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

Lennie Small is the central character in the clean, Of Mice and work force. The American John Steinbeck wrote the story about Ranch sprightliness in the 1930s. Lennie is perhaps the about interesting character in the novel. He is wantable and crimson loveable, maybe because he himself is so keen to show affection. T here is a huge secern of Lennie that means no harm, however he is definitely not harmless. He is both villain and victim, caring and destructive. He is complicated, even contradictory.At the time the novel was published the American stock market on Wall Street crashed catastrophically. This led to a massive economic depression in the 1930s when change magnitude mechanisation was driving agricultural labourers off the land. California was filling with official and unofficial refugee camps. Drought and over-farming were reducing the amount of fertile land. This meant owners in Oklahoma and atomic number 18 were going bankrupt and banks were repossessing their land. B anks themselves were collapsing and all of it was worse if you were black. America was still a highly racist and segregated society.The American Dream was dead. Poverty and starvation stalk California and other stricken states. Migrants were worst of, there were no unions to protect workers, the bosses held on to their own wealth. The rich stayed rich and the poor stayed poor. There was no to a greater extent unclaimed land, striking gold was extremely rare and wages were so low no genius could afford to save any of their money. Many slew in society didnt have jobs there was a 30% unemployment rate. E in reality(prenominal)one was suffering and everyone just wanted to have a better quality of life.The solid world was a mess. The depression affected Europe economically too. And politically, Europe was slowly descending into chaos, especially because of the rise in fascism in Germany, Italy and Spain. In 1937, when Steinbeck wrote Mice and Men civil state of war broke out in S pain in an attempt to suppress fascism. The Nazis were inpower in Germany and becoming increasingly repressive, world war two was not far off.Although Steinbecks novel isnt about any of these things specifically, in a world 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 grown man, except he is also very childlike. He is a promising farm labourer because he is a powerful man with huge hands. He may grown up physically but he hasnt grown up mentally, as Slim says, hes jes like a kid. Lennie is innocent, and doesnt really spot how to behave he asks a administrate of innocent questions. Slim says he can see immediately that Lennie aint mean. Lennie does not seem interested in other people, unconnected from beautiful women. He takes orders from George, and he can also take orders from Slim about petting his new puppy. It is clear that Lennie doesnt want to disobey anyo ne or do anything wrong.He takes orders and can slave away, like a machine. He is a very useful person for George to have teamed up with, because hell accomplish loads of cash. Curleys wife calls Lennie a dumdum. Earlier, Slim says he seems a bit of a cuckoo- crazy. But George quickly denies it- Lennie is very slow but hes not insane. However, when we see what Lennie does during the course of the novel, you begin to wonder. He is subject to violent 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 hungry animal.He slavers and drools over beautiful women (e.g. Curleys wife). It seems like he cant control approximately of his animal instincts. Since childhood he has befriended animals before people and it has to be cuddly animals. His Aunt Clara used to give him mice to play with.He is stubborn and very possessive over his animals, for example, over his mice, his puppy and his dream of drawing 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 coat or in his pocket. Lennie is always 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 mother of his new brownish and white pup allows him to handle the others -she dont care. She lets me. Animals seem unusually comfortable and unthreatened by him.However, there is another side to this obsession with animals. Hes also got a male animals sex drive. This expresses itself in his desire to stroke soft things, the lady 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 mo tivation, the consequences were very bad.Lennie is dependent on George in both body and mind. George has virtually adopted him after Aunt Clara died. Lennie couldnt survive on his own. He has none of the independence or practical skills of most adults. He wouldnt be able to sort out food and shelter for himself. This is despite his repeated offer of going of on his own and living in a cave. In some ways he is animal-like but he belike wouldnt survive a week out in the wild.George is the only(prenominal) 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 pleading with George to tell him about it whenever he gets the chance. He gets himself into scrapes and he needs 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. Perhaps 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 key things in the whole novel. The gentlest man is also the most destructive. He is dangerous, and a violent killer. He attacks Curley, Curleys wife, kills mice and throws his pup onto the barn floor in anger. He is not intentionally malicious. He doesnt want to cause pain, when he fights Curley hes actually encouraged by George Get im Lennie Lennie actually says afterwards he didnt wanta hurt him.Lennie has little self-restraint. He does everythin g in extremes. Hes liable to panic when someone else does, with Curley wife. In these panic attacks things tend to happen too fulminantly, one minute hes stroking Curleys wifes hair, the next hes broken her neck. And even George cant get him to stop crushing 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 different from the others.Like others on the farm, Lennie is doomed to failure. Although his frequent violence is practically unintended it still gets into trouble. For example, prop that girls dress in Weed, squashing mice and the puppy, and killing 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 quite as innocent and blameless as George says he is. People cull on Lennie because he is s tupid. 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 lives 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 joke 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 big 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.