lennie to jump into a river which almost killed Lennie because he does not know how to swim. After George got Lennie out all Lennie could do was thank George for saving his life, completely forgetting about the fact that George was the reason he jumped in. From that alone the reader would assume George is immature, using Lennie, and rude. George grew up, he stopped using Lennie for entertainment. George now sacrifices everything he has to take care of Lennie. I think George loves Lennie like a brother. From the things George does to keep Lennie safe we can infer that George is selfless, sympathetic, and patient. I personally loved the way Steinbeck used Lennie to develop characters around him. The way Steinbeck used three characters so vitaly in the novela, “Of mice and men”, to be shaped around Lennie was amazing. George showed he had come along way from where he began, Candy stays true to himself, and Curly is a stuck up prick. In conclusion indirect characterization based off interactions with Lennie shows more about one's personality than any word or action towards a fully functioning