Lennie Small 'Of mice and Men'

Steinbeck uses many different descriptions of Lennie Small in the novella. Often compared to animals, one of the first descriptions of him is him being compared to a bear. ‘He was dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws’, is a line which portrays an image of how physically large Lennie is while also suggesting the extent of his strength. Lennie is also described to be ‘shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes’ which compares easily to a small innocent child who doesn’t understand his surroundings. The imagery created in this scene begins to imply that Lennie, even though a grown man, does not have a mind of his own, almost childlike, while always having someone to direct him through life. Despite his age, Lennie acts and speaks with immaturity due a mental disability. ‘Slowly like a terrier, who doesn’t want to bring a ball back to his master’ is a line Steinbeck wrote to emphasise Lennie’s immature personality. By comparing him to a terrier he becomes viewed as irrational with a very instinctive side to him.

Curley is one of ‘Of Mice and Men’s’ major characters. Although he does not appear to hold a central role, he is very important in other respects..
Curley is disliked by pretty much everyone on the ranch, and with good reason. George immediately dislikes his hostility, and shows the same attitude in return. He himself says “I hate that kind of a guy” as soon as he has and warns Lennie to “have nothing to do with him”. Even Curley’s own wife dislikes him, sarcastically saying “swell guy, ain’t he” when told to talk to him by Candy. Furthermore, Candy, although not directly airing his dislike mentions the he is “handy. God damn handy.” The way in which Candy says this hints towards his dislike for Candy being on account of his aggressive nature and hostility, rather than simply being due to his nastiness.

His desire to fight with people all the time shows two things. Firstly, it shows inferiority complex: Curley is short, and therefore