Idealized Friendships

Of Mice and Men has brought on and challenged customs and stereotypes in the society that Steinbeck was familiar with, yet disagreed with. Relationships seem to be the central idea that many novels centre around, as they are relatable to the majority of reader, however Of Mice and Men is far from a love story.

George and Lennie are clearly the protagonists in this novella, and we can view their relationship in different ways. We understand that Lennie is quite child-like mentally, so George acts as a father figure to Lennie. This suggests that the relationship may be a ‘forced’ one, which is supported by the fact that George promised Lennie’s Aunt Clara that he’d look after him. In parts of the novella, we understand that George gets quite fed up with Lennie and that he wished he didn’t have to look after him. Could we assume that there is an element of neglect in the relationship. Of course George looks after Lennie, but Lennie is too oblivious to understand that George is only looking after Lennie because he has to; not because he necessarily wants to. At the end of the novella, we see George walk away with Slim, which is seen to be the start of a whole new friendship. Sometimes we stop and wonder ‘why Lennie?.’ There must be a reason other than voluntarily looking after him that makes George want to stick by him?

We could also assume that not only does George feel responsible for taking care of Lennie, but he may also feel sorry for him. There are moments in the book where, even if Lennie has done something he shouldn’t, we still feel sympathy towards him as we know ‘he ain’t mean.’ His actions don’t usually have the same intention as the outcome, and therefore we join George in feeling sorry for him. George, however, is the one that can help Lennie. He loses his temper in parts of the book, but when Lennie screws up the most, George does the right thing and keeps calm. He does this for the sake of Lennie, not himself; proving that he is selfless in his relationship with Lennie.

Aside from the reasons associated with responsibility, its also important to acknowledge the essence within their relationship that gives a sense of comfortability. George says "But you get used to goin' around with a guy an' you can't get rid of him." At first we may assume that this again may come across as George being fed up and maybe even trapped, but understanding the value of George and Lennie's relationship, we can gather from this that this could be what Steinbeck's outlooks are on friendships. True friendships should not require immense amounts of effort and dedication to work. He might just be suggesting that friendships that really work are ones that are effortless and that you just get used to them. 

So, if Steinbeck is suggesting that working relationships should require minimum effort, can this be applied to Curley and Curley's wife? It seems clear that these two do not love each other, and never have done. Marriage is supposed to be the unity of two people, but instead, this marriage is the most distant in the whole novella. Its quite sad to think that the only marriage present in Of Mice and Men is made up of two of the loneliest people. Yet, Curley and his wife are using more energy to pretend that they even like each other, which agrees with Steinbeck's idea that relationships that work are ones that are undemanding and natural, rather than rigid and uneasy. 

But what about those who are not in a relationship? Slim and Carlson suggest that they are fine without being in a commitment like George & Lennie or Curley & his wife, and its Slim that quotes "maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other." Steinbeck suggests here that despite all the connections and relations people have, theres always going to be a lingering element of doubt. Whether it be in trust, in emotions, in safety. We could even go as far as to say that Steinbeck is portraying our world as a dangerous place, and that we shouldn't feel safe. Slim sees the good in George and Lennie's relationship, which battles against the waves of loneliness, but in the end, everyone ends up being lonely.

So if everyone is in 1960s America were lonely, why didn't they do something about it? This question that runs through my mind is one that cannot have only one answer. I think about George and Lennie's friendship as the centre of hope in the book, maybe Steinbeck's view of an epitome of relationships. Their life is orbited by false hope and broken dreams, and the negative environment they live in makes their friendship more of a struggle. In some ways, I imagine that Steinbeck is trying to tell us that this one friendship in a world of solitude was not enough to turn it around, but he could be suggesting that the world needs more people like George, and Lennie especially, to bring the optimism that it lacks in.

The Great Depression contributed to this also, but it seems as though George and Lennie weren't as heavily stricken by this as the others. Therefore, Steinbeck may be suggesting that the Great Depression only affected the people who let it affect them, therefore destroying relationships as well as peoples mental state. Steinbeck may be showing that relationships are non physical treasures that should be a higher value than money; at this time, there was also the Wall Street Crash which caused a lot of people to lose a lot of money. Despite this unfortunate time in America, Steinbeck may be portraying that the American Dream shouldn't be that you must work hard and earn a lot of money. Maybe he's suggesting that this dream should be centred around personal satisfaction of life; by social success, not by wealth.

On the other end of the spectrum, Steinbeck may be using George and Lennie's friendship to show the audience that in this time of economic crisis and national stress, your downfall would have been a lot heavier if you even tried to work your way up in the first place. All the other characters are sustained at the bottom, where they work enough to pay to live, and don't strive for anything more than enough to eat and a bed to sleep in. But they maintain this position. From what we know, they have decided to sit a the foot of the ladder, and are safe there; they can't fall any lower than where they are now, therefore do not have to endure anything harsher than what life has already thrown at them. With George and Lennie, they've had hope, and for a moment, even George started to believe in being able to buy a 'little place' where Lennie could 'tend the rabbits.' Although Lennie's life ends with this paradise in mind, George is left with the certainty that it will never happen, and unfortunately lost his companion as well. The fall from being close to buying their own place down to reality would have been shocking for George, despite the reaction he displayed on the outside. Steinbeck may have been suggesting that in this harsh world, it's safer to go alone to avoid inevitable disappointment. It became clear in Of Mice and Men that, despite the elements of happiness George had along the way, in the end, the people that ended up the happiest were those who accepted their loneliness.