Riley S. Carey-Tilghman
Mrs. Dawn Drake
H. English II
13 September 2017
An Analytical Perspective of Friendship in Of Mice and Men
Social interaction is becoming a lost art. In a world of online shopping, social media, and even door-delivered groceries, human interaction can be scarce. This society has made it easier to consume and easier to stay at home on the couch. This is the stance of many people around the globe; what they fail to see is that though there is, in fact, less in-person communication than past generations, there is still an overall sense of connectivity. For one thing, social media helps one contact people on the other side of the world within seconds. Whatever the situation in the real world, this was not the case in John Steinbeck’s 1937 novel Of Mice and Men. The two protagonists, George Milton and Lennie Smalls, are migrant farmers traveling together during the era of the Great Depression. George takes care of Lennie, who has a mental disability, and keeps him out of …show more content…
Nevertheless, the amount of care demonstrated from each party goes beyond the scope of regular friendship; George states multiple times that he would leave a work opportunity early, without a stake, to keep Lennie out of trouble. George even goes so far at one point to say that he and Lennie are cousins. Lennie also does nearly anything George tells him, though this could be due in part to his mental disability. The extent to which the two look after and care for each other is reminiscent of today’s homosexual couples. In that time, as those in the LGBT+ community are well aware, there was much less acceptance towards anyone in the LGBT+ community. For example, when George meets the boss for the first time, the boss says, “’Well, I never seen (sic) one guy take so much trouble for another guy” (Steinbeck 22). This shows, however subtly, how far George will reach on Lennie’s
Mrs. Dawn Drake
H. English II
13 September 2017
An Analytical Perspective of Friendship in Of Mice and Men
Social interaction is becoming a lost art. In a world of online shopping, social media, and even door-delivered groceries, human interaction can be scarce. This society has made it easier to consume and easier to stay at home on the couch. This is the stance of many people around the globe; what they fail to see is that though there is, in fact, less in-person communication than past generations, there is still an overall sense of connectivity. For one thing, social media helps one contact people on the other side of the world within seconds. Whatever the situation in the real world, this was not the case in John Steinbeck’s 1937 novel Of Mice and Men. The two protagonists, George Milton and Lennie Smalls, are migrant farmers traveling together during the era of the Great Depression. George takes care of Lennie, who has a mental disability, and keeps him out of …show more content…
Nevertheless, the amount of care demonstrated from each party goes beyond the scope of regular friendship; George states multiple times that he would leave a work opportunity early, without a stake, to keep Lennie out of trouble. George even goes so far at one point to say that he and Lennie are cousins. Lennie also does nearly anything George tells him, though this could be due in part to his mental disability. The extent to which the two look after and care for each other is reminiscent of today’s homosexual couples. In that time, as those in the LGBT+ community are well aware, there was much less acceptance towards anyone in the LGBT+ community. For example, when George meets the boss for the first time, the boss says, “’Well, I never seen (sic) one guy take so much trouble for another guy” (Steinbeck 22). This shows, however subtly, how far George will reach on Lennie’s