Similarities Between Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the novel Of Mice and Men, one of the two main characters has a disability. Lennie, who is disabled, is best friends with George. They travel and work together on farms and both have the dream of one day owning their own farm. Many characters, including his best friend, treat Lennie differently. George would mess with Lennie because Lennie trusted George and is very gullible; George he would use that to his advantage. “Used to play jokes on ‘im ‘cause he was too dumb to take care of ‘imself.” (66) That quote shows how even his closest friend does not treat him like everyone else and in a sense is making fun of him. George also knows that other people would treat him differently if they knew about his disability. That is why he tried to cover up that fact that Lennie was a little slow by saying he got kicked by a horse and that they were cousin’s, which is why he was taking care of him. …show more content…
“But you ain’t gonna get in no trouble because if you do, I won’t let you tend the rabbits.” (34) George is clearly treating him as if he is a child. Another person who is treated differently is Crooks. Since the book was written in the late 1930s slavery still existed, and Crooks being black was not treated well. One part of his discrimination being that he is not allowed in the bunk house. “I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room.’ ‘Why ain’t you wanted?’ Lennie asked. ‘’Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me.” (100) This quote is a great example of the discrimination of black people. Candy is also treated differently because he only has one hand and he is