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Throughout the novel, Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck explains that companionship is one of the most meaningful things in life. Steinbeck achieves this by showing situations in which characters that do not have companions are unable to cope. One character is George. George is a pretty good man but at times can be very hard on the man who he looks after. The man who George looks after is Lennie. Lennie has a mental disability and, therefore, cannot support himself. George and Lennie travel together; they are always moving from job to job. Although these two characters have their difficulties, they have a very good relationship. Candy is another character that Steinbeck uses to illustrate his views on companionship. Candy is a very old, and nearly useless, ranch hand. He has no companions except for his dog. The other men on the ranch do not like Candy"'"s dog because he smells, is old, and is not any good to anyone. The other character that Steinbeck uses is Curley"'"s wife. She is the only woman on the ranch and is always hanging around the other guys. Even though she is married to Curley, they do not have a good relationship. George and Lennie are the main characters through which Steinbeck expresses his views. George and Lennie are always on the move in search of jobs. This is mostly due to Lennie"'"s mental handicap. In Weed, Lennie started touching a woman"'"s dress because he likes to touch soft things. The woman got frightened and spooked Lennie. This caused him to clench onto her dress because he did not know of anything else to do. She accused him of assault, and they were chased out of the town. It is inferred that this has happened before. This adds a layer to the relationship between Lennie and George.
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