Friendship in of Mice and Men

Do you remember your first ever friend? What did you guys do with each other? Did you guys have a lot in common? Where did you meet him or her? Have you ever imagined what life would have been like without this friend?

As Euripides once said, “One loyal friend is worth ten thousand relatives.” Without a friend to talk to, one is driven into a life of loneliness. In “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck, loneliness urges people to find companionship to fulfill their social needs (people didn’t have companionship during depression). Faithful companions typically give individuals hope and power which ultimately gives humans happiness. For example, when George was telling Lennie about how other people don’t have anyone that cares about them, he explains: “With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us”.

Evidently, George and Lennie consider each other family and know that others don’t enjoy the lasting friendship that they undoubtedly have. Possessing a friend that’s always there whenever they need each other allows them to release their feelings, unlike others who must naturally keep their feelings trapped inside. However, after George decides to kill Lennie, “George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes”.

Immediately after, you can tell George is dead inside even though he isn’t the one that gets shot. Having intentionally killed the lifelong friendship, he once had, is just like killing himself. Without someone to express your feelings to will eventually drive one crazy. Some relationships, however, cause misery to the individual because he or she isn’t treated right and is still extremely lonesome. Take the case when Curley’s wife flirts with other guys and says: “I never get to talk to nobody. I get awfully lonely”.

Obviously, Curley’s wife isn’t treated right by Curley or else she wouldn’t have nobody to talk to. Since Curley is neglecting his wife and her needs, Curley’s wife experiences the irresistible urge to talk to anyone that would merely listen to her, even Lennie who doesn’t even comprehend what she’s saying. In direct comparison, when Crooks finally gets to interact with another human instead of books, he says: “Books ain’t no good. A guy needs somebody to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain’t got nobody. Don’t make no difference who the guy is, long’s he’s with you”.

This suggests that although Crooks has books to entertain and interact with him, a beloved friend or simply someone to talk to is what he genuinely needs. Everyone intentionally discriminates and disregards Crooks, which causes him to take advantage of every rare chance he gets to talk to another human being. Although one can enjoy companionship, only when one finally acquires the appropriate type of companionship will he or she truly be happy.

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