Although Lennie Small is the character most people think of whenever Of Mice and Men is mentioned, it is George Milton who is the true protagonist of the story. However, George Milton in the original text is not the classic “good guy.” His most notable flaw is his treatment of Lennie. George comes off as impatient and easily frustrated with Lennie, which raises the question if he merely puts up with Lennie or genuinely cares for him? In the 1992 film adaptation, there is no doubt that George deeply cares for Lennie due to additional scenes not in the book and the pathos portrayed by the actor. The first interaction the reader sees between George and Lennie is the former yelling at Lennie for drinking potentially dangerous water. This dialogue
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In fact, the adjective that keeps being used to describe George’s tone or demeanor is “sharply.” When George sees Lennie take something out of his pocket, he “[looks] sharply at him” (Steinbeck 5). George constantly reminds Lennie how troublesome he is and how “[he] could get along so easy and so nice if [he] didn’t have [Lennie] on [his] tail. [He] could live so easy and maybe have a girl” (Steinbeck 7). Already it looks like George considers Lennie a burden due to how he treats him, but every once in awhile there will be an instance where George shows him some affection. When Lennie starts crying about the dead mouse, George puts his hand on his shoulder and tells him “I ain’t taking it away jus’ for meanness. That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a little while” (Steinbeck 9). This is a touching moment as it shows a glimmer of George’s concern for Lennie, but it quickly vanishes when George explodes. He goes on this long rant about how much Lennie is indeed a burden on him and how much better of a life he could have had without him. He later tries to apologize, telling Lennie he wants him to stay with him and “first
In fact, the adjective that keeps being used to describe George’s tone or demeanor is “sharply.” When George sees Lennie take something out of his pocket, he “[looks] sharply at him” (Steinbeck 5). George constantly reminds Lennie how troublesome he is and how “[he] could get along so easy and so nice if [he] didn’t have [Lennie] on [his] tail. [He] could live so easy and maybe have a girl” (Steinbeck 7). Already it looks like George considers Lennie a burden due to how he treats him, but every once in awhile there will be an instance where George shows him some affection. When Lennie starts crying about the dead mouse, George puts his hand on his shoulder and tells him “I ain’t taking it away jus’ for meanness. That mouse ain’t fresh, Lennie; and besides, you’ve broke it pettin’ it. You get another mouse that’s fresh and I’ll let you keep it a little while” (Steinbeck 9). This is a touching moment as it shows a glimmer of George’s concern for Lennie, but it quickly vanishes when George explodes. He goes on this long rant about how much Lennie is indeed a burden on him and how much better of a life he could have had without him. He later tries to apologize, telling Lennie he wants him to stay with him and “first