Relationships between characters - both texts

George and Lennie's relationship

• Lennie depends on George but in some ways George depends on Lennie
• Deep down George cares for Lennie
• George is sometimes embarrassed about being with Lennie and wants his own life
• Lennie looks up to George inn everything he does
• Father-son relationship
• George created the dream more as a bedtime story for Lennie, he doesn't believe it
• Always together, George feels he can't really leave Lennie alone
• Lennie looks up to George for comfort and everything else
• George in some ways looks up to Lennie for how he sees things

Crooks' relationship with the rest of society

• Crooks is black so experiences a lot of racism
• He is the only black man on the ranch and signifies all of black society
• Feels threatened constantly, even by Curley's Wife
• Singled out, lonely
• Leans away from society so as to avoid any trouble
• Synical about any dreams coming true

Phil and Leah's relationship

• Leah worships Phil and does everything she can to get his attention
• Phil ignores her, creating the impression he is heartless
• They are very separate from the rest of the gang
• In some ways they are quite coupley - some stage direction describe Leah in Phil's arms
• Leah depends on Phil, trusts him
• Throughout, Phil does not seem to care about Leah
• But at the end of the novel she leaves the gang and the school and him, and he misses her hugely, calls her name instead of vice versa
• This reaction suggests love and that he actually depends on her as much as she depends on him

Phil's relationship with the rest of the gang

• Has immense power over them, they do whatever he tells them too
• Very clever compared to mos of them
• Manipulative, cunning
• Very detatched, spends most of his time with Leah
• Obviously the leader of the gang
• In the end he doesn't want to be leader anymore
• Unlike Cathy (the new leader) he never abuses his power