Why do George and Lennie travel together?

Lennie is very different to George, although there are some similarities in their personalities. While George is quick thinking, Lennie is mentally very slow. Today it is likely he would e considered to have learning difficulties. Lennie is quite cunning, and I think that he comes across as more stupid than he is. Lennie knows George well and knows what to say to him. In the first part where they are in the clearing, he says, "George, you want I should go away and leave you alone...If you don' want me I can go off in the hills an find a cave. I can go away any time." Lennie knows this will provoke a reaction from George and will make George act more kindly toward him. He is also very childlike and is frequently compared to animals during the text, he has animal strength but also an animal innocence. A summary of the book says, "George becomes Lennie's defender - protecting him from others and himself." Lennie definitely needs a protector and George is obviously a great friend to him. Lennie idolises George and memorizes nearly every word he says even though he remembers nothing else. Lennie does not even remember his Aunt Clara, referring to her as "that lady." Lennie is very loving and caring, especially towards George. I think that to some extent that George is holding Lennie back. As George has always 'fathered' Lennie he has not had much chance of independence. Lennie has caused trouble, with Weed being example but I believe that Lennie is more intelligent than he is given credit for.

Considering the differences between the two characters, it is clear why the boss is so suspicious of the way that George treats Lennie. George, being defensive of Lennie and their friendship says, "He got kicked in the head by a horse when he was a kid. He's awright. Just ain't bright. This shows that George is prepared to stick up for Lennie and take a bit of a risk, Lennie could have easily said that that had never happened. The boss thinks that George is taking some of Lennie's pay. The boss says, "Say what you sellin'?" and when George denies it, the boss seems confused saying "Well, I never seen one guy take so much trouble for another guy." This backs up an earlier comment made about how rare it was for men in this line of work to be travelling together.

The other guys on the ranch are almost separated from George and Lennie. They realise that George and Lennie have a strong friendship and leave them to it. The guys on the ranch socialise in a group and although Slim is a man who is greatly respected, there are no two people who share a special bond such as George and Lennie. Candy is especially lonely; all he has for company is his dog. The lives of all these men seem to be repetitive. They do the same things everyday, just working and "spending their fifty bucks at the end of the month." I think that Lennie is underestimated. He is someone who always tries his best and does what he feels is right. I think that they think he is kind, caring, and hardworking even though he is mentally slow. Lennie tries to keep himself to himself in the bunkhouse though this is mainly down to George keeping him separate to avoid trouble. With George, it is slightly hard to tell what the other guys think. Slim certainly respects George, after listening to what happened in Weed. They don't really try to talk to him that much overall and I think that they just want to be friendly without getting too close to him.

A factor to consider when answering this question is what George gets out of the friendship. He says to Slim "We kind look after each other" and he says that Lennie makes him look good. We also know that George promised Lennie's Aunt Clara that he would look after Lennie well. The real reason is that without Lennie George would be lonely and this is why at the end of the novel George appears to haven lost as much as Lennie has when he shoots him. In a way, Lennie was George's life, like a son.

I think that the friendship is not as unusual as the other characters in the text make out. The two both give each other something and however different they are, consider the cliché "opposites attract." They both depend on each other and their friendship is one of strength, loyalty, and respect. They both realise what the other means to them and they know that what they have between them is virtually unheard of. Lennie cling to George's every word and admires him immensely. They both know when they have pushed their luck with one another and sense each other feelings.

I think they travel together because they don't really know what to do otherwise. I guess they have been friends since childhood and being together is just a runtime thing now. Neither of them would have much of a purpose and they would be just like other migrant workers "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world...With us it ain't like that." They are friends and rely on each other to look out for the other.