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Student
Mr. Maite
Honors English 9
October 29, 2010
Finding a Lennie
What is a good friend like? Smart? Good-looking? Rich? These are not the qualities of a
true, loyal friend. A loyal friend is someone who you can depend on. Someone who listens to
you and respects you for whom you are. The biggest trait of a faithful friend is someone you can
trust. In John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men, Lennie is a mentally challenged man who is a
migrant worker in the United States. Ranch workers must be strong and obedient. Lennie
possesses both of these qualities but he also possesses all the qualities that a faithful friend would
have. He is loyal, trustworthy, and respectful. People see Lennie as a stupid man who is only
worth his pay through his strength in bucking barley. George Milton is the man Lennie is most
loyal to and George sees Lennie as a best friend. John Steinbeck uses Lennie’s dialogue, his
actions, and the reactions of others to portray Lennie as a loyal friend.
All the characters in Of Mice and Men had a different reaction to Lennie but they all
could tell that Lennie was an incredibly loyal friend to George. As soon as Lennie and George
arrived at the ranch the boss judged Lennie. He was surprised to see two men working together,
“‘Well I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy. I just like to know what your
interest is’” (22). His reaction was suspicion because the bond Lennie and George shared was
unknown to the majority of men at this time. Men were solitary and moved on from ranch to
ranch without making connections with other ranch workers. Since Lennie is loyal to George,
then they are able to have a thriving friendship. Another character’s reaction to Lennie’s
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incontestable loyalty to George was Slim’s. Lennie got a puppy from Slim and loved it so much
that he wanted to take it everywhere. One night he snuck his puppy to the bunkhouse and George
noticed it in Lennie’s shirt. George yelled at Lennie and made him puppy back because he was
too young to be away from his mother while Slim observed. Lennie pleaded and pleaded for
George to let him have the puppy back if he put it back in the barn. George complied and Lennie
took the puppy to the barn. He later said in chapter three, “‘Jesus,’ he said. ‘He’s just like a kid,
ain’t he’” (43). Grown men don’t usually beg to other grown men and Slim comprehended this
trait as a child’s trait. An example is like a child to their kindergarten teacher; the child respects
the teacher and does what they say. The final and most important reaction towards Lennie though
is George’s after he kills Lennie. George ran to the brush clearing to shoot Lennie because he
knew that if any of the other ranch workers found Lennie then they would torture him to death
instead of killing him humanly like Carlson did to Candy’s dog. On page one hundred-seven
George’s reaction is described, “But George sat stiffly on the bank and looked at his right hand
that had thrown the gun away.” There is a saying that states: you never know how much you
need something until it’s gone. George realizes that this statement is true when all the other men
are happy that Lennie is gone and all he can do is stand there. Loyal friends are irreplaceable and
Lennie was George’s most faithful friend. Faithful friends don’t have to be intelligent or wise.
They just have to be trustworthy and devoted like Lennie. All of these reactions help depict
Lennie’s loyalty to George.
Another type of characterization that John Steinbeck uses to portray Lennie as a loyal
character is his dialogue. The first example of how Lennie’s dialogue displays his loyalty is in
chapter three. Lennie always wants to make George pleased and not frustrated with him so he
tries to make sure George knows he doesn’t do bad things on purpose. This is how he proves his
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loyalty. Lennie loves the puppy Slim gave him and wants to take him everywhere. Even though
George told Lennie not to take the puppy away from its mother, Lennie took him to the
bunkhouse anyway. George notices that Lennie is hiding the puppy and he takes the puppy from
Lennie to show him what he did was wrong. Lennie feels like he betrayed George and wants to
prove his loyalty by following the rule of keeping the puppy in the barn. He says, “‘Give um’ to
me, George. I’ll take um’ back. I didn’t mean no harm, George. Honest I didn’t. I jus’ wanted to
pet um’ a little’” (43). Lennie pleads for George’s forgiveness because he wants to be a faithful
friend. Even when George isn’t around Lennie still tries to follow all his rules just like a young
child would do to his mother. An example of this is when Curley’s wife walks in on Lennie
when he is pondering over what to do about the dead puppy. George directly told Lennie that he
was not to have anything to do about Curley’s wife. On page eighty-six Lennie says exactly that,
“‘George says I ain’t to have nothing to do with you – talk to you or nothing.’” Lennie knows
that if George caught him speaking to Curley’s wife then he would get very mad at him and so
he tries to stay loyal. Lennie not only wants George to approve him, but he wants George to
know that they are a team because they depend on each other and can trust each other. Towards
the end of the book Lennie and George are in the brush and Lennie is very overwhelmed with
Curley’s wife’s death and all the commotion in the woods of the oncoming ranch workers.
Lennie asks George to tell him why they are going to be different ranch workers and so George
starts explaining. Lennie knows the tale by heart and interrupts George to fill in the last lines,
“‘An’ I got you. We got each other, that’s what…’ Lennie cried in triumph” (104). Lennie’s
words are the true explanation of loyalty. If you can depend on someone then you are loyal to
them and they are loyal to you. This quote shows how excited Lennie is to know that he isn’t
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alone in this world. As long as he is loyal to George, George will be pleased with him and be his
friend. Dialogue is a great characterization trait that demonstrates Lennie’s loyalty as a friend.
The final category of characterization that Steinbeck used to describe Lennie as a loyal
character was through his actions. Lennie may be forgetful but he doesn’t forget George’s rules.
At the beginning of the book before Lennie and George arrived at the ranch, George told Lennie
that if anything bad happens he should go hide in the brush until George comes for him. When
Lennie suffocates Curley’s wife, he realizes he did another bad thing and goes to the brush. He
arrives on page one hundred, “Suddenly Lennie appeared out of the brush, and he came as
silently as a creeping bear moves.” He doesn’t know how to act in some situations but he does
understand that when George tells him to do something it’s for his own good and he needs to
accomplish it. Like a trained dog, Lennie stayed loyal and listened to George’s words. Another
example of this is when Curley picks a fight with Lennie. George told Lennie not to get into a
fight with Curley so Lennie just stood still while Curley punched him. Then, George told Lennie
to defend himself and so Lennie grabs Curley’s hand and holds it tightly so that Curley can’t hit
him any more. Lennie started squeezing Curley’s hand so hard that it started breaking and
George knew that enough fighting had been done. On page sixty-four he tells Lennie to stop,
“George shouted over and over, ‘Leggo his hand Lennie. Leggo…’ Suddenly Lennie let go of his
hold.” Again, as soon as Lennie comprehends what George orders him to do, he does it. It may
take him longer to understand but when he does he will do it. The grandest action of loyalty
though was when all the ranch workers had gone to town and Lennie was left at the ranch alone.
Crooks was in his tiny room in the barn and Lennie saw the light from his lamp and went inside.
After Lennie’s persistence in coming in, Crooks let him sit down. Crooks started asking Lennie
what he would do if George got hurt and could not get back. Lennie thought Crooks was saying
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that someone actually did hurt George and he started getting very protective. He displayed his
anger at Crooks on page seventy-two, “Suddenly Lennie’s eyes grew quiet and mad. He stood up
and walked dangerously toward Crooks…Lennie stood over him.” Loyalty not only involves
someone listening to someone else, but they also must be protective of that person’s well-being
because a special bond of friendship connects them together. George may sometimes say that his
life would be perfect without Lennie but what he doesn’t realize is that Lennie and he share a
bond of loyalty. Lennie was loyal to George which is why their friendship was so powerful.
Lennie’s actions were the biggest factor of his loyalty that was shown in Steinbeck’s writing in
Of Mice and Men.
Loyalty is an irreplaceable trait that Lennie Small bears proudly. He may be mentally
challenged but that doesn’t mean that he can’t be a loyal friend. Through his actions, his
dialogue, and the reactions he inspires from others, he proves himself as an ideal friend. You
most likely are familiar with someone who suffers from a mental disease. Maybe you don’t
associate with them because they are different then you. Maybe you don’t know how they’ll
react to you. The truth is that you may never know how a mentally challenged person will react
to you but it is guaranteed that they will appreciate the socialization. You never know, maybe if
you take a chance and talk to a mentally challenged person they will have the qualities of a loyal
friend. Maybe your new best friend is just waiting to be found. There’s only one way to find out
and that’s by interacting with people different than you. You may just find a Lennie out there
somewhere.