Comparing The Lead Characters In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck crafts two lead characters who share an intricate but evident friendship together. This novella is set in the late 1930’s in rural California. During the 1930’s, America fell into an enormous economic recession throughout the country known as the Great Depression: unemployment rates soared, industries under-produced, businesses got disrupted, and people starved. Families were unable to support themselves, so during these times of hardship, people relied on friendships and other people to get the help they needed. This novella is about how its two lead characters support each other throughout their entire time together without a family and aid. Of Mice and Men starts off by painting vivid imagery of nature – animals and trees – in its serene state, but it rapidly shifts over to an exhausted-like mood when men enter the scene. The author establishes this location on a sandy bank of the Salinas River. Steinbeck establishes the relationship of the lead characters, George and Lennie, in the beginning of
George and Lennie share a father-child type of relationship; George is like the father: he works, educates, and protects Lennie while Lennie is like the child: he is incompetent, quiet, and looks up to George. They live together like a family would; unlike most people in the novella who have no family or people they could trust and rely on. While George explained to Lennie how other men lived solitarily, “Lennie broke in. ‘But not us! An’ why? Because… I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why’” (Steinbeck 14). George takes care of Lennie, and protects him to the best of his ability; however, George feels laden having to watch Lennie’s every move. Lennie requires a lot of help mentally and emotionally, but George needs a companion to help overcome his troubles in