However, in order to prevent any assumption that one man was ‘better’ than the other, Steinbeck disintegrates the concept of hierarchy straight away as he details the things George and Lennie have in common, all of which the book refers to clothing and possessions; such as them being “dressed in denim trousers and denim coats with brass buttons”, and having “black, shapeless hats” and “tight blanket rolls slung over their shoulders”. Through their similarities being possessions and clothing, Steinbeck shows that both men are completely equal in circumstance and situation, escalating attention on and the significance of their physical and mental differences.
Steinbeck continues this with detailed and highly contrasting descriptions of the two men. He first describes the leader (George) using words such as “small and quick”, “slender” and “sharp”. These words Steinbeck uses doesn’t create an image of a traditional leader to the reader, a fact which is compounded with the description of a “huge man” with “wide, sloping shoulders” (who’d the reader assume to be the leader), as his follower. Steinbeck does this to indicate that there is an alternative reason why the leader leads the follower other than the traditional way of the pack, following the strongest member. It is evident that although Lennie is bigger and stronger of the two, he is content to follow a man who less able than him (physically). The reason behind this is indicated to the reader in the description of Lennie’s gait, “he walked heavily, dragging his feet…His arms did not swing at his sides, but hung loosely”- we as readers can infer that there is something odd about Lennie.
The first spoken word in the novella carries significance as it’s a criticizing exclamation of “Lennie!” from George. It begins the tone for the section, maybe even for the entire book. Furthermore, Steinbeck presents their relationship in some cases to be a father and son like relationship-George being the father and Lennie the son. This can be seen in the quote, “’Lennie, for God’ sakes don’t
-drink so much.’ Lennie continued to snort into the pool…’Lennie. You gonna be sick like you was last night.’” Immediately, when Lennie is drinking too much water from the green pool, George orders Lennie to stop, because like a father he cares for Lennie, and also, as the water is green, George suspects that it is unhealthy water and may be infected with diseases. Alternatively, George may have stopped him because they are on their way to get a potential job on a ranch, but their only certainty is Lennie (as he is very strong) being fit to work, which is why George as a father-like is trying to keep Lennie safe from any illnesses.
In addition, George has a distrusting relationship with Lennie by the river, “‘I ain’t sure it’s good water,’ he said. ‘Looks kinda scummy.’” When George replies to Lennie when he says ‘Tha’s good’ (water), and George replies that he’s not too sure, it suggests that the two do not trust each other; mainly because from George’s perspective the water is dirty and Lennie would drink anything would it be clean or dirty (‘You’d drink out of a gutter if you was thirsty.’). So the different mentality state consequences in an untrusting relationship, as they cannot trust each other if George should drink water or Lennie stop drinking. Although it is a minor issue, they both still have their doubts in each other in this situation.
George and Lennie need each other after their escape from Weeds to get their new job. The following point is George telling Lennie to not say anything whilst confronting the new boss, “We’re gonna go in an’ see the boss. Now, look-I’ll give him the work tickets, but you ain’t gonna say a word. You jus’ stand there and don’t say nothing. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won’t get no job, but if he sees ya work before he hears ya talk, we’re set.” Evidently from the extract, we can tell that George doesn’t want Lennie to speak to the boss when they meet him, because Lennie might say something stupid which may lose them the job, which is why he needs George as he will speak on behalf of Lennie as he is not a very good speaker. George needs Lennie because Lennie is a really attractive worker to bosses i.e. he is really strong and does physical work really well, so they are likely to hire Lennie, however, the two are like ‘a package’, one doesn’t come separately, the boss has to get both of them, or none. So having each other in a mutualistic relationship will ensure that they get the job, as long as they do what the other tells them to do.
As well as having each other to get a job, George and Lennie have each other as a companion, differing themselves from other ranch workers. This can be seen in the following extract, “Guys like us, that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world…They got nothing to look ahead to…with us it ain’t like that. We got a future…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you.” From the extract, we can infer that George and Lennie are not typical ranch workers, and that they are living up to their dream. From the quote ‘They got nothing to look ahead to’, it suggests that ranch workers are not worthy people; expendable because they have no aims or friends. But because George and Lennie have each other, they can get their dream. The impact on the reader will be that they will feel good for the pair if they manage to get their dream in the future, and that they are better ranch workers than typical ones, due to the fact they have each other as a companion.
