Of Mice and Men Essay

    John Steinbeck’s novella “Of Mice And Men” follows George and Lennie, two migrant workers in California, With a dream of owning their own little place and “livin of the fatta the land.” With Lennie’s misunderstood mental problem, George and Lennie have many problems just surviving, let alone getting that little piece of land.

Thesis: The Central conflict in the story “of mice and men” is Character -vs- Society, with Lennie being the character. Nobody really understands Lennie. They just think he’s stupid, when in actuality, he has a mental condition. Society has not yet learned about these mental conditions, so they don’t understand that he has no control over his strength. He has the mind of a child, and he doesn’t even understand himself.

    In this quote, Lennie is talking to Crooks in the barn, and Lennie starts talking about rabbits. “‘You’re nuts,’ said Crooks. ‘You’re crazy as a wedge. What rabbits you talkin’ about?’ ‘The rabbits we’re gonna get, and I get to tend ‘em, cut grass an’ give ‘em water. an’ like that.’ ‘Jus’ nuts,’ said Crooks. ‘I don’t blame the guy you travel with for keepin’ you outa sight.’” (pg 69) Crooks doesn’t know that Lennie isn’t insane, he’s mentally challenged. When Lennie starts talking about rabbits, he always gets a trance-like obsession with them, and all he can talk about is them for the next minute or so. Since he has a mind like a little kid, he has a need to touch things... something most people grow out of, but alas, Lennie did not.
    Here, Lennie wanted ketchup, but they didn’t have any, but he kept asking anyways. Then George said...“‘Well we ain’t got any,’ George exploded. ‘Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty, if i was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble.’” (pg 11) Although George is just one character, he pretty much makes up most of Lennie’s “society.” Lennie keeps getting them in trouble, and George keeps saving their butts. They can’t keep a job, and this again points to the thesis, because most of the problems come from Lennie’s mental problem.
    Here, everybody starts chasing Lennie because he accidentally killed Curley’s wife (who never gets a name!,) and George finds him. “And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. ... The group burst into the clearing, and Curley was ahead. He saw Lennie lying on the sand. ‘Got him, by God.’” (pg 106 and 107) Now, George didn’t do this to bring justice or anything, he actually did it to spare Lennie. Almost everybody was in a near mob, and more than one of them had an intent to kill Lennie. They would have ripped him apart. George shot him in a place that kills instantly, with no pain. Society, and when you think about it even Lennie, didn’t know or understand Lennie’s strength.
    All in all, Lennie’s disability made him incredibly strong, but made it so he never developed the brains to use them. Society didn’t know or even come close to understanding  this, and blamed Lennie for it all, as if he had control over him how he had developed.