Lennie's Fight Against Society.

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, two migrant workers travel to different areas in California during the Great Depression in search of a stable job. Lennie is a big man but is caught up with the characteristics of a child, while George dreams of being his own boss and owning a farm. In the end society holds them back from their dreams. Throughout the story Of Mice and Men, Lennie struggles with not having a place in society because of his mental disabilities. The central conflict in Of Mice and Men was character vs. self.

Lennie struggles with his mental disabilities throughout the story. He is unable to be accepted into society because of his problems. Even though he is a Caucasian man, he does not belong to society. When Lennie goes into the barn to look at the pups, he sees a light coming out of Crooks's room, curious of what was in there he went in. Crooks went on saying,

“I don't know what you're doing in the barn anyway,” he complained “You ain't no skinner. They's no call for a bucker to come into the barn at all.” (pg. 68)

When Crooks says this he implies that Lennie does not belong in his room even if Crooks is an African American worker. Crooks and Lennie share the same feelings about society. Lennie doesn't fit into society because he's not like everybody else. On the other hand, Crooks doesn't belong in society because he is African American. Both characters share the burden of not fitting in.

Another conflict in the story is character vs. self. Lennie constantly finds himself messing up and tries to make things better. At the end of the story, Lennie feels that it would be easier if he left and lived in the hills. He does not realize that without George his existence in society would be nothing. At the same time Lennie struggles with the things he has to put up with, with the other people he interacts with.

He expresses, “I'll go right off in the hills an' I'll fin' a cave an' I'll live there so I won't be no more trouble to George.” (pg. 101)

Lennie constantly uses this as an excuse to make things better for him yet he knows that he would never leave George. Since George has taken care of Lennie for many years, it is hard to leave him but sometimes Lennie does not realize how hard it is on George to take care of the both of them. When Lennie gets himself in trouble it also affects the things that happen to George because George is the person who is supposed to watch out for him.

The next supporting conflict would be character vs. fate. Lennie and George have a clear idea of what they look forward to seeing in the future. They planned on having their own farm and animals to support themselves. George and Lennie had so many things in mind; the only thing stopping them was fate. In society the people around them doubted this idea of being successful during the Great Depression. Lennie and George struggle with their dreams because of the sayings that they will never be able to make it. Even though they planned their success out, it would be hard to overcome by the lack of support of other people. Ideas are only a thought actually getting them done is another factor.

When George finally says, “I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her. He usta like to hear it so much I got to thinking maybe we would.” (pg. 94)

At the end of Of Mice and Men it proved that George and Lennie’s fight against fate was a failure. Lennie’s idea of having their own farm and rabbits became so realistic it made the two actually believe that it was going to happen. Lennie and George fought against fate very much in this book.

By the end of the story Of Mice and Men, Lennie has a hard time being a part of society. His actions have caused the distress of other characters in the story. When Lennie goes into Crooks’s room he realizes that in society even though Lennie is Caucasian he does not belong there. Later on Lennie finally starts to realize that George is forced to take care of Lennie he had no choice, without George, Lennie would not be in any part of society. Lastly, George and Lennie’s fight against fate was a ridiculous dream according to others, but in their society their dream was too hard to overcome. Lennie struggles very much with the conflict character vs. society.