Of Mice and Men Brotherhood

Posted: September 10th, 2013

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Of Mice and Men Brotherhood

Introduction

The Nobel Prize author, John Steinbeck published the novel “Of Mice and Men” in 1937. John Steinbeck originated from America and was very influential in the development of fictional and short stories in American literature. The novel narrates the catastrophic story of Lennie Small and George Milton, two dislocated migrant farm workers, who regularly migrate in search of new job openings during the Great Depression in America. The authenticity of the bond between men, the worldly events that interfere with friendship and the contemporary manifestation of friendship, are some of the issues that support the issue of brotherhood. The concept of brotherhood underlies nearly all relations in the book in a fashion rarely found among platonic friends. This brotherhood traverses physical and economic disparities to bond human beings in a strong bond.

Body

The authenticity and deepness of the bond between the two men traversed most of the material setbacks that most people mention as being in the way of true friendship. Although the two main characters in the book are quite different, Lennie being mentally sick while George is normal, they possess an authentic attachment with each other. This strong bond is repeated persistently throughout the manuscript that shows that their friendship was different. Part of their conversation mentions how “…if them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us! An’why? Because… because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you and that’s why…” (Steinbeck, 22)

The activities in the world have various ways of interfering with the friendship connections that men make in the process of living their lives. In light of the callous and lonesome conditions of the times in which the two men lived, it was no surprise that they placed an esteemed value on the perfect friendship. Nevertheless, as the story unfolds it is shown at the termination that the world was too inconsiderate and voracious to maintain such intense relationships. George and Lennie came very close to achieving the model friendship before they were ruthlessly divided by a dreadful conclusion. The tragedy marked the end of a rare type of friendship. All human beings have the yearning to make the perfect companionship that is marked with reciprocated support, as well as sharing of occurrences and emotions. This is a crucial reason why the disastrous end of George and Lennie’s acquaintance had such a deep impact on human nature, as readers felt it as the loss of a big dream.

The idea of brotherhood can be experienced through a small group of people like Lennie, Candy, and George. Even within large groups of people, the same phenomenon can be realized. That group of people lived together in one house and played games together. Through playing games such as horseshoes, the ultimate type of friendship was fostered. In this way, Steinbeck attempted to illustrate that the people in a workforce can be united as one immense team. The two friends held the anticipation of an ideal friendship for a long time. Lennie and George shared a similar dream of owning a ranch on which they would live out the rest of their lives. The ranch is a reality that very few people achieve. The two friends were therefore very much connected as they planned to live together.

Conclusion

Brotherhood can sometimes go awry if there are actions by an individual that compromise the bond. Towards the conclusion, there are examples of how the fellowship among friends took a turn into revenge and enmity. Steinbeck left the readers with a mystery as to whether the pledge of companionship died. In an accident, Lennie killed Curly’s wife, and Curly responded by organizing a hunting party to go kill Lennie. The same friend of Lennie that sided with him was now out to murder him. George panicked and resolved to kill his friend rather than have the whole group of friends kill him first. In the conclusion, did the concept of companionship last or did it collapse altogether?

Work Cited

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. London: Penguin books, 2012. Print.