English 9
10 December 2012
Lennie has feelings
People have always had a need to interact with other people in order to feel appreciated and loved due to their inherent loneliness. Isolation from other humans or objects that reflect the same ideas and values, lead people to be unhappy and feel unworthy to interact within society. The theme of loneliness is prominent in the novel “Of Mice and Men” illustrated though the actions and characterization of Lennie. Throughout the story Lennie’s loneness is exemplified through his search for animal companionship due to his inability to relate with humans within the novel.
Throughout the novel, Lennie looked to women characters for companionship, however they all rejected him in some manner. During the novel Lennie is searching for someone understand him and he “reaches out to this red dress” (Steinbeck 41). The color red symbolizes love, and Lennie is drawn to that color of dress because of the emotions that he associates with it. The action of him reaching out to a red dress illustrates his desire for love and companionship towards anyone, even a complete stranger. Once he is touching the dress, “he holds on” and doesn’t let it go (41). Lennie is trying to hold onto something tangible to cure his loneliness and when the girl “sqwakes” for him to let go, he holds on even tighter because he is afraid of losing he chance for companionship (41). It is not the dress he doesn’t want to let go of, but the ideas of having someone that understands and appreciates him, which is his inherent right as a human being. When Curely’s wife tells Lennie that he is “nuts”, it illustrates her lack of compassion and understanding of towards Lennie. Her lack of understanding ultimately leads to he demise because of her inability to value Lennie’s need for companionship over her own. Women don’t want him because of his disability. Lennie’s lack of companionship from women causes him to feel unwanted and leads him to look for friendship form men within the novel. Other men look down upon Lennie due to his mental disability and are threatened by his size. Like when curley get mad at the people in the bunkhouse he searches for someone lower than him to get his anger So Curley slashes Lennie with his left (63). This symbolizes that Curley wants to display his manliness through fighting to try and makeup for his small size. Also Curley wants to fight because of Lennie’s mind capacity. He feels like he will show his dominance to other people if beats up someone bigger and stronger than him. George feels Lennie is inconvenience not a companion but he feel like he could “live so easy”(7). This symbolizes Lennie’s mental disability is a burden to George but George cant leave Lennie because he knows Lennie cant survive without him. So he is stuck with Lennie even if Lennie makes it a harder life for George. Near the end of the novel George shoes his true colors. He has built up all this frustration and anger with Lennie so he puts the barrel of the gun to back of Lennie’s head and “pulls the trigger”(106). The barrel to the back of Lennie’s head symbolizes that George doesn’t want to make any mistakes, so shoots Lennie in the back of head because Lennie would not survive and George wouldn’t have to deal with him anymore. Another reason he shoots Lennie and doesn’t let Curley shoot him is because he knew where