Following George's description, there is a considerable amount of contrast when it comes to describing Lennie, "a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide, sloping shoulders." He is metaphorically compared to a bear, dragging his feet and his arms hanging loosely. Being compared to animal shows that he obviously has animal features, possibly mentally as well as physically, so he may not be as psychologically advanced as the average man of his time.
After a relatively in-depth description of the two main characters of the novel, the reader is informed of their first actions, other that walking. From the line, "The first man stopped short in the clearing, and the follower nearly ran over him.” we begin to realize Lennie's state of mind. He appears to be quite slow and simple, and unaware of his surroundings (all of which are reflected later on in the novel), whereas George "wiped the sweat-band with his forefinger and snapped the moisture off.” who, in comparison with Lennie, seems very alert and upbeat.
The analogy of George being the parent or master, and Lennie being the child or animal is developed when Lennie "dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool." He does this without any regard to the consequences, just catering for his primary needs, as does an animal or a child. As George sees Lennie drinking the impure water of the pool, he immediately tries to stop him, not out of spite, but to protect him from being ill again. If a parent sees their child putting itself in danger, then they would do anything to prevent this from happening. Lennie then asks George to try the water, but when he refuses at first, George obviously doesn't trust Lennie.
I said earlier that Lennie appeared to be slow and simple; this is mirrored when Lennie asked George where they were going. He is seemingly forgetful, as is shown when George answers, "So you forgot awready, did you? I gotta tell you again, do I? Jesus Christ, you're a crazy bastard!" This is a classic example of George loosing his temper with Lennie, as he does throughout Of Mice and Men, but as always, he ends up being the one who apologizes for getting mad.
While Lennie has his hands in his pockets, George notices him take something out, which is later revealed to be a dead mouse; we find out that he wanted to pet it while they walked along. This is of a very high significance with the novel as a whole, as it shows that he likes to feel things that are soft and smooth. Through George's anecdote of their the actions that took place up north in Weed, the reader learns about their motive for leaving their neighborhood; Lennie was suspected of rape after feeling a girl's dress. He didn't mean any harm by it, but he didn’t realize what he was doing, just feeling some material. This is repeated when Lennie has an encounter with Curley's wife, for he only meant to stoke her hair, but ended up breaking her neck. Lennie doesn't know his own strength and ends up causing a lot of trouble, with horrific consequences.
"God, you're a lot of trouble. I could get along so easy and so nice if I didn't have you on my tail. I could live so easy and maybe have a girl." These words, or words to this effect, are continuously repeated all the way through the book. If ever something goes wrong, even if it has nothing to do with Lennie, George still blames Lennie for all his troubles. However, George would by no means be any better off without Lennie, probably even worse off. He would be extremely lonely, as he has been traveling with Lennie and spent a large portion of his life with him; he doesn't seem to realize how good a friendship they have, because there aren't many migrant workers who live like this, as we learn from Carlson later on in the novel. Furthermore, whenever George imagines his life according to the 'American Dream', Lennie is with him and they are content together; if they were separated, his hopes and dreams of living with Lennie on their own ranch, "livin' off the fatta the lan'", would be shattered. However, Lennie recognizes this, and he stirs things by saying that he could just go off and live in a cave in the mountains. This makes George feel as though he's being mean, and forces him to apologies.
George asks Lennie to familiarize himself with the pool area so that if he gets in trouble, this is where he should stay for a while to hide. In my opinion, this area reflects the relationship of the two men. "On the one side of the river the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan Mountains, but on the valley side the water is lined with trees." There are times in their relationship where they tend to get mad at each other, which mirrors the mountain side, but a huge portion mirrors the peaceful trees and greenery opposite. Furthermore, the area appears as being untouched by man. This reflects greatly the bond between George and Lennie, for no matter how much other people try to meddle in with their relationship (e.g. Crooks, Curley's wife), they still remain just as they have been for the whole of their lives together.
To conclude, there is a vast variety in the methods which Steinbeck used to present these characters and their relationship. He does not just give a list of adjectives, but explains to us the most important details through encouraging the reader to read between the lines. Steinbeck does this through the use of setting and plot to reflect their hidden emotions, and by the extremity of imagery to truly make the reader empathize with the characters. Section 1 is the most important section in the novel, in my opinion, as everything that comes later in the story has some significance to what we learn from the opening. The presentation of the characters and their relationship tells us so much about what is bound to happen, almost predicting what they will do and say, for we are given such a great insight to the way they work, just in the very beginning of Of Mice and Men.