Of Mice and Men Brotherhood Essay

Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guy cables in the world. They got no family. They bustt belong no place. . . . With us it aint like that (Steinbeck, 15). As we follow Lennie and George on their journey towards what they consider to be the ambitiousness smell, the hearing comes to learn along with the characters that dreams are not all theyre cracked up to be and sometimes the most rewarding goal in life is one which has already been achieved. The two main characters in the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck are poor farm workers who hope to one solar day own their own farm and become self-sufficient. What they never realize is that the most important thing they can ever have is each other. Despite their biyearly quarrels, Lennie and George share a connection comparable to that of brothers and a love so profound it ultimately costs Lennie his life, leaving George with the reality he never proverb before that were he not so caught up in a frivolous end game, he would have seen that he had already found something worth liveness for in his large, clumsy companion.George often has a hard time coping with Lennie and the problems his disability causes for the two of them regarding work and living situations. He tells Lennie, You cant progress a job and you lose me ever job I get. Jus keep me shovin all over the country all the time. An that aint the worst. You get in trouble. You do bad things and I got to get you out. You crazy son-of-a-bitch. You keep me in hot water all the time (12). George rarely becomes as outwardly disoriented with Lennie as he is in this instance, but its snuff it in the way he talks to him throughout the book that he is easily thwart with having to look after someone else all the time, especially someone who unavoidably as a great deal care as Lennie does. Lennie doesnt seem to fully get wind this, or otherwise doesnt care much because he trusts George to stay with him whatever the trouble they come ac ross. Lennie often settles arguments by insisting, I didnt imply no harm, George. Though George is aggravated, he usually dish outs this apology to heart and forgives Lennie, making everything better.At the time that this book is set, people didnt know very much about mental handicaps or their effects. A common solution, then, for someone with a mental disability would be to put them in an asylum. This fact is what makesit so clear that George loves Lennie, even if he doesnt always express it the way in the reader may think he should. When Lennies aunty Clara dies, George makes a obligation to her that he will take care of Lennie. However, because Aunt Clara is dead, George has no real obligation. Morally, he may feel guilty, but most characters in his situation would take care of Lennie by handing him off to a professional. Instead of taking this approach, George takes Lennie under his own ad hominem care in fellowship to honor his promise to Aunt Clara and keep a closer watc h over him. This is where Georges almost familial love for Lennie first becomes apparent in the story line. Further along in the book, Georges feeling of obligation for taking care of Lennie progresses even more.When Candy tells him, I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldnt ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog (67), George understands that sometimes the best way to protect someone you love is by hurting them first before anyone else gets the chance to. This change between Candy and George is an example of foreshadowing to the end of the book, when George shoots Lennie to save him from the mob of angry workers. It seems to the reader as if George should be doing everything in his power to continue to felled seam Lennie from the people who want to hurt him, but he realizes that the thing which is hurting Lennie the most is Lennie himself.Just like Candys dog, Lennie aint got zero left for him (52) and the best way to protect him from all the bad things in the worl d is to take him straight out of it. even out after killing Lennie, George has this pacify silence about him, a sign of respect and reverence for the man he has spent almost his whole life bonding with and looking after. Even if he never outwardly says it, George loves Lennie like his own family. The closest he ever comes to admitting this fact is right before he shoots Lennie and he consoles him by saying, I aint mad. I never been mad, an I aint now. Thats a thing I want ya to know (117). And despite his seem ignorance toward the subject, its clear that Lennie understands George loves him as much as he has always loved George.The tragedy in this ultimate display of brotherly love is that it comes to a fault little too late. Instead of seeing the good he has in front of him all along, George doesnt realize until the situation is out of his control near how lucky he was to have Lennie in his company. All he can really see in thefuture is his big dream of their own abode with lo ts of farm land and animals to look after, living off the fatta the lan with no worries or cares. This goal almost seems attainable when Candy mentions all the notes he has saved up and George becomes blind-sided by the possibility of his dream coming true so much sooner than he had imagined. In this, he loses survey of what is really important to him, which is Lennie. He forgets how Lennie is and lets go just long enough for Lennie to get himself into trouble for the very last time.This time, Lennie has actually killed a woman and done something George cant fix for him and every hope hes ever had goes out the window with the loss of his best mavin and pseudo-brother. You hadda, George. I swear you hadda (18). The irony and tragedy in this observation made by Slim is that while George did ultimately have to shoot Lennie himself in order to save him further suffering, this would not have been the case were he not too caught up in his own foolish daydreams to see life as it was hap pening around him.I think at the end George fully realizes this. And though Lennies death is not entirely his fault, he feels responsible and modest by the experience. Its easy for the reader to infer that due to this traumatic experience, it is likely that George will never fully recover and never reach that dream by himself, regardless of his probable hatred of the idea. It is hard for the reader to find it likely that George would still want to pursue this goal without Lennie by his side as he has always been. George has learned too late that the thing he packed the most in life was not independence or personal property or anything material at all, but a friend for life.Spose you didnt have nobody A guy needs somebody to be near him A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody. Dont make no difference who the guy is, long as hes with you. I tell ya (80). As George and Lennies connection becomes more profound throughout the book, the reader has no survival of the fittest but to also become attached to their relationship. Having a goal is a comforting thought, but when it comes down to it, it really is true that in life, all you need is love.