Third Sign (UnControllable Behaviors) Pt. 1

There are many times in the Novel where Lennie's emotions take control over him, and he can't do anything about it.  The first sign where Lennie shows that he has no control over his emotions is when he kills the mouse in his hand.  When he kills the mouse, he explains to George that he squished the head of the mouse because it bit his thumb.  Normally someone would either drop the mouse, or move their hand away from the mouse.  With Lennie's mental health it disables him from thinking about the situation and he let's his emotions control him.  He felt frustrated with the mouse, so with his frustration he squished the head of the mouse and killed it.

Second Sign (Bad Memory)

The night before George and Lennie went on their job interview, George instructs Lennie not to speak at all during the interview.  George feels that he should do all the talking.  George's request leads us to believe that something must be wrong with Lennie.  After George informed Lennie not to speak during their interview,  Lennie immediately forgot what George had asked him to do.  At this point in the book we can see that Lennie does not have an amazing memory as he forgot George's request in a short period of time.  George then instructs Lennie to repeat over and over again not to speak during the interview.  George feels this will help Lennie to remember not to speak.  Throughout the rest of the chapter and until the interview, Lennie continuously reminded himself not to speak during the interview.  

First Sign Of Lennie's Mental Health (Easily Distracted)

The first sign of Lennie's disability that is introduced in the Novel is how he acts in a very child like behaviour.  In the first chapter in 'Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie are sitting on a lake shore.  Lennie dunk his head in the water to take a drink.  Lennie tells George to take a drink from the lake.  After George had taken his drink Lennie put his fingers in the water and moved his fingers to create ripples.  When he saw the ripples his face lit up and immediately looked to George and told him to at the ripples.  This shows very child like behaviour, which gives an understanding that something has to be wrong with Lennie for him to act like a child. 

Mental Disabilities

This is my first time writing a blog which I am doing for my English ISU (Independent Study Unit).  My blog is mainly about the mental disabilities of Lennie Smalls a character from the novel 'Of Mice and Men' by John Steinbeck.  This novel is a story about two men named George Milton and Lennie Smalls trying to make a better life for themselves.  This entails Lennie and George finding jobs so they can buy the ranch they always dreamed of owning.  Easier said then done.  Every now and then I will update my blog to give you my insight and opinions about Lennie's disabilities.  Thank you for viewing my blog and please feel free to leave any comments that you may want to share.