Lennie is physically well co-ordinated and is capable of doing repetitive manual jobs (bucking barley or driving a cultivator) with skill. This makes things a little easier for George to find them jobs. In chapter two George has to convince the boss to let them stay and work, he states that Lennie is “…strong as a bull” and is “…a god damn good worker”. However it is this strength that was the reason why they had to leave Weed. Lennie would not let go of a girl’s dress he wanted to pet because he panicked when the girl started to panic, which led to the pair leaving town under a rape charge.
Lennie is a massive, extremely strong man, but has the mind of a child. Slim is one of the first characters to notice this, remarking that Lennie is “jes’ like a kid” in chapter three when he brings in the day old pup to pet, he does not realise that the puppy will die if taken away from it’s mother for too long. Slim also states in this chapter that he could “…tell a mean guy a mile off” and that “he ain’t mean”. Lennie realises that he is as strong as a bull, but he can’t judge how much force to use for certain actions, that is why he kills his pets, when he only intends to pet them and play with them. The ability to judge one’s own strength is one of the first signs of maturity but Lennie doesn’t have this ability. Despite his obvious flaws he is amiable and friendly he doesn’t do any of the bad things he does on purpose.
The book begins and ends in the woods, which is beautiful, peaceful and disturbed only by the actions of men. The ranch and its buildings are in contrast to this in chapter two they are described as whitewashed walls and an unpainted floor. In chapter five just before Lennie accidentally kills Curley’s wife the barn was “… quiet and humming and lazy and warm” once again suggesting that even a glorious Sunday afternoon can be threatened by human actions. Everyone on the ranch is lonely one way or another. Steinbeck seems to show that it is a natural and inevitable result of the kind of life they are forced to lead. The travelling workers are caught in a trap of loneliness - they never stay in one place long enough to form permanent relationships, and even if they did any relationship would be destroyed by the way of life. George and Lennie have a companionship and trust in there relationship, even though Lennie is a burden to George he is not going to leave him as he realises that without Lennie he would have nothing, in his speech in the first chapter he states “guys like us…are the loneliest guys in the world…but not us…because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you…” which makes it almost unique among the ranch-hands. George confronts a great moral dilemma, and acts decisively, killing Lennie as a last act of friendship.
In conclusion Lennie is referred throughout the book as either a child or an animal, never an adult. He has the strength of a bull but the mind of a child. He loves to pet things and enjoys the feel of velvety smooth objects, like mice, puppies and Curley’s wife’s hair. This gets him into trouble in weed and also leads to destruction at the ranch. Lennie does not have the ability to judge his own strength and does not know how much force is appropriate. The ranch itself is a harsh place and the ranch-handlers are all very lonely searching for some form of relationship, against this, the relationship between George and Lennie is special they at least have each other to look out for. I don’t believe Lennie’s strength is his own worst enemy but that it is his inability to judge his strength, combined with his desire to pet things and Curley’s wife’s desire to be petted and admired which leads to Lennie’s inevitable death.