English as a Second Language - Essay Example

Of Mice and Men George Milton is one of main characters in the story Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck. The character of George is certainly a memorable one mainly because he acts as the sane counterpart to the insanity exhibited by Lennie. While George is easily angered by the antics of Lennie, he remains a devoted friend and continually helps his friend out whenever it is possible for him to do so. His appearance is not very different from Lennie in matters of dress or actions but he does appear to be less patient and a lot more wiser than Lennie.

While it may appear that George merely tolerates the existence on Lennie, a closer reading shows that George cares deeply for Lennie and wants to make sure that no harm comes to his friend. This makes the character very memorable as he loves his friend deeply even though his friends often lands them both in trouble and even though his friend’s actions and words are quite often very strange indeed. Despite his need and his desire to protect Lennie, George finds that he is not able to be the protective friend he wants to be.

Since Lennie is essentially a misfit in his surroundings, it is George who has to fend for him in many ways including their search for a better life and their hopes of eventually owning their own farm. However, George realizes that the world is not very forgiving when it comes to dealing with people who are not as smart or not as able as George. Lennie’s simplicity leads him into trouble and eventually causes him to commit homicide and there is nothing which George can do to protect him from those who come to kill Lennie.

In fact, when the time comes and George finds that he has no way to save Lennie from the world, he has to make a decision and give Lennie a quick death from his own hand rather than wait for the mob to come and kill Lennie. George shows that he had the ability to make the right decision and saves Lennie from a horrible death even if that meant killing Lennie on his own. This is certain to rouse very strong emotions from the reader and no doubt many readers would have to wonder what they would have done had they been in the same situation as George.

Therefore, it is easy to conclude that the character of George is not only the hero of the story, but he also shows signs of personal growth and development to the point that he has to kill his best friend and realize that his dreams of being successful in life with his own measures may never come to light. Rather than take anything away from the character, I feel that this gives the character of George more depth and makes him more believable as well as worthy of the sympathy of the audience.

Word Count:Works CitedSteinbeck, J. Of Mice and Men, Penguin