How Are Lennie and George Portrayed in the Opening Chapter?
Steinbeck portrays Lennie and George are as two typical migrant workers, trying to pull
themselves through the aftermath of the Great Depression, with the help of each other.
Lennie is incompetent and needs care from George who is his role model. George, similarly,
to Lennie, needs him for protection and companionship. Their differences pull them
together, as without each other, neither of them would be able to get far.
Lennie is very much portrayed as clueless and never too sure what’s going on. He always has
good intentions but, however does not grasp the consequences of his actions. “I wasn’t
doin’ nothing bad with it, George. Jus’ strokin’ it. This is redolent, to the reader, of how
Lennie is good at heart, and never intends to hurt anyone or anything. Lennie has not
grasped the gravity of the situation in Weed. He has not realised that losing that job, could
have left them penniless, of not for landing another. To even get to this job, they had to
travel far, which migrant workers were used to doing. Already the Wallstreet crash ,in 1929,
had left 1 in 4 men unemployed, so they were lucky to find another job, to earn a living. You
can tell he does not grasp most situations and finds it difficult to understand what is going
on around him. This proves particularly hard, given that, in those times, it was ‘every man
for himself’ and Lennie is not in the position to look after himself. Steinbeck also uses the
description of Lennie to pass across that he is not so competent- “huge... pale eyes... sloping
shoulders. Lennie has pale eyes as though to represent the emptiness behind his eyes; he is
less than present in reality. He is also likened to a bear- “the way a bear drags his paws’’.
Bears are large and are perceived as rather dangerous, however, they only attack when
perceived they are in danger and never mean to harm, otherwise. Later on, Steinbeck uses
animal imagery again to describe the way Lennie was drinking the water. “snorting into the
water like a horse…Lennie dabbed his big paw in the water.” Horses, similarly, to bears, only
attack when afraid, which is an excellent representation of Lennie.
Another thing we learn about Lennie is that he is child-like and unassuming. We learn that
he likes soft things to stroke-“I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along.” This
demonstrates attributes of a child. Most children have furry or cuddly toys that that always
have with them. Lennie liked to always have something soft, like a mouse for example, to
stroke, maybe to get him through tough times. Lennie is also unassuming. In Weed, where
they previously worked, Lennie had clung unto a lady’s dress as it was something soft to
hold unto- “ Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress-jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse.” He
didn’t understand that a mouse and the dress on the lady were different things. He did not
know that while that dress what still attached to the lady, he could not stroke it. This shows
that Lennie has the innocent mind of a child.
George, on the other hand, is almost the antithesis of Lennie. He is presented as
authoritative and very much a role model to Lennie. George is also much more intelligent.
“Even in the open one stayed behind the other.” This demonstrates, to the reader, that
George is superior to Lennie and is the forefront. George is much wiser than Lennie- “You
never oughta drink water when it ain’t running, Lennie.” This implies that George is more
knowledgeable and knows these things, whereas, Lennie does not understand them.
George’s strength lies in his intellect. Despite George and Lennie being friends, their
relationship is like master and dog. George is responsible for Lennie; his food, work and
Steinbeck portrays Lennie and George are as two typical migrant workers, trying to pull
themselves through the aftermath of the Great Depression, with the help of each other.
Lennie is incompetent and needs care from George who is his role model. George, similarly,
to Lennie, needs him for protection and companionship. Their differences pull them
together, as without each other, neither of them would be able to get far.
Lennie is very much portrayed as clueless and never too sure what’s going on. He always has
good intentions but, however does not grasp the consequences of his actions. “I wasn’t
doin’ nothing bad with it, George. Jus’ strokin’ it. This is redolent, to the reader, of how
Lennie is good at heart, and never intends to hurt anyone or anything. Lennie has not
grasped the gravity of the situation in Weed. He has not realised that losing that job, could
have left them penniless, of not for landing another. To even get to this job, they had to
travel far, which migrant workers were used to doing. Already the Wallstreet crash ,in 1929,
had left 1 in 4 men unemployed, so they were lucky to find another job, to earn a living. You
can tell he does not grasp most situations and finds it difficult to understand what is going
on around him. This proves particularly hard, given that, in those times, it was ‘every man
for himself’ and Lennie is not in the position to look after himself. Steinbeck also uses the
description of Lennie to pass across that he is not so competent- “huge... pale eyes... sloping
shoulders. Lennie has pale eyes as though to represent the emptiness behind his eyes; he is
less than present in reality. He is also likened to a bear- “the way a bear drags his paws’’.
Bears are large and are perceived as rather dangerous, however, they only attack when
perceived they are in danger and never mean to harm, otherwise. Later on, Steinbeck uses
animal imagery again to describe the way Lennie was drinking the water. “snorting into the
water like a horse…Lennie dabbed his big paw in the water.” Horses, similarly, to bears, only
attack when afraid, which is an excellent representation of Lennie.
Another thing we learn about Lennie is that he is child-like and unassuming. We learn that
he likes soft things to stroke-“I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along.” This
demonstrates attributes of a child. Most children have furry or cuddly toys that that always
have with them. Lennie liked to always have something soft, like a mouse for example, to
stroke, maybe to get him through tough times. Lennie is also unassuming. In Weed, where
they previously worked, Lennie had clung unto a lady’s dress as it was something soft to
hold unto- “ Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress-jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse.” He
didn’t understand that a mouse and the dress on the lady were different things. He did not
know that while that dress what still attached to the lady, he could not stroke it. This shows
that Lennie has the innocent mind of a child.
George, on the other hand, is almost the antithesis of Lennie. He is presented as
authoritative and very much a role model to Lennie. George is also much more intelligent.
“Even in the open one stayed behind the other.” This demonstrates, to the reader, that
George is superior to Lennie and is the forefront. George is much wiser than Lennie- “You
never oughta drink water when it ain’t running, Lennie.” This implies that George is more
knowledgeable and knows these things, whereas, Lennie does not understand them.
George’s strength lies in his intellect. Despite George and Lennie being friends, their
relationship is like master and dog. George is responsible for Lennie; his food, work and
