In the novel 'Of Mice and Men' how important is the need for companionship to the characters?

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In the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’ how important is the need for companionship to the characters?

To answer this question we need to look at the characters in the novel as individuals.

    In chapter one, we meet George and Lennie. George is a small man who is fairly intellectual, and Lennie is the complete opposite. Lennie has a tall and stocky build, with the intelligence of a small child.

    George and Lennie share a companionship; they travel around and work together. Lennie is a hassle to George, especially when he keeps getting into trouble and causing both him and George to be fired from their place of work. Although Lennie is a hassle, George seems to need Lennie. He likes Lennie’s companionship and having someone to talk to. The same as Lennie needs George, without George, Lennie would not be able to look after himself very well.

    Lennie has grown affectionate towards George, probably looking up to him as an older brother. Whatever George asks Lennie will do, and Lennie seems to play on the fact that he knows George will never want him to leave. “If you don’t want me, you only jus’ got to say so, and I’ll go off in those hills right there-right up in those hills and live by myself. An’ I won’t get no mice stole from me.”                

    In the story people tended to think that the reason why George and Lennie travelled around together, was because George was taking advantage of Lennie as Lennie is not very intelligent. A prime example of this was when George and Lennie met their boss. “I said what stake you got in this guy? You takin’ his pay away from him?”

    In the 1930’s to the 1940’s it was very unusual to see two men travelling and working together, especially ranch men. “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place.”

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   George and Lennie had a dream; they wanted to buy their own little farm and not have to work for someone else ever again. Later on in the story others hear about the dream and want to join in on it. Creating friendships, a relationship that normally would not have normally occurred between men on a ranch in the time period that the story was set in.

   In the second chapter of the novel George and Lennie find work on a ranch, and we meet some new characters. These characters seem lonely too; none of them have relatives ...

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