Lennie Small is the central character in the novel, ‘Of Mice and Men’ Essay

Lennie Sm all told is the central voice in the novel, Of Mice and Men. The the Statesn trick Steinbeck wrote the story provided ab place(predicate) Ranch conduct in the 1930s. Lennie is perhaps the most arouse character in the novel. He is good-hearted and even loveable, mayhap because he himself is so keen to show affection. T here is a considerable part of Lennie that means no harm, however he is definitely non harmless. He is both vill personal and victim, feel for and destructive. He is complicated, even contradictory.At the sentence the novel was published the Ameri stomach commonplace market on Wall bridle-path crashed catastrophically. This led to a massive economical depression in the 1930s when change magnitude mechanisation was driving agricultural labourers pip the land. California was choice with official and drumhead refugee camps. Drought and over- farthermostming were reducing the amount of deep land. This meant owners in Oklahoma and Arkansas were freeing bankrupt and banks were repossessing their land. Banks themselves were collapsing and all of it was worse if you were black. America was relieve a highly racialist and segregated society.The Ameri keep Dream was dead. distress and starvation stalked California and early(a) stricken states. Migrants were worst of, in that respect were no unions to protect workers, the bosses held on to their own wealth. The plentiful stayed rich and the poor stayed poor. There was no more unclaimed land, striking meretricious was extremely r be and wages were so low no nonpareil could dedicate to save any of their money. Many state in society didnt make believe jobs thither was a 30% unemployment rate. E really(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal)one was piteous and everyone just wished to have a better quality of career.The whole worldly concern was a mess. The depression affected atomic number 63 economically too. And politically, Europe was slowly go into chaos, espec ially because of the rise in fascism in Germany, Italy and Spain. In 1937, when Steinbeck wrote Mice and Men civil struggle broke out in Spain in an attempt to suppress fascism. The Nazis were in reason in Germany and becoming increasingly repressive, humanness war two was non far off.Although Steinbecks novel isnt almost any of these things specifically, in a manhood filling with chaos and economic depression, here was story that almost everyone could identify with. So unsurprisingly it sold, and sold, and soldLennie is a huge fully grown man, single if he is withal very child bid. He is a brilliant bring out labourer because he is a sinewy man with huge hands. He may grown up physically unless he hasnt grown up mentally, as slip away down says, hes jes like a kid. Lennie is innocent, and doesnt rattling know how to behave he asks a lot of innocent questions. Slim says he slew see immediately that Lennie aint mean. Lennie does not come a recollective interested in other people, unconnected from beautiful women. He takes orders from George, and he can besides take orders from Slim just about petting his new whelp. It is put one across that Lennie doesnt want to disobey anyone or do anything wrong.He takes orders and can slave a way, like a machine. He is a very useful person for George to have teamed up with, because hell earn loads of cash. Curleys wife calls Lennie a dumdum. Earlier, Slim says he bes a bit of a cuckoo- crazy. alone George chop-chop denies it- Lennie is very slow but hes not insane. However, when we see what Lennie does during the sort of the novel, you begin to wonder. He is subject to fierce fits and may be mentally ill, but these things werent properly diagnosed back then.Lennie identifies with animals he looks like a bear, and walks like one he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. He also eats and drinks like a thirsty(p) animal.He slavers and drools over beautiful women (e .g. Curleys wife). It seems like he cant control approximately of his animal instincts. Since childishness he has befriended animals before people and it has to be cuddly animals. His aunt Clara used to hold him mice to play with.He is stubborn and very possessive over his animals, for example, over his mice, his give birthpy and his day-dream of black marketing his own rabbits. He never wants to let the animals we see him with out of hissight. But he is not very good at deceiving George he knows whenever Lennies got one hidden in his rise or in his pocket. Lennie is incessantly on the lookout for a pet, a mouse, a rabbit, a puppy or maybe a purty woman.Lennie loves tame and friendly animals, thats mostly what he is himself, tame and friendly. The pay back of his new brown and white pup allows him to handle the others -she put one overt care. She lets me. Animals seem unusually comfortable and unthreatened by him.However, there is another side to this obsession with anim als. Hes also got a virile animals sex drive. This expresses itself in his desire to stroke soft things, the noblewoman in Weeds dress and Curleys wife hair, for example. This seems sexual, but Lennies not mature enough to understand it. In both cases, whatever the motivation, the consequences were very bad.Lennie is open on George in both organic structure and mind. George has virtually adopted him after Aunt Clara died. Lennie couldnt survive on his own. He has none of the independence or hard-nosed skills of most adults. He wouldnt be able to sort out pabulum and shelter for himself. This is despite his repeated passport of going of on his own and aliment in a cave. In some ways he is animal-like but he probably wouldnt survive a week out in the wild.George is the only person to stimulate Lennies mind, filling it with the dream of owning and farming their own land. Lennie is, in a way, addicted to this vision beseeching with George to tell him about it whenever he gets the chance. He gets himself into scrapes and he take George to tell him about it whenever he gets the chance. He gets himself into scrapes and he needs George to get him out of them like with Curley. Hed probably have been lynched or locked up years ago if George hadnt stepped in. George is his parent, his brother, his guardian and his friend. He always there for him. George knows Lennie inside out. Lennie cant keep secrets from him, like hiding mice in his pockets. peradventure this isnt surprising Lennie has been with him for a long time, he has been independent on him for a long time.Lennie does however, give something in return, he is a good worker, he can do the work of two men. This is very useful for George. It helps them get and keep work, until Lennie mucks it all up.Lennie is also a killer. This is one of the describe things in the whole novel. The gentlest man is also the most destructive. He is dangerous, and a hostile killer. He attacks Curley, Curleys wife, kills mic e and throws his pup onto the vitamin B floor in anger. He is not intentionally despiteful. He doesnt want to cause pain, when he fights Curley hes actually encouraged by George rile im Lennie Lennie actually says afterwards he didnt wanta hurt him.Lennie has little self-restraint. He does everything in extremes. Hes liable to scourge when someone else does, with Curley wife. In these panic attacks things tend to happen too jerkyly, one elegant hes stroking Curleys wifes hair, the next hes broken her neck. And even George cant get him to stop devastating Curleys hand. This is the tragedy of Lennies life friendliness turns to aggression. As George says he dont know no rules. But Lennies aggression is innocent, whats what makes it divergent from the others.Like others on the farm, Lennie is doomed to failure. Although his browse violence is often unintended it still gets into trouble. For example, holding that girls dress in Weed, squashing mice and the puppy, and cleansing Curleys wife. According to George Lennie is not malicious but he dont know no rules. But Lennie has sudden fits of anger, like when he hurled the puppy across the barn and he killed it. This suggests Lennie is not sort of as innocent and blameless as George says he is. People pick on Lennie because he is stupid. Curley picks on him from the moment they meet. As does the boss, Curleys wife and Crooks. His stupidity gets in him constant trouble. Because he cant think for himself, he snuff its by his senses. Thats partly where the stroking comes in. he knows it feels nice, he doesnt wonder why, he just does it.In the novel names are often symbolic. Steinbeck uses names to drop hints about the characters. Lennies surname is Small. Carlson makes a pleasantry about it. But although he is huge height-wise, Lennie is fairly small in the brains department, so in a way it is not so ironic.Lennie is a complex, contradictory character. He is a large stupid, violent, strong, childish man who is very animal like. He always travels with George, he may be turgid and strong but it is very clear he is very slow. His main dream in life is to tend the rabbits and live off the fatta the lan.