Essay, Research Paper: Of Mice And Men: Book Review, Power Of Camradeship

Of Mice and Men: Book Review, Power
of Comradeship


Some people say that there is nothing more important, more powerful than
friendship. The comradeship of two or three or many is priceless. What is the point of
going through life alone? Wouldn't it all be easier if you had a friend? The book Of
Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck, really illustrates the importance of friendship.
In the book the obvious friendship that we first see is the friendship of George and
Lennie. George was a normal guy, smaller, but strong, smart, and friendly. Lennie was
mentally retarded, and had some problems. Lennie didn't mean to be troublesome and
hurt people he didn't know any better. In the opening scene it shows George and Lennie
spending the night by a quiet pool. By the pool we really get to see how the friendship of
the two works, who plays what roles, and how they feel about each other. George gets
real angry with Lennie, because Lennie had a dead mouse that he just wanted to pet.
George tells him how much easier it would be for him to go and live by himself, and not
have to look after Lennie all the time. Lennie in return tells how he could go off in the
mountains and find himself a cave to live in. In Lennies cave Lennie could have all the
mice he wanted and no one would take them away from him. The argument was settled
when George told Lennie about their life long dream to go and get a place of their own,
and Lennie would get some rabbits that he could take care of all by himself. George told
Lennie "most guys dream just like us, and never get what they dream for..." He told
Lennie "...we're not like them other guys though," and Lennie broke in,
"Cause I got you to watch my back, and you got me to watch yours."
Their dream of there place that they had in mind was all but magical. In each of
their minds they had this beautiful picture painted of there little place. Although this
place was only a dream it was more too. To them it was a release from the cruel reality of
the world. Although they knew in the back of there mind it would probably never
happen, they almost constantly thought of it. They also knew that there was no one else
in the world that could take their dream away from them, and there was no one else that
they would rather share that dream with.
On The farm they met Candy, he was an old man who worked on the farm
swamping out the bunk houses, who only had one hand. Because of the fact that Candy
only had one hand there was no possible way that he could be all that useful working out
in the field with the rest of the guys, so that in a way made him an outcast. Candy never
did get to feel that comradeship of the men who worked in the fields. That comradeship
was very powerful to the working men, it gave them a sense of belonging that not
everyone could feel. Candy looked elsewhere to find his friend and found it in his dog,
who he raised from a pup. Now the old dog of Candy's was a lot like Candy himself.
Old, tired, miserable, and practically useless. One night when the men came in form the
fields they talked Candy in to letting them shoot his dog. Not because they were cruel,
but because the dog was suffering, and useless. They promised Candy a new dog, but
what shooting the dog symbolized to Candy was that when you get old and useless they'll
take you out back and shoot you. Candy knowing he wasn't far off from the state that his
dog was, felt an unbelievable amount of loneliness. Candy turned to George and said, "I
should have shot him myself." That same night when George and Lennie were discussing
their dream of the little place together, Candy joined into their dream, and almost made it
a reality. After that the comradeship of three grew very strong. Instead of just George
and Lennie getting the place all three of them were going to. All that was left to do was
to finish out the month and send their money to the people and then the three would have
their own little place.
Their dream was quickly ended when Curly's wife, another who suffered from
loneliness, was found dead in the barn. Curly's wife always found herself in a situation
where someone could get in trouble. This time she saw Lennie in the barn petting the
puppies, and she sat down beside him to talk, and Lennie told her how he liked to feel
soft things, and she let him touch her hair. Lennie got a little carried away and she began
to scream, so Lennie grabbed her over the mouth and shook her till she quit screaming.
Lennie, scared and alone ran to a safe place that George had told him to go to. George
knew he didn't mean to hurt the lady, but he also knew that the rest of the guys were sure
to kill Lennie when they found him. It was just like Candy and his dog, only on a much
more emotional and powerful level. George stole a gun and went to Lennie. Lennie told
George he had done a bad thing and they should run and get away. George wasn't mad
though, he didn't yell at Lennie or hit him or scold him. He just told Lennie it doesn't
matter now. Then George pointed Lennie across the pond and told him to just be silent,
then George pulled out the gun and shot Lennie in the back of the head.