Character Analysis

   In the book, "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, George and Lennie go around finding new jobs. They started working of the ranch they are at now because their last job had ended. This relates to The Great Depression because during the time of The Great Depression, people were losing their jobs and trying to find new ones. Lennie's character is not the brightest but he is very sensitive and gentle. He has mental retardation. Mental retardation is a condition that usually happens before someone turns 18. This condition makes it hard for them to remember things and they don't know how to act in big crowds or in public. This is like Lennie because Lennie didn't know how to act in public when he saw the girl's pretty dress and wanted to touch it.

   In the book, "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck, Lennie is the big, tall, and dumb character. But his personality does not match his physical features. If one looks beyond the large Lennie, they will find a gentle and sensitive person. He was kicked in the head when he was younger. This caused him to have a condition called mental retardation. Mental retardation made it hard for him to control how he acts in public and made him have horrible memory. He is also slower at learning how to do everyday things that a person his age would normally know how to do.
   Mental retardation is the reason why Lennie says the things he says and acts the way he acts. "Well, he seen this girl in a red dress. Dumb bastard like he is, he wants to touch ever'thing he likes. Just wants to feel it. So he reaches out to feel this red dress an' the girl lets out a squawk, and that gets Lennie all mixed up, and he holds on 'cause that's the only thing he can think to do." Since Lennie had metal retardation, he didn't know how to act in public which is why he held onto the girl's dress. Lennie also has bad memory. "Lennie looked puzzled. 'Like I done in Weed?' 'Oh, so ya forgot that too, did ya?'" Mental retardation makes life hard for Lennie so George stays with him.