Mice and Men

If two characters stand out to me who contrast in the more ways in the book Of Mice and Men, it would be Curley and Lennie. One is smart and witty while the other is big, dumb, and strong. From the moment these two characters meet, Curley has a hate towards Lennie. Lennie is to dumb to dislike Curley back because Lennie does whatever George tells him to, and George tells Lennie to stay away form Curley. Steinbeck makes Curley out to be a character in which you dislike from meeting him. He is rude towards George and Lennie, and everyone at the ranch abhors him. Curley is quick and a good fighter because he was the runner-up in the "Golden Gloves" competition, so he can fight. Lennie is almost completely opposite. He isn't a fighter; he just is a hard worker. Not smart or witty, just listens to directions and does his best. Doesn't want any trouble from anybody; just wants everyone to get along and he just wants to take care of the rabbits. Lennie comes off to me as a very nice loving character that everyone likes and gets along with. He is so innocent, and all Curley does is harass him because he is jealous of his size. I feel bad for Lennie because he doesn't know that Curley is doing this he just does what Lennie, with the help of George's instruction, wants to do and minds his own business.

Even though these characters are different in numerous ways, there is always a foundation for similarities, and of course Lennie and Curley have their occasional resemblance of each other. Both men are interested in the same woman. Curley is married to a woman who ahs the eye real bad, and Lennie thinks this woman is pretty. Even though Lennie doesn't know that looking at her that way is wrong, he still does and Curley looks at her the same way. These men are both chasing the same girl just neither knows about it. I believe that Lennie chasing Curley's wife is going to cause some sort of problem later in this story. Even though this may be a very simple comparison, they both work on the ranch and buck barley. Even though Lennie is a much better worker, they have to do the same thing for the same money. So they are equals on this basis. Both characters can't look out for themselves. Curley has his old pop to protect him because if you mess with Curley you are sure to get "canned" and Lennie isn't smart enough to find his shadow, let alone survive life. Curley and Lennie will