Lennie In John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

Do not judge a book by its cover. One must read the book in its entirety to appreciate the story, and fully comprehend its meaning. The character of Lennie Small in the novel, Of Mice and Men, can be compared to a book; it is easy to judge Lennie by looking at the outside cover; however, to truly understand him, his inner soul must be explored. One can appreciate the extent of Lennie's troubles, and how, understandably, he is so often misjudged, by examining his psychological disabilities, physical characteristics, and emotional behavior.

Lennie's character is severely mentally challenged: he is socially inept, has an underdeveloped memory, and demonstrates inappropriate behavior. Lennie is clearly psychologically incompetent; his mind has
" "˜I turns to Lennie and says, "˜Jump in.' An' he jumps. Couldn't swim a stroke. He damn near drowned before we could get him.' " (p. 44) Not only is Lennie unable to understand the meaning of importance, he has no memory of important assertions if they do not directly pertain to rabbits. He cannot even remember his Aunt Clara, who took him in as a baby, and he lived with until she passed away. In order for Lennie to conceptualize and remember ideas or instructions, he must repeatedly recite them to George; even this ritual will not insure a recollection of the information. Although Lennie's poor memory is a severe problem, his ultimate drawback, is his unacceptable behavior. Although unintentional, Lennie causes harm, and
George is the only person who Lennie believes in. Lennie has a deep trust for George that has clearly formed an unbreakable bond, or, as Lenny puts it, " "˜"¦Because"¦.because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you"¦' " (p. 15) Because Lenny holds George in such high regard, his feelings can be seriously hurt when George scolds him. He often holds his head down in shame and embarrassment when he forgets something George has said, or when George explains how easy his life would be without him. However, there is one thing Lenny has no trouble remembering, his dream, the dream that consumes every inch of his being while simultaneously causing his demise. Lenny yearns to have his own farm with George; a farm where he can tend the, "Red and blue and green rabbits"¦" (p.17) It is essentially his dream of tending rabbits that causes Lenny to snap the neck of Curly's wife. As Lennie's rough petting of her soft hair frightens her, she begins to scream, sending Lennie into a panic; he thinks if George hears the screams, he will not allow him to tend the rabbits. He tries to silence her screams, unintentionally killing her. One can see Lennie is a trusting, sensitive, and sadly misunderstood character, by