Of mice of men: detailed notes on characters; George, Lennie, Curley and Curleys wife

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  • Created by: Ezgi_18
  • Created on: 10-03-14 19:11

George

  • George is a character that is defined as a 'small' person with 'restless eyes' right at the beginning of the novel, which is completely different to how Lennie is portrayed. He is the character who has full control within his relationship with Lennie. He is short-tempered but a loving and devoted friend to Lennie; we see this in the novel due to the loyalty he shows towards Lennie despite the trouble Lennie gets him into.
  • Although George comes across as a loyal and friendly character, Steinbeck explains how this wasnt always the case through the conversation that George and Slim have where George admits that he once abused Lennie for his own amusement. (Where George admits to pushing Lennie into the river despite knowing that he couldnt swim). However, from this incident George learns that its wrong to exploit the weak, feels ashamed and stops playing tricks on Lennie.
  • George also has a dream to live a easy and happy life on a future farm; a story which he re-tells to Lennie many times.
  • At the end of the novel it is George who kills Lennie, which he does to spare him from the merciless death that he would have experienced from the other men on the ranch. However, this means that George has also given up his dream of living in a perfect world.

Key events for George:

  • George and Lennie run away from weed in order to save Lennie
  • Where George says that ' If i was alone i could live so easy.' Which means that Lennie is a burden to George and also that George has dreams of a better life.
  • He kills Lennie to save him from a brutal death.

Lennie

  • Lennie is a more innocent and vulnerable character. He doesnt go through any significant changes throughout the novel and stays pretty much the same character; he loves to pet soft things, is devoted to George and idea of owning a farm and is unaware of the incredible strength he posesses, which leads to his death at the end of the novel.
  • The fact that Lennie is a helpless and defenseless character in the sense of being unable to avoid the dangers presented by Curley, his…

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