Look closely at how Lennie and George speak and behave here. What does it reveal about their relationship? Essay

George and Lennies relationship in my opinion is one like a father has with a son, George is always there for lennie, he cares for him and wants the best for him, and in his own way, Lennie feels the same and acts the same. The extract given, located at the start of the book in chapter one, is one that introduces George and Lennies dream to the reader as well as establishing to the reader the closeness of their relationship, without this part in the book, we would not understand how the two men are like father and son, or how they really do care for each other, and that is why this text is so significant to the text as a whole. This extract is about Lennie trying to get George to tell him the story about them in the future (their dream), and despite not wanting to at first, Lennie is clearly used to getting his own way and acts like a child in order to get so. George at the end of the extract however, shows his authority and is very firm when there has been enough, Steinbeck makes it obvious that the two have known each other for a long time as Lennie speaks ‘craftily’ and ‘pleaded’ in order to get his own way from George. Lennie has learnt during their time together how to make George give in. This is like a father son relationship because the child often knows how to treat their parents in order to get their own way, whether with a flutter of the eyelashes or a really nice hug, children know how to get their own way, and this is the case with Lennie. Another reason it is like a father son relationship is because George is giving Lennie Hope when he says ‘we got a future’, It is a parents job to give their child something to look forward to in a hard time and as it was the great depression when the novel is set, George does this excellently with the dream of the ranch. It gives Lennie something to dream about. It is also like a father son relationship, because it becomes clear from Steinbeck’s style of writing that George has told the story of the ranch and rabbits to Lennie so many times: â€Å"He repeated his words rhymetically† This shows that George has told the story enough times to Lennie that he knows it off by heart and Lennie, a forgetful character knows it also. This shows that George is once again like a father figure to lennie, telling him bedtime stories. Fathers and Sons know they have each other to look after them and this is what Lennie and George are also both aware of: â€Å"Because I got you to look after me† This shows that they are both aware of the close relationship they have and how they are both aware of how the other one appreciates them as much as they appreciate them. This is a nice part of the novel and it leaves the reader with a sense that not everything is bad. One of the themes of the book is loniness but this part here shows that it is not George or Lennie that experience this, or at least at the beginning. And finally, George makes it clear to the reader that he is the authoritive person in the relationship as he makes it clear when he â€Å"ain’t got time for no more†, he is the one that is in charge and Lennie seems to appreciate that. The fact that George is the authoritve figure is a good way to explain why he seems so tense and agitated in this extract: â€Å"you getta kick outta that†, because he feels like he is in charge of lennie, and doesn’t want him to do anything wrong or get into trouble, knda like when a parent takes their child shopping. It is clear form reading the extract that lennie is the child and George is the father figure, but they both appreciate and enjoy each others company. 6c) How does Steinbeck present the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men? Loneliness is one of the main themes of mice and men and that becomes apparent from early on in the novel. Almost all of Steinbeck’s characters experience loneliness at some part in the play, although some like Curley’s Wife, Crooks and Candy experience it more than others. Steinbeck makes it very clear at the beginging that the novel is going to be based on loneliness as the novel is set in a place cale ‘Soledad’ which means loneliness in Spanish, it is these small details that in my opinion makes Of Mice and Men, such a clever and valiable read. Curley’s wife is a character that it becomes more evident throughout the book is suffering from loneliness. She has married a man she hardly knew before and now is the only lady on the ranch, people are afraid to talk to her because they don’t want to get into trouble with Curley, the short tempered bosses son. Curley’s wife is seen as a tart by the ranch men, and are a main cause of her loniness. She often goes around asking for Curley and the men are very blunt and untalkative towards her. She tells Lennie of her loneliness: â€Å"I get awfully lonely†, This shows that she knows she is lonely and addimits she â€Å"just wants someone to talk to†, Steinback uses Curley’s wife as a character that experiences Lonliness that is very obvious to the reader as she admits it herself. Crooks is another character that experiences Lonliness and in my opinion, it is crooks that experiences Lonliness the most. Crooks is a Stable buck and is black, which in 1930’s America meant there was segregation. He lives on his own in the stables and is not allowed to join in with the other men. He is just expected to enjoy his own company and so he just reads books, which makes him a very knowledgeable character. Crooks character is not very signifivant in the play, but he has a whole chapter devoted to him nevertheless, he makes it clear when Lennie stumbles across his room that the life he is experiencing is one that is not right. Crooks describes his loneliness briefly, â€Å"if I see something, I aint go no one to tell me it aint real†, Steinbeck has used something so simple to show just how lonly crooks is. He literally has no one! Annother character that experiences loneliness is Candy. His ancient dog is shot for being smelly and ‘no good’, yet it was this dog that had kept candy from being lonly for all these years. When Steinbeck describes the dog being walked out of the bunck house by Carlson, Candy immediately goes into his own world of regret and lonlieness. No one understands why Candy is so upset because no one has experienced having someone. Also when candy is trying to stop Carlson from convincing him to shot the dog, none of the other ranch ahnds stick up for Cnady, instead they all keep quiet and don’t get involved. This shows that in of Mice and men, it is every man for himself and that is another example of loneliness. When George goes down town with the other ranch hands, it is Lennie that experiences Lonliness. He has always had George to keep him company, but when crooks asks â€Å"what would you do if George did’nt come back†, Lennie takes it literally and experiences loneliness for what could be lennies first time. Lennie immediately gets violent and this shows the reader how much lennie really needs George. And finally, George. George is in my opinion the only main character that we don’t get a sign experiences loneliness. Throughout the play he has Lennie to keep him company and soon builds up a friendship with both Candy and Slim, so that as soon as Lennie runs off he has these to then keep in company in the hard time. Steinback was very clever at presenting the theme of loneliness. Almost every character experiences it, yet it is not something that you notice overly when reading the book. Steinback managed to show diffenent levels of loneliness from Crooks who has no one, to Lennie who always has George looking after him, even to the last page in the book! Without the theme of loneliness in Of Mice and Men, the novel would not be the same. It is this loneliness that drives curley’s wife to talk to lennie before he kills her , and that causes George to understand he needs to kill lennie himself. The theme of lonlineness was also a theme of the workers during the great depression in America during the 1930’s. As migrant workers travelled from ranch to ranch to find jobs, never staying at one place long and travelling on their own, meant loneliness was experienced greatly, so Steinbeck managed to make his novel even more realistic by doing this.