In both The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Of Mice and Men, the relationships between animals and characters influence the readers’ understanding of main characters Christopher and Lennie, respectively. Christopher’s rat Toby and Lennie’s pets are the principal character foils that affect the reader’s perception of them, in multiple ways. Though Christopher and Lennie both have these animals to comfort them, their attitudes and thinking differ. These individuals are also both fixated on ideas that are the impetus of their books, but these ideas and their ramifications are contrasting. Pets are of great importance in the eyes of Christopher and Lennie, which readers see from their behaviours when away from the animals.
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Likewise, the non-human foils mentioned above highlight the diverse thought processes of the Christopher and Lennie. In turn, we use this to assess their mind-sets. From Christopher’s timetable one knows his care for Toby is consistent, and nowhere in the book does he handle Toby violently (Haddon 156). The commitment he demonstrates allows readers to appreciate his gentle nature. On the other hand, Lennie is unable to control his violence when displeased. At one point, he throws the pup he just killed across the room because he is angry that George might not let him have rabbits for killing the pup (Steinbeck 121). Not only does Lennie kill the pup, he also kicks it afterwards, as compared to Christopher’s history of treating animals with kindness. Based on specific descriptions in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, readers assume that his worry would be focused on Toby if anything happens to it (Haddon 180). In other words, one can deduce that Christopher considers Toby before himself. However, the actions that follow Lennie killing the pup reflect his caring for himself over the animal, a drastically different attitude than that of Christopher. Mentioned frequently throughout the two books are the objectives of the two main characters. In Christopher’s case it is what much of the book is written about, whereas in Lennie’s case it is what motivates actions that account for the occurrence …show more content…
For both characters, time spent with animals is significant duration-wise and emotionally. Tasks also preoccupy them and account for many of their actions. The difference is in the way that their dissimilar backgrounds influence the things they strive towards. Lennie hopes for a life like Christopher’s, but Christopher desires an achievement of a smaller scale, as he already some of the life Lennie desires. The idea that personal history and social circumstances influence the thought processes and attitudes of characters in the book apply to the rest of the world as well, and not only in the fictional sense. This relationship must be considered when understanding one’s actions from a psychological perspective, but also from a less rational point of view like that of a friend. Christopher and Lennie are fictional but realistic representations of how the environment one is and has been in will affect one’s mind in the
Likewise, the non-human foils mentioned above highlight the diverse thought processes of the Christopher and Lennie. In turn, we use this to assess their mind-sets. From Christopher’s timetable one knows his care for Toby is consistent, and nowhere in the book does he handle Toby violently (Haddon 156). The commitment he demonstrates allows readers to appreciate his gentle nature. On the other hand, Lennie is unable to control his violence when displeased. At one point, he throws the pup he just killed across the room because he is angry that George might not let him have rabbits for killing the pup (Steinbeck 121). Not only does Lennie kill the pup, he also kicks it afterwards, as compared to Christopher’s history of treating animals with kindness. Based on specific descriptions in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, readers assume that his worry would be focused on Toby if anything happens to it (Haddon 180). In other words, one can deduce that Christopher considers Toby before himself. However, the actions that follow Lennie killing the pup reflect his caring for himself over the animal, a drastically different attitude than that of Christopher. Mentioned frequently throughout the two books are the objectives of the two main characters. In Christopher’s case it is what much of the book is written about, whereas in Lennie’s case it is what motivates actions that account for the occurrence …show more content…
For both characters, time spent with animals is significant duration-wise and emotionally. Tasks also preoccupy them and account for many of their actions. The difference is in the way that their dissimilar backgrounds influence the things they strive towards. Lennie hopes for a life like Christopher’s, but Christopher desires an achievement of a smaller scale, as he already some of the life Lennie desires. The idea that personal history and social circumstances influence the thought processes and attitudes of characters in the book apply to the rest of the world as well, and not only in the fictional sense. This relationship must be considered when understanding one’s actions from a psychological perspective, but also from a less rational point of view like that of a friend. Christopher and Lennie are fictional but realistic representations of how the environment one is and has been in will affect one’s mind in the