Men” by John Steinbeck. “Of Mice and Men”is a story of two workers traveling together and their adventures in looking for work. While they may live together, their friendship is not one of a classic nature. Steinbeck clearly shows that the only reason that George and Lennie would travel together is because of moral obligation, because Lennie is challenged, they travel together. George feels that as someone with a better understanding and awareness of the world, he is morally obligated to take care of Lennie. Lennie is portrayed as a mentally challenged, very strong …show more content…
George felt obligated since Aunt Clara’s passing to take care of Lennie and therefore Steinbeck reveals that this friendship was derived from George's moral obligation.
Obligation is clearly a prominent theme of this book. However, no matter how obligated
George feels to take care of Lennie, he constantly combats his motives to have a stable income and a safe arrangement. Lennie gets in the way most of the time, and usually it creates a moral dilemma for George. Shortly before Lennie and George arrived at the ranch,
George explodes into rage about how much of an inconvenience Lennie is. He even brings up how little money he has for himself. “...I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want.” (Steinbeck,11). This is the first incident where George describes his discontent without having a steady income. Also yet again it proves that without the obligation to take care of Lennie, George would’ve left a long time ago. A true friend wouldn’t mind the constant moving for their best pal, however George isn’t there just because of friendship purposes. Lennie offers to leave which is sweet and it snaps George back into reality. He