George Milton is one of the two main characters in Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men a novel written by John Steinbeck, portrays George as a smart man who is loyal to the people he cares for. George is accompanied by Lennie Small his best friend. George has taken the role of caretaker for Lennie. His primary purpose is to protect Lennie. George struggles with having patience with Lennie hower with deep analysis it shows that George loves Lennie like a brother, yet he has to kill him.
George finds struggles in having patience with Lennie. With Lennie being mentally handicapped it can cause him to be a bit oblivious to some things. One night Lennie got on George’s nerves and George blew. He said “ ‘Whatever we ain’t got, that’s what you want. God a’mighty if i was alone i could live so easy. I could get a job an’ work an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month cam i could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever i want.” (11) and also “ An’ whatta I got” ,“ I got you!”.
But despite his impatience with Lennie, its obvious George loves Lennie. Its not necessarily shown through his words, but its definitely there in his actions. He has kept Lennie around. Even when he complains about how his life would be easier without him, he can’t bring himself to leave him. Most men working in ranches are bitter lonely men who spend their free time at cat houses and drinking. But not George and Lennie, as George says “We got a future. We got someone to talk to that gives a damn about us. We don’t have to sit in no bar room blowin’ in our jacks jus’ because we got no place else to go. If them other guys gets in jails they can rot for all anybody gives a damn. But not us.” then Lennie chimed in, “ But not us! An’ why? Because… because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and thats why.” Not to mention in the very beginning of the book George is warning Lennie not to drink so much water so he won’t get sick. Careful readers will be able to see that George in fact loves Lennie.
Its because George loves Lennie and would do anything for him, that he kills him. George loved Lennie too much to allow him to suffer. He knew that if he didn’t kill Lennie himself that Lennie would have an even worse fate. He could be beat to death, bleed to death, or they would send him to an insane asylum. So George took it upon himself to to kill Lennie, fast and painless. He recites their american dream to keep Lennie calm and oblivious, and in the middle of it he shoots him. Lennie dies and so does their american dream alongside him.
Some readers may question if life would have been easier for George without Lennie. But the thing is, that if George never had Lennie as a part of his life, his life would’ve been nothing special. Without Lennie, George would have never dreamed, never had hope, he wouldn’t have had someone to lean on. He would have been just another bitter lonely man who went to cat houses and spent his days drinking. But Lennie was part of his life, and George is just George- someone who struggles with patience, and cared for Lennie so much that he killed him to spare him misery.