How does the author make Lennie a sympathetic character? Essay

In Of Mice and Men John Steinback makes Lennie a sympathetic character by his description of his character as easily as his physical appearance. Lennie is also revealed by the author through the other characters perceptions of him and how Lennie interacts with them. Lennies attitude and actions are non the same towards all the characters in the story. He gets on well with some of the characters in the story and with some he doesnt.The first impression the reader gets of Lennie is ironically his size. He is described as opposite to George with a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, with wide sloping shoulders and he walked heavily. But we are contradicted in this. John Stienbeck uses descriptions of animals to describe Lennie. When he drinks water from the mob his action is described as snorting into the water standardised a horse. When he moves and walks he is described as a bear when it drags its paws.He is described by John Steinbeck as a rattling simple chara cter who has the innocence of a small boy who doesnt know how a great deal harm he is doing to the rat or in Lennies case to Curleys married woman. When Lennie and George are on their way to the ranch, Lennie shows his innocence when he says I wont get in no trouble, George. I aint gonna say a word. After he kills the mouse, he says I wasnt doin anything wrong with it, George. Jus strokin it. From the first part of the story when the autor gives us the physical description of Lennie, we see Lennie is a gentle giant whose strength is way far forth ways his brain.Although Lennie is described as being im manpowersely bullnecked and physically big, his actions reveal a gentle, friendly person underneath. He has a precise balmy character because whenever Lennie makes George angry, he gets upset like a small child. Steinbeck describes his actions as those of a a terrier, he says this when he refuses to bring the mouse to George, he is like a a terrier who doesnt want to bring a ball back to its master. He is also described as a sloven and like a sheep. Lennie covered his face with his paws and bleated with terror. Another example of when he acts like an animal is when he growls back to his seat.When we read that he is cuddling the pup, it tells us how much me loves animals and when he kills it he doesnt kill the animal on purpose because he doesnt know how strong he is, When he doesnt know his own strength I was only petting it. Another occasion is when Lennie crushes Curleys hand and then later on he says, I didnt wanta hurt him. At one point he acts like a child who gets attracted to things he likes, for example- the pup and Curleys wifes hair when she asks him to move his hand over it. When he likes something, he sticks to it and doesnt leave it because he doesnt know how much harm he is doing to it. So, Lennie is a friendly person who doesnt understand how strong he is or the consequences of his strength. Therefore, Lennie is described as a simple person w ho has low news but also a very strong person.Another consequense of his simplicity is that he depends on George to help and guide him over small things. He ask George to take care of his work permit. Lennie cannot differentiate between things which are right and wrong and needs George to help him with that. For example, Lennie doesnt realise that Curleys wife is a seductive woman and he often verbalises to her. But he stops speaking to her after George tells him that Dont you even take a touch sensation at that bitch. I dont care what she says and what she does.but I never seen no piece of jailbait worse tan her.He makes him understand that and tells him not to speak to her. He makes him realise that she isnt the right type of woman to talk to. Another consequence is when Lennie is drinking water from the pool and is told off by George to not to drink from it. He says because its scummy. He treats him like a child and needs to be told every moment to what to do and what not to d o like when he drinks the water from the pool, George tells him You gonna be sick like you was last night. This tells us how much care George has for him because if Lennie falls sick and if he dies, then in that location wouldnt be anyone for George to be with as during the Great Depression, the ranchers used to be alone with come in any friends. George didnt want that to happen.Due to Lennies lack of erudition the other farm hands treat him differently and sometimes, Curleys case, crudly. He doesnt get along very well with all the members of the farm, for example with Curley and his wife. Curley hate him from the first time because He hates big guys. When Lennie crushes Curleys hand, we are pleased that, in Lennies grasp Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, but Steinbeck does not write fairy tales where good triumphs and evil is punished. In the cruel reality of life,it is Lennie who will be destroyed and Curley who will continue to scourge anyone who threatens his ego. T he same thing is also with Curleys wife because he wants to obey to what George told and he tells her I aint supposed to talk to you. Slim describes him Lennies jes like a kid. There aint no more harm in him than a kid neither, except he is so strong.This tells us that he is as harmless as a child and he can be harmful when it comes to situations where he cannot survive in a world of cruelty, selfishness and contempt. Throught the story, he is described as a sympathetic person in loving terms. When he says hes a nice fella. cuckoo dont need no sense to be a nice fella,it tells us that he enjoys the company of Lennie and he gets along well with him. He treats him and listens to him like a kid. Lennie always wants to be with someone. For example when George leaves him and goes to the bar, he cannot be by himself. The only person whom he knows who doesnt go out is Crook because he is regarded as a nigger by the farm hands. The people in the farm regard him as that all black men are cr ooks. He is different from the other farm hands because the farm members treat him as an outcast as he is black.Therefore, from what I ready read and analysed I can say that George stands as a father for Lennie as he takes care of him, serves him food, tells him the difference between right and wrong. As a consequence of all these factors, the final scene is heart breaking for the reader when George shoots Lennie. He himself chooses to shoot Lennie because a father would quite a shoot his son himself rather than let anyone else shoot him. He tells Lennie to go over and tell him about the dream while he aims the gun behind him to shoot him. This is a very sad and controversial scene because Lennie is dreaming about having his own farm where he can tend his favorite animals like the rabbits, rats, etc whereas George goes through a very bad moment in which he has to shoot his best mate. Lennie himself doesnt know that his best friend is going to shoot him.