Of Mice and Men

“Of Mice and Men” Character Analysis

To begin with, George starts out as being demeaning whenever he talks to Lennie. George speaks in a belittling tone to Lennie about what he is to do when they meet their new boss. George says, “You jus’ stand there and don’t say nothing. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job, but if he sees ya work before he hears ya talk, we’re set. Ya got that?” (Steinbeck 6). George treats Lennie like a child, and he always bosses him around. George takes on the role as a parent of a mentally challenged child. His attitude toward Lennie is of a critical nature. Next, George states, “God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. An’ whatta I got? I got you!” (Steinbeck 11). George harshly demeans Lennie as he says what life could be like without him. George has a hard time taking on the role of parenting an adult. He takes out his frustration on the only person he can take it out on, Lennie. Additionally, George says, “So you wasn’t gonna say a word. You was gonna leave your big flapper shut and leave me do the talkin’. Damn near lost us the job” (Steinbeck 23). George takes control of Lennie whenever possible. Just like a parent, George becomes upset when Lennie disobeys his orders. Overall, George’s character in the beginning is an upset, critical parent. His actions before the transformation demonstrate his demeaning behavior.

In addition, George’s character evolves into a selfless one in the end. George keeps Lennie from suffering a terrible fate. George states, “Look acrost the river, Lennie an’ I’ll tell you so you can see it” (Steinbeck 105). George tells Lennie to imagine their dream ranch. He wants Lennie to have peaceful thoughts before he ends the possibility of a gruesome fate. George altruistically tells Lennie the story even...