Anger and Violence Portrayed in Of Mice and Men.

frustration, as he goes on to talk about how he could do “Whatever the hell ” he liked if Lennie wasn’t around. “I could get my 50 bucks at the end of the month and go sit in a cat house and enjoy myself, but no, I’m stuck with you”. George is almost saying the Lennie is a burdon to him, that because of Lennie he can’t do what HE wants , yet he is always expected to get Lennie what he wants instead. Like a parent would do with its child, or a owner with its pet. This is the reason for the anger George portrays at Lennie, the frustration of not getting what he would like for a change.The first glimpse at violence in this novel is when Lennie is attacked by Curley, the son of the Ranch owner where George and Lennie went to work. Lennie is punched by Curley because Curley thought Lennie was laughing at him, when infact he was laughing at the thought of tending the rabbits on a little plot o land him and George where gonna get. Yet again Lennie is persecuted for his innocence. Perhaps not only for the fact that Lennie was laughing, but “Curley hates big guys, being  a little guy”. Ever since George and Lennie arrived on the ranch ,Curley has had a mean spot for Lennie. Curley likes to think he is the unspoken boss around the workers, and the arrival of a strong , very tall man is a threat almost to Curley. This could have been the bigger reason for Curley punching Lennie. The anger envoked by Lennie is almost because of jealousy in Curleys case, jealousy of not being as big and as strong as Lennie is. Jealousy leads to envy, and envy leads to hate, and hatred leads to indecent actions, which in this case is the attack on Lennie. So without meaning harm , Lennie again has envoked anger in a person.Another main instance of anger is when Lennie is invited into Crooks’ room. Crooks is a negro that works on the ranch permanantly, he shares his room with no-one. Crooks gets talking to Lennie. George is currently out in the town with the other ranch workers, enjoying his money at a cat house. Crooks realises this, and in tinge of jealously starts teasing Lennie that George might not come back from the cat house. “What if George dont come back, what you do then huh?”. Lennie gets very worried about this, this worry soon turns to anger however. Like a dog that is being threatened he starts to advance on Crooks , angrily asking “What have you done with George?” Crooks realises then the Lennie is not like normal people and quickly amends to clam him down, reassuring him that George will come back. Lennie straight away forgets the matter and resumes his dreams of “tending the rabbits”. His innocence again is shown. Like a child who had its dummie taken away then given back to it he calms down straight away and resumes his passive mood. Unlike a child however he possesses great strength, perhaps a better analogy would be a grizzly bear who had its salmon stolen from it then returned. Throughout the story there is many , many instances of anger, but I have tried to keep the main instances. In conclusion, Lennie is often the cause and fuel of the characters anger, mostly indirectly. Lennie himself behaves like an animal would. He angers for aslong as he thinks he is going to lose something, but asoon as he is reassured his anger dissipates completely. By Kerry Byrne