'Explore the Ways in Which John Steinbeck Presents He Character of Lennie in ‘of Mice and Men’\r'

'In this essay I am going to be writing fairly iodin of the of import shares in John Steinbeck’s novella ‘Of Mice and Men’. The written report portrays the travels and arising problems of two migrant workers who sh be an uncommon knowledge for the time and environment in which the novella is amaze. Lennie depressed is the vulcanized fiber I leave alone be exploring and I will start cancelled by swelled a detailed explanation of his physical visual aspect and behaviour. Second I will look at his and the opposite main character George’s kindred which will hence be come ined by Lennie’s relationships with new(prenominal) characters end-to-end the book.\r\nI will then go on to look at the betoken in which Steinbeck displays in the accounting and fin whollyy I will conclude the story of its final climax. Steinbeck uses umpteen different descriptions of Lennie secondary in the novella. Often comp atomic number 18d to animals, whiz z of the first descriptions of him is him being compared to a bear. ‘He was draw his feet a little, the flair a bear drags his paws’, is a parentage which portrays an image of how physically large Lennie is succession to a fault suggesting the extent of his say-so.\r\nLennie is besides described to be ‘shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes’ which compares easily to a small innocent child who doesn’t visualise his surroundings. The imagery created in this scene lowers to imply that Lennie, even though a grown man, does not fetch a mind of his own, al just about child bid, while incessantly having someone to direct him through tone. disrespect his age, Lennie acts and speaks with immatureness due a mental disability. ‘Slowly take placele a terrier, who doesn’t want to bring a ball back to his traverse’ is a line Steinbeck wrote to emphasise Lennie’s immature spirit.\r\nBy comparability him to a terrier he becomes viewed as irrational with a very instinctive side to him. Steinbeck uses the word ‘master’ which signifies how Lennie, unable to shed light on sensible finalitys, needs a master or more so a carer. It stresses his simple-mindedty and likewise his loyalty to George. Furthermore in this novella Lennie doesn’t intentionally mean to do harm but that does not mean he is completely benignant. This is channelisen when Steinbeck writes ‘I wasn’t doing no function bountiful with it, George.. jus’ stroking it. in the scene where George is demanding the dead creep from Lennie. By writing this Steinbeck has suggested that the innocent Lennie is and both(prenominal) a victim and villain throughout his life. No amour how harmless he is within his mind, his strength betrays his personality leaving his child like mind, and brute strength a threatening combination. Steinbeck’s first description of George and Lennie’s relationshi p demonstrates the fact that George is very a good deal like a father figure to Lennie.\r\nHe is constantly mimicking George and following obediently which is described when ‘they had walked in single file atomic pile the path, and even in the open one stayed one behind the otherwise’. This quote emphasises the dominance in the relationship and how Lennie is continuously following behind George because he wants to show him respect. in addition Lennie imitates George with the upmost precision, ‘Then (George) replaced his hat, pushed himself back from the river, drew up his knees and embraced them.\r\nLennie who had been watching imitated George exactly’ highlights this as it shows just how such(prenominal) Lennie looks up to George as if he is also a hero as well as a father figure in which he wants to admit noble-minded. It produces the thought that maybe all Lennie wants is for George to be proud of him and is symbolic to the fact Lennie looks up t o George as a role model. In the opening dialogue in the midst of George and Lennie the nature of their relationship is easily distinguishable when George says ‘Lennie! Lennie for Gods sake, fatigue’t drink too some(prenominal).. ou gonna be draw like you was last night’ because it conveys how much George real cares for and worries for Lennie without making it sound too affectionate. He speaks raft to Lennie in a patronizing manner which also symbolises the authority in the relationship. In this novella one of the key things about(predicate) Lennie and George is the dream they both propensity to achieve. Due to Lennie’s girlish mind curing and George’s fatherly role in Lennie’s life the dream becomes somewhat a bedtime story for Lennie. On several occasions ‘Lennie pleads â€Å"Come on George.\r\nTell me. Please, George. Like you did before. ” ‘ which further emphasises how much of a child he is due to the fact it makes him calm, able and almost settled as if he were an infant going to bed. It could also portray the subconscious worries Lennie has so he feels the need to be reassured about their dream. Lennie’s relationships with other characters vary and progress throughout the novella. When quash, the jerkline skinner, is first introduced to Lennie and George he is taken aback by the oddness of their relationship with each other.\r\nHe practiced away design’s Lennie’s lack of mastermind and later on states to George ‘it seems kinda funny, a cat like him and a smart guy like you travelling unneurotic’ which is the first opinion abbreviate reveals towards Lennie. At first he only sees the childlike Lennie but after the situation explained he understands and views Lennie in a completely different light. ‘He’s a nice fella, guy don’t need no sense to be a nice fella’ is a line which Steinbeck wrote to show clearly how come down respects and likes Lennie as it emphasises that he doesn’t just see the absence of acquaintance but the nice guy hidden underneath the childish exterior.\r\nEven though Slim doesn’t really get to know Lennie in this novella, his familiarity with George allows him to understand Lennie and the position the two are in. Slim appreciates that Lennie is not a cruel person when he says ‘He ain’t mean, I jackpot see Lennie ain’t a go mean’ which further emphasises the intelligence Slim be in possession of to see behind the original interpretation of Lennie as a man and shows how his mental pictures towards him wipe out developed into somewhat respect. another(prenominal) relationship that Lennie has is one with the stable buck, Crooks.\r\nSteinbeck enforces this unverbalized friendship between the two because both are isolated from the rest of the ranch workers, Lennie because of his size and childish behaviour and Crooks because of him being black and being separate from the rest of the workers. Although Lennie is portrayed as the weakest mentally, he doesn’t understand the unwritten code of racial separationism which brings out the intelligent side to him which is proven in the way he acts towards Crooks. When Crooks questions him about why he has entered the barn Lennie replies with ‘Nothing- I seen your light.\r\nI thought I could jus’ come an’ set’ which shows how innocent Lennie is and in a way how lonely he is as he goes to investigate the possibility that he could converse with someone. It could also show that Lennie sees crooks as an equal unlike the other men on the ranch who merely see his colour. In this novella Steinbeck uses foreshadowing a coarse deal throughout the whole story. It appears everywhere, hinting on what will pop off to different characters and the way the story will develop. It is used to show that Lennie will be acquire in trouble with Curleyâ₠¬â„¢s wife, her finish and also his death and the exact way in which he dies.\r\nThe moment Curley’s wife is introduced an ill feeling overcomes the atmosphere signifying that Lennie will in fact be getting into some sort of mess involving her. George says at the very beginning ‘I seen ‘em acerbate before, but I never seen no wear round of jail bait like her before. You leave her be’ is a quote from the novella which directly foreshadows Curley’s wifes death because by having George tell him to leave her alone, it’s obviously going to go the opposite way and something will end up bringing the pair off together.\r\nAnother thing that adds to the foreshadowing of her death is Lennie’s tendency to ‘get carried away’ with touching soft, glib and pretty things. Throughout the novella the victims of Lennie’s harmless ‘petting’ gradually get bigger, starting off with the girls dress in Weed, the mouse, pro gressing on to Curley’s hand and the whelp and finally ending with Curley’s herself. The skirt, mouse, puppy and Curley’s wife all link in with the need to touch ‘soft things’ and the same reaction even happen in each.\r\nOnce they begin to panic or squirm Lennie reacts in a childlike way and doesn’t know what to do so he simply doesn’t let his hold of that object go. Excluding Curley’s hand which was rigorously down to animal and childish instinct, all the other incidents could connect to the idea that in Lennie’s naive mind, ‘soft and pretty’ things relate to the dream that he and George have and once the victims begin to struggle it at one time alerts Lennie that the dream is escaping him and he holds on in fright of letting go and loosing it.\r\nThe foreshadowing of Lennie’s death occurs at different points throughout the novella. The shooting of glaze’s chamfer being the main one. Whe n Carlson is nerve-racking to persuade sugarcoat into letting him shoot the quest after he says ‘He ain’t no good to you, Candy. An’ he ain’t no good to himself. Wh’n’t you shoot him, Candy? ’ which is exactly how Lennie is viewed as a partner of George. two the dog and Lennie are connected as they both in some way weigh down their ‘owner’ and aren’t really useful to them.\r\nAnother thing which foreshadows his death is George’s constant reminders of how his life would be easier without him. ‘God you’re a business deal of trouble, I could get along so lite and so nice if I didn’t have you on my tail. I could live so blowzy and maybe have a girl’ is a line which Steinbeck wrote to foreshadow what might happen in the end of the story as it is how George feels inside which he frequently tells Lennie at different points in the story. Lennie’s death, placed right at the end of the story, is no big surprise when it actually occurs. Beforehand Lennie and George are merely talking.\r\nLennie is confused as to why George isn’t shouting at him and this particular bit shows how much George secretly does care for Lennie and wishes that this didn’t happen. ‘No Lennie, I ain’t imbalanced. I never been mad an’ I ain’t now. That’s the thing I want ya to know. ’ is a line from George which symbolises that no matter what bad things Lennie has ever done, George only wants the ruff for him, even if that means refineing him. Steinbeck uses the phrase ‘never been mad’ to show that George is feeling guilty about his reactions towards Lennies mistakes in the past and trying to make it right.\r\nDespite the fact he has already made the decision to end Lennie’s life George still finds it unwieldy to do so which is portrayed when Steinbeck wrote that ‘George raised the gun and his hand sh ook, and he dropped his hand to the ground once more’. This quote lays emphasis on how challenging it is for George to follow through with his task. No matter how much of a dead weight Lennie is to him, they have still been together for a long while which adds to the fact George finds it so hard to kill him. The thing that played the most part in the decision George made to kill Lennie was Candy’s words, ‘I ought to of shot that dog myself, George.\r\nI shouldn’t ought to of let no crazy shoot my dog. ’ because George understands that the death of Lennie is inevitable and is going to happen one way or another whether it be now or in the next townsfolk when he does something else wrong. Georges decision is reassured by Slim right at the end of the novella when he says ‘You hadda George, I swear you hadda’ because he understands the situation George is in and is trying to assure him that he made the right decision in killing Lennie. In conclusion, Lennie Small is a very complex character.\r\nThe description of his character is very precise and so is his personality. Throughout this novella it is obvious that Lennie’s character is the one that undergoes the to the lowest degree amount of development. His childlike mentality and mind set prohibit any possible expansion of his character however Lennies protection from George, devotion to him, and dreams of the farm make him the character that he is. His portrayal of innocence during the break away of the novella is a key reason why readers feel so much sympathy for him, and is the main way in which he is represented all throughout Of Mice and Men.\r\n'