George has promised Lennie's Aunt Clara that he will watch
out for Lennie, and he does this in numerous ways, constantly, in John Steinbeck's story
Of Mice and Men.
As the men approach
the water hole, George tries to protect Lennie from drinking bad water. We get the sense
quickly that something is not quite right with Lennie because George has to explain very
simple concepts to him, and Lennis forgets a lot.
We find
out, also, that George had to make a run for it with Lennie, escaping and hiding to
protect Lennie, when Lennie got carried away with feeling a young girl's dress (he loves
soft things) and frightens her.
So [Lennie] 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 the only thing he can think to
do...
When the girl says she
was raped, the authorities come after Lennie with men ready to lynch him, and George has
to hide Lennie and then make sure they get away.
George
watches out for Lennie when Curley comes in and starts picking a fight. He lets it go on
for a while, but then tells Lennie to stand up for himself—to fight back. Lennie has no
desire to hurt anyone, but in defending himself, he eventually crushes Curley's hand.
Embarrassed, Curley explains to the others on the ranch that he got it caught in some
machinery.
George tells Lennie how he should behave on the
job. In particular, he tells Lennie to stay away from Curley's wife. Lennie remembers
this clearly and tries hard to do as he has been told, but Curley's wife will not leave
Lennie alone, and ultimately tragedy follows.
George also
gives Lennie a dream—in essence, George has a dream and lets Lennie
share it. George wants to own a piece of land with a house, and work the land. This also
becomes Lennie's dream, as George tells him that he can care for the rabbits. Lennie is
overjoyed.
In the end, when the men on the ranch chase
Lennie to kill him for the accidental death of Curley's wife, it is George who takes
Lennie's life, knowing how horrific it would be for the sweet-natured Lennie to face the
anger of a mob and death at the hands of men with murder on their minds. It is just
another way that George watches out for Lennie.
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