Relationship Between George And Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the novel Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie are the best of friends and they support each other in the worst of times. George has the upper hand in the friendship, while Lennie has a brain of a child even though he’s a strong man. George and Lennie have big dreams for the future, which is to own an acre of land and a home they call their own. They find a job and meet new people and become friends with them. When they are at their new job, they encounter different types of relationships, each more horrible or difficult than the next. One of the relationships they see is between a man and his dog, and another one is between a man and his wife. This time period is the Great Depression, and it affects relationships in society. …show more content…
The problem between George and Lennie is they need money to own their own acre of land, so they find a job in Weed, but Lennie gets himself in trouble and they have to leave that job. George yells at Lennie, “I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail” (7). Lennie ruins all of their chances of getting a permanent job, and George informs Lennie that if Lennie were not there he would have a wonderful life. Before George and Lennie became friends, George used to enjoy hurting Lennie. George told one of his co-workers proudly, “I’ve beat the hell outta him, and he coulda bust every bone in my body jus’ with han’s, but he never lifted a finger against me” (40). George enjoyed injuring Lennie and Lennie would not lay a finger on him because Lennie is a caring person. George injures Lennie, and at the same time Lennie ruins any chance that they will be able to receive a decent job, so they can get the future they wish for. This makes their friendship in poor shape. George and Lennie’s friendship is not a healthy one, a healthy friendship is when both friends need and assist each