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

In this serve I am going to be writing ab erupt one of the main guinea pigs in bath Steinbecks novella Of Mice and Men. The story portrays the travels and arising problems of two migrant workers who share an uncommon fri restship for the fourth dimension and environment in which the novella is set. Lennie Small is the character I leave be exploring and I exit start off by giving a detailed explanation of his physical appearance and behaviour. atomic number 42 I pass on look at his and the other main character Georges relationship which will then be followed by Lennies relationships with other characters passim the book.I will then go on to look at the foreshadowing in which Steinbeck displays in the story and finally I will conclude the story of its final climax. Steinbeck uses many different descriptions of Lennie Small in the novella. Often compared to animals, one of the starting time descriptions of him is him being compared to a bear. He was dragging his feet a little , the musical mode a bear drags his paws, is a credit line which portrays an image of how physically large Lennie is while also suggesting the extent of his strength.Lennie is also described to be uncrystallized of face, with large, pale eyes which compares easily to a small innocent child who doesnt understand his surroundings. The imaginativeness created in this scene begins to imply that Lennie, change surface though a grown man, does not catch a mind of his own, most child deal, while always having someone to direct him through lifespan. Despite his age, Lennie acts and speaks with immaturity repayable a mental disability. Slowly like a terrier, who doesnt want to bring a bollock back to his master is a line Steinbeck wrote to emphasise Lennies immature personality.By comparing 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 make sensible decisions, claims a mast er or more so a carer. It stresses his naiveness and also his loyalty to George. Furthermore in this novella Lennie doesnt intentionally mean to do disability however that does not mean he is completely harmless. This is fancyn when Steinbeck writes I wasnt doing nothing bad with it, George.. jus apoplexy it. in the scene where George is demanding the wild mouse from Lennie. By writing this Steinbeck has suggested that the innocent Lennie is and both a victim and villain throughout his life. No issuing how harmless he is within his mind, his strength betrays his personality leaving his child like mind, and brute strength a threatening combination. Steinbecks starting description of George and Lennies relationship demonstrates the detail that George is very much like a father figure to Lennie.He is continuously mimicking George and spare-time activity obediently which is described when they had walked in single file down the path, and even in the scatter one stayed one behind the other. This paraphrase emphasises the dominance in the relationship and how Lennie is always following behind George because he wants to show him respect. Also Lennie imitates George with the upmost precision, Then (George) re set his hat, pushed himself back from the river, drew up his knees and embraced them.Lennie who had been honoring imitated George exactly highlights this as it shows just how much Lennie looks up to George as if he is also a friend as well as a father figure in which he wants to make proud. It produces the prospect that mayhap all Lennie wants is for George to be proud of him and is symbolic to the fact Lennie looks up to George as a employment model. In the opening dialogue between George and Lennie the nature of their relationship is easily distinguishable when George says Lennie Lennie for Gods sake, dont drink too much.. ou gonna be sick like you was last night because it conveys how much George actually cares for and worries for Lennie wi thout devising it sound too affectionate. He speaks down to Lennie in a patronizing manner which also symbolises the ascendency in the relationship. In this novella one of the key things about Lennie and George is the dream they both wish to achieve. receivable to Lennies youthful mind set and Georges fatherly role in Lennies life the dream becomes somewhat a bedtime story for Lennie. On several occasions Lennie pleads Come on George. propound 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, happy and almost settled as if he were an infant going to bed. It could also portray the subconscious worries Lennie has so he witnesss the need to be reassured about their dream. Lennies relationships with other characters vary and progress throughout the novella. When Slim, the jerkline skinner, is first introduced to Lennie and George he is taken aback by the oddness of their relationship with each other.He i mmediately calculates Lennies lack of mentality and later on states to George it matchms kinda funny, a cuckoo like him and a smart guy like you travelling together which is the first opinion Slim 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. Hes a nice fella, guy dont need no sense to be a nice fella is a line which Steinbeck wrote to show clearly how Slim respects and likes Lennie as it emphasises that he doesnt just see the absence of intelligence but the nice guy hidden underneath the childish exterior.Even though Slim doesnt real get to k instantly Lennie in this novella, his friendship 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 aint mean, I can see Lennie aint a bit mean which further emphasises the intelligence Slim possess to see behind the original inte rpretation of Lennie as a man and shows how his feelings towards him have developed into somewhat respect. some other relationship that Lennie has is one with the stable buck, Crooks.Steinbeck enforces this unspoken friendship between the two because both are uninvolved from the continue of the ranch workers, Lennie because of his size and childish behaviour and Crooks because of him being black and being segregated from the rest of the workers. Although Lennie is portrayed as the weakest mentally, he doesnt understand the unwritten code of racial segregation 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.I 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 scarce see his colour. In this novella Steinbeck uses foreshadowing a great deal throughout the whole story. It appears everywhere, hinting on what will detect to different characters and the way the story will develop. It is used to show that Lennie will be getting in trouble with Curleys wife, her death and also his death and the exact way in which he dies.The meaning Curleys 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 poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait like her before. You leave her be is a quote from the novella which directly foreshadows Curleys wifes death because by having George tell him to leave her alone, its manifestly going to go the opposite way and something will end up bringing the pair together.another(prenominal) thing that adds to the foreshadowing of he r death is Lennies tendency to get carried away with touching soft, silky and fine things. Throughout the novella the victims of Lennies harmless petting gradually get bigger, starting off with the girls countersink in Weed, the mouse, progressing on to Curleys hand and the puppy and finally ending with Curleys herself. The skirt, mouse, puppy and Curleys wife all link in with the need to touch soft things and the same reaction even happen in each.Once they begin to panic or squirm Lennie reacts in a childlike way and doesnt know what to do so he simply doesnt let his sway of that object go. Excluding Curleys hand which was purely down to animal and childish instinct, all the other incidents could fall in to the idea that in Lennies naive mind, soft and pretty things relate to the dream that he and George have and once the victims begin to struggle it instantly alerts Lennie that the dream is escaping him and he holds on in fear of permit go and loosing it.The foreshadowing of Lennies death occurs at different points throughout the novella. The containing of candys train being the main one. When Carlson is act to persuade dulcorate into letting him shoot the dog he says He aint no thoroughly to you, Candy. An he aint no good to himself. Whnt you shoot him, Candy? which is exactly how Lennie is viewed as a partner of George. Both the dog and Lennie are connected as they both in some way weigh down their proprietor and arent really useful to them.Another thing which foreshadows his death is Georges constant reminders of how his life would be easier without him. God youre a lot of trouble, I could get along so easy and so nice if I didnt have you on my tail. I could live so easy 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. Lennies death, placed decently at the end of the story, is no big s urprise when it actually occurs. Beforehand Lennie and George are merely talking.Lennie is confused as to why George isnt shouting at him and this particular bit shows how much George on the Q.T. does care for Lennie and wishes that this didnt happen. No Lennie, I aint ghastly. I never been mad an I aint now. Thats 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 best for him, even if that means killing 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.Despite the fact he has already made the decision to end Lennies life George still finds it difficult to do so which is portrayed when Steinbeck wrote that George raised the gun and his hand shook, and he dropped his hand to the ground again. This quote lays emphasis on how challenging it is for George to follow through wi th 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 unattackable to kill him. The thing that played the most part in the decision George made to kill Lennie was Candys words, I ought to of shot that dog myself, George.I shouldnt ought to of let no stranger 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 town 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.The description of his character is very precise and so is his personality. Throughout this novella it is evident that Lennies charact er is the one that undergoes the least amount of development. His childlike mentality and mind set abolish 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 course 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.