Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Essay Friendship is significant as despite being rare in the America that the novel describes, friendship is able to exist between George and Lennie, despite under the crushing forced authority exerted by Curley who attempts to intimidate them and mock them. The forced authority also demonstrates that the trust in American society has been broken, similarly to how the depression resulted in people not willing to help other people out. This lack of trust is built upon. Another view which the reader is given is that in general society, there is a tendency for people to be lonely due to the lack of trust. Evidence of this is given by the appearance of Curley’s wife, who is simply referred to as Curley’s wife, without a name; there is a split in the equality of genders and she is expected to do simple jobs at home rather than working on a farm. Another side shown to the reader of Curley’s wife is her loneliness; the theme of loneliness as a contrast to friendship is repeatedly shown, such as when Candy describes her someone who ‘got the eye’, and that he ‘seen her give Slim the eye’ and ‘give Carlson the eye’. The fact that she is seen to be deliberately staying around George and Lennie, as if to catch their attention suggests the desperation that arose from loneliness, and how far people are willing to go in order to become happy: â€Å"Oh! †¦ You the new fellas†¦? Nobody can’t blame a person for lookin’† The theme of loneliness directly contrasts with the theme of friendship in the text, and in this way the importance of friendship is made significant as the friendship between George and Lennie proves to help them escape from the cycle of loneliness and desperation many other people faced at the time, one example being George’s protective nature when he demands that Lennie doesn’t take ‘a look at that bitch’, care which Lennie would not receive if it were not for friendship and care that other people did not receive. Further evidence of the breakdown in the society of America is given when Slim describes the situation as ‘maybe ever’body in the whole damn world is scared of each other’, and that it was a rarity for ‘guys (to) travel around together’, showing the lack of friendship. Slim eventually gives further evidence for this, saying that it is ‘funny how you an’ him string along together’, when the people ‘never seem to give a damn about nobody’, and especially when Lennie’s mental capacity is limited yet George insists on travelling with him: â€Å"It jus’ seems kinda funny a cuckoo like him and a smart little guy like you travelin’ together†, once again emphasising the significance of George and Lennie’s unique friendship. The unfriendliness in society can be seen building up into physical violence, represented by the fight between Curley and Lennie. Curley, who attempts to intimidate Lennie and eventually results in physically attacking him: â€Å"Curley†¦slashed at Lennie†¦blood welled from his nose†¦George†¦make ‘um leave me alone, George† Another contrast between friendship and lack of friendship is made; Lennie is seen to rely on George in order to help him while Curley is left alone to defend for himself, and this is significant as it proves how their friendship will eventually help them in their struggles. George and Lennie share a unique friendship in which they make up for each other’s flaws. George is presented as the cleverer of the two, while Lennie is presented as the stronger of the two. Despite the hostile society of depression era America, the friendship between the two characters is significant as it is a rarity for two people to be able to continue a friendship in a harsh time period where people were left to fend for themselves, and often had no family to accompany them. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.