Monday, March 10, 2014

What are 3 quotes that show Lennie's simple-mindedness in Of Mice and Men?

I love Lennie, but frankly just about anything he says demonstrates his simple-mindedness.  This is a novella (a very short novel), so John Steinbeck doesn't have much time or space to create his characters in a way the reader will find believable and relatable.  With Lennie, he creates an impression by how he looks, what he does, and what he says from the very first time we meet Lennie.


Lennie has flopped down at the edge of a pool of water and doused his entire head, hat and all.  He's thirsty and the water is refreshing, but this image of a grown (extra large) man pulling his head out of the water, dripping all over himself, is comical.  Then he speaks:



"'Tha's good," he says.  'You drink some, George.  You take a good big drink.' He smiled happily."



The image then changes from comical to that of a child who wants to share something he really likes.


Another line which Lennie speaks is this:



"'I don' like this place, George.  This ain't no good place.  I wanna get outa here.'"



He is referring to the ranch (and the barn with Curly's wife specifically), and it turns out he's right; however, his is not a logical, well reasoned argument.  Instead, it's more like a child who just senses something bad but can't really articulate what's bothering him.


A third quote is:



"'I done another bad thing.'  It don't make no difference.'"



Lennie has killed a woman--by accident, of course--and all he knows to say is he's done "a bad thing" once again.  That's not the reaction of a grown person; it's the confession of a child.


Lennie's a child trapped in a man's body, and nearly everything he says and does confirms that.

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