Book Portfolio--Of Mice and Men

What makes a true friend? A true friend is someone who would do anything for you. In the historical fiction book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, I found the theme to be that true friends will always help you. This is important because if you don’t have friends then the world seems lonely and gloomy. In the beginning two men, George and Lennie, go to a ranch to get jobs. The rising action would be when Lennie gets into a fight with Curley, the ranch owners son, and breaks his hand. The high point of the book is when Lennie unintentionally killed Curley’s wife. The falling action of this story is when Lennie runs from the ranch and hides near the river. In the end, George shots Lennie so he doesn’t have to suffer.
The characters in Of Mice and Men are quite interesting. The first main character is George Milton. George is small and thin and has a long bony nose. He also has a short temper and is always watching out for Lennie. The way he acts reflects the theme because he has to help Lennie out of a lot of situations, especially when Lennie breaks Curley’s hand. Lennie Small is the second main character we see in the book. Lennie is big and strong, and mentally retarded. Throughout the book Steinbeck gives us hints that he is mentally retarded, but never says anything directly. This explains why Lennie gets into trouble all the time. This also ties into the theme because Lennie would do anything for George, if he told him to. The antagonist of this book is Curley. Curley is a boxer who is well known throughout the county. He is short, but fast. He is always causing trouble, and constantly looking for his wife. His actions get him into a fight with Lennie, which he loses. From then on, he has a grudge against Lennie.
I completely agree with the theme, true friends will always help you. The reason I agree with this theme is because friends are people you can hang out with and have a good time, but true friends are the ones you can talk to and go to when you need help. In my personal experience I have found this to be true. Just this past week I met a girl who I liked, I needed an opinion from one of my close friends so I went to Josh. He gave me some advice and helped me figure out if I should go out with her or not. An example that everyone can relate to is when you need help with something, or if you are sick your true friends will be right there beside you. A joke that I know relates to this theme directly. “A good friend will bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting right next to you saying ‘dang, we messed up’” All of these examples show that true friends will always be there to help, as George was with Lennie in the book.
I think John Steinbeck’s purpose was to entertain, but I also found that this book could also fall under informative. The reason for this is because it tells the reader what it was like to live back then, and it also tells us the hardships of being mentally retarded. I thought the characters were very believable. I thought this because they all acted like real people and did ordinary things. I thought the theme was believable because everyday true friends do anything for their friends. An example from the book was when George told Lennie about the rabbits at least 10 times, all so Lennie would be happy. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the theme of true friends will always help you is clearly stated and is commonly related to everyday life.