Author Steinbeck wrote a famous novella in 1937 called Of Mice and Men, which is about two migrant workers struggling to survive in the agriculture valleys of California during the Great Depression. One of the characters is George. George is a smart guy; he is not much of a hard worker but is very good at socializing with people. Compared to other people, George is small – especially compared to his friend Lennie. Lennie on the other hand is tall and bulky; which makes him a good worker. There is only one problem with him that leads up to the main conflict in the story. I believe the main conflict in this story is character versus self because Lennie has mental disabilities that cause him to lose control of himself and start more conflicts with the people around him. Because of his psychological issues, Lennie starts a rivalry with the boss’s son, Curley, in the ranch him and George were working on. But those errors he had didn’t seem so immense after making the biggest mistake of his life that changed everybody’s life forever – including his.
George and Lennie had a job working at a ranch, and while Lennie was inside petting the puppies, George was talking to Slim, a guy in the ranch. He was talking about Lennie, about a particular incident that happened in Weed. Lennie saw a woman with a pretty dress, and he liked the dress and wanted to feel it, and so he did. The woman felt Lennie’s hand on her dress and immediately screamed. Lennie was confused and very frightened; he did not know why she was screaming. He was so scared that he didn’t know what to do, so he grabbed the dress tight. George had to knock him down to the ground just so he could let go. The woman told the authorities that she had been raped, and so George and Lennie had to run away from that place. This just shows the reader how Lennie’s conflict with the lady affects everyone around him. It shows how untamed he is, and the downfall he caused George and himself.
Lennie never wants to hurt anybody, he is a peaceful man. But sometimes his disabilities cause him to lose control of his emotions. An example of this was when Lennie made enemies with Curley, the boss’s son. What happened was that Curely could not find his wife, she wasn’t anywhere near the ranch. So when the guys heard they began to tease him, everyone except George and Lennie. Lennie was thinking about the dreams inside his head, just the thought of living in a house with George made him smile.
Curley though, thought he was laughing at him. He was already annoyed at the other guys for teasing him, so he picked a fight with Leannie. Curley began to punch his face, Lennie, who was crying for George to tell him to stop, was bewildered; he really had no idea why Curley was attacking him. He finally decided he had enough, with blood dripping down his face, he managed to grasp Curley’s hand, the same way he snatched the lady’s dress. Lennie had scared out of his mind; he didn’t know what else to do rather than to grab hold of Curley’s fist very tightly. The other guys, who were only watching, saw that Lennie was seriously injuring him, and so they tried to help out. Lennie finally released Curley’s hand, but not before completely ruining it. Curley damaged Lennie’s face, and Lennie damaged Curley’s hand, but they each had different intensions. Curley just wanted to prove he was better than him by beating the living hell out of him. On the other hand, Lennie never wanted to hurt him, the sensation in his mind took control of his body.
The last thing that Lennie did on that ranch was horrible; it was the only mistake out of all of them that definitely changed everyone’s life forever. He was with Curley’s wife watching were fix her hair. When she was done it looked so pretty, and so she asked him if he wanted to stroke it. With no doubt, Lennie reached and touched her smooth hair. Everything went downhill from that moment, he couldn’t let go. She struggled and screamed, but this only frightened Lennie, so much that it made him grip on to her hair with his tough hands. She turned her head, trying to free herself from him, and that’s when she snapped her neck and died. As ridiculous as it sounds, Lennie accidently killed the boss’s son’s wife. He is now starting to become a very dangerous person, first he grabbed a woman’s dress in Weed, then he crushed Curley’s hand, and now he killed Curley’s wife; and all because of the same thing. He just can’t manage himself; his brain gets in the way. Lennie was never against anything or anybody; he was against himself all along.
Lennie is a very complicated being. No one understands him, not even he understands himself. George is the only person that comprehends him, the only person that truly knows Lennie’s inner self. It’s like there are two sides of Lennie: the jolly, childish side of him that likes petting puppies, tending rabbits, and seeks to bring peace to those around him. And the violent, terrified side that physically attacks and scares people away. Most people only get to see the bad side of Lennie, right before they realize what a great person he is, he gets in to another conflict – with himself. Lennie’s main goal is to get rid of his bad side that’s causing him misery and abandonment, and replace it with more of his happy side. George is the only one that gets to experience the joy in Lennie’s attitude; he is the only one that knows that he would never do anything to hurt anybody, at least not purposely. Unfortunately for Lennie, killing Curley’s wife was not only the worst thing he had ever done, it was also the last.
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