Lennie

• Lennie is a huge, grown man - but also very childlike
• Lennie is powerful with huge hands - this makes him a good ranch worker
• Lennie's grown up physically, but mentally he's still like a child - "He's jes' like a kid"
• Lennie's innocent and asks a lot of questions. Slim immediately sees that Lennie "ain't mean"
• Lennie's condition is never explained. He's called a "dum dum" by Curley's wife and Slim thinks he's "cuckoo", but George denies that he's insane.
• Lennie likes to stroke and "pet" soft things like mice and Curley's wife's hair. He's like a child with a stuffed toy.
• Lennie is describes like an animal - "Lennie covered his face with his huge paws and bleated with terror"
• Lennie is described like a bear - he drags his feet "the way a bear drags his paws"
• Lennie is very possessive over his animals, he never wants to let them out of his site. He's like a child with a favourite toy.
• Lennie is a bit like George's pet. He follows George around and relies on him for food. He also obeys George - at the pool he brings George the mouse "like a terrier who doesn't want to bring a ball to its master."
• George treats Lennie like a pet too - he orders him around and uses his strength to get them jobs. In the end, he treats Lennie in the same way that Candy treats his dog - he shoots him for his own good.