Of Mice and Men
Lennie Small
Lennie
One of the main characters in Of Mice and Men is Lennie Small. In the story he is one of the strongest men and he doesn't necessarily know his own strength. The fiction makes a clear point that Lennie means no harm what so ever and is an animal lover. Even though he means no harm, his actions lead to disaster. For Lennie, animals make him feel safe and they comfort him. Another clear statement the book makes is that Lennie is mentally disabled and acts like a child in a mans body most of the time. Because of his lack of smartness, Lennie depends completely on George, his true companion, for all his needs and for his protection. Lennie and George were practically like brothers and shared a dream of moving onto a farm together and "living off the land".
Theme
One of the themes in Of Mice and Men is the beauty of a dream, because it gives people a purpose to live. It gives hope, faith, and something to look forward to, and that is clear in Of Mice and Men for Lennie. Not only does it give him something to look forward to, it gives him something to put his mind on and behave for, keeping him out of unneeded trouble.
Another Theme
Another theme of Of Mice and Men is loneliness. In the story, many people are lonely, including Lennie who often goes into Crooks room to just simply talk to someone to feel less alone. In one part of the story, Crooks even says, " A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you." It seems that Crooks brings comfort to many people because he is looked at a lesser than the regular worker due to the fact that he is of a different race. Curley's wife even tends to wander into Crooks' room to talk to him. This is not the only way, though, that Lennie stays sociable. Lennie often asked for George to talk about the dreams of the farm in attempts to break the loneliness Lennie generally feels. A final way Lennie keeps from feeling lonely is by petting soft things. When he does so, he feels secured, safe, and befriended. Throughout Of Mice and Men, it is obvious that many characters are lonely, including Lennie.
Quote of Lennie and George to keep Lennie's dreams alive
George: Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They ain't got no family and they don't belong no place. They got nothin' to look ahead to...
Lennie: But not us George. Tell about us.
George: ...well, we ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody cares.
Lennie: But not us, George, because I... see, I got you to look after me, but you got me to look after you.
Lennie and George discussing their dream farm
George: We're gonna get a little place.
Lennie: Okay, yeah, we're gonna get a little place and w're gonna...
George: We gonna...
Lennie: ...have...
George: [Lennie mouths what he says] We're gonna have a cow, and some pigs, and we're gonna have, maybe-maybe, a chicken. Down in the flat, we'll have a little field of...
Lennie: Field of alfalfa for the rabbits.
George: ...for the rabbits.
Lennie: And I get to tend the rabbits...
Lennie: You damn right, George! You *god* damn right!
Lennie: Okay, yeah, we're gonna get a little place and w're gonna...
George: We gonna...
Lennie: ...have...
George: [Lennie mouths what he says] We're gonna have a cow, and some pigs, and we're gonna have, maybe-maybe, a chicken. Down in the flat, we'll have a little field of...
Lennie: Field of alfalfa for the rabbits.
George: ...for the rabbits.
Lennie: And I get to tend the rabbits...
Lennie: You damn right, George! You *god* damn right!