is an example. Right in the beginning of the book, the first description of Lennie is as follows:

In the next description of the Lennie, much of the same happens. Lennie and George stop to get a drink of water in the river.  Lennie plops down on the riverbank and drinks like a horse. Here is what the text says:

His huge companion dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool; drank with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse. The small man stepped nervously beside him.

Lennie is the most important character in Of Mice and Men. He is the pivot point around which the other characters revolve. George gives an impression of confidence and self-sufficiency, but he understands that his own self-worth is largely dependent on the caretaker role he has taken on. As he explains to Slim, realizing that the pain he inflicted on the other man through pranks and mockery made him feel less of a person. Lennie’s devotion and loyalty demonstrate what true friendship should be.

Beyond his individuality as a character, Lennie is a symbol: as a child in a man’s body, he stands for innocence and purity. This is shown through his preoccupation with soft, textured things like a baby’s blankets and especially in his obsession with animals.

The paradox of George’s position is also shown through his final decision to sacrifice Lennie. The other men initially see that George has sacrificed an important element of his independence by always going around with Lennie, but it turns out that it is Lennie who must ultimately be sacrificed.

Beyond the occurrences within the ranch, Lennie’s limited success in dealing with the world at large stands for the hardships endured by people outside the norm. Another paradox is that Lennie is strong physically, but in every other regard, he has no power.

Lennie is dramatically very important to the story in that, as a sympathetic protagonist, much of the dramatic tension and suspense of the story is linked to his character. There is, for example, tension between Lennie and the antagonist, Curley, culminating in the fight between them, which is one of the most dramatic moments in the book. There is also suspense at the end of the story, when the reader wonders what will happen to Lennie after he kills Curley's wife. The dramatic impact of the story's ending, when Lennie is killed, is also, of course, all the more impactful because Lennie has been established as a sympathetic protagonist who the reader cares for.

Lennie is also important as a foil character to George. A foil character is a character who helps the reader to better understand another character by exhibiting characteristics which directly contrast those of the other character. Lennie, for example, is large, cumbersome, and not very intelligent, whereas George is small, agile and smart. This contrast is clear as soon as they are introduced to the story. George is described as "small and quick" and Lennie, "his opposite," is described as "a huge man" who "walked heavily."

Lennie is also important thematically. He helps Steinbeck to convey, for example, the absurdity of prejudice. Lennie, because he is innocent like a child, doesn't understand the sexism that Curley's wife suffers from or the racism to which Crooks is subjected. In this sense, he is like a child who has not yet been corrupted by the unnatural prejudices of society, and his childlike innocence helps to highlight how unnatural those prejudices are.

In John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, Lennie is the keeper of the dream.  As the author himself has written, "Lennie was not to represent insanity at all but the inarticulate and powerful yearning of all men." This yearning is the American Dream of owning one's own property, of having some financial independence and of belonging somewhere.

The small American Dream that George and Lennie possess is to own some land that they can farm. On this property Lennie can raise rabbits and have them as pets.  There, he and George hope to grow their own food and be self-sufficient where they will live in, not fear, but fraternity--"because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why.” 

Although theirs is a modest aspiration, the dream of George and Lennie is impractical during the Great Depression when the men made little more than what kept them alive.  As "bindle stiffs," they reside no where, instead traveling wherever work takes them.  But, because Lennie is mentally a child, he holds onto this optimistic dream, insisting that George repeat its mantra until George himself almost believes in it.  And, herein lies Lennie's importance as a character.  With childish optimism, Lennie gives George hope; then, he inspires Candy, and then Crooks.  He even makes Curley's wife believe that something positive my happen to her. Slim perceives the positive effect that Lennie has upon George and acknowledges the friendship of the two men.

Not susprisingly, the child-like candor and innocence of Lennie evokes the optimism of the men during a most desperate era. So, of course, when Lennie dies, the tone of the narrative changes abruptly. Old Candy despairs; Crooks is forsaken, George knows there is no way to retrieve the past; the dream dies.  Bereft of his friend with nowhere to go in the Great Depression, George walks up the hill in abject despair. 

In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is a physically strong man who has limited mental development. He has a child-like personality because he is mentally challenged. He imitates child-like behaviors. He is fascinated with soft textures. He loves to pet the fur of soft animals. He dreams of owning his own rabbits one day for the purpose of petting them anytime he so desires.

Lennie is a hard worker. Due to his physical strength, he is able to endure physical challenges. He can work harder and longer than most ranchers can. 

For this reason, he is able to get a job easily. His problem is in keeping that job. He seems to always mess it up by his poor decision-making skills. He does not realize that he is doing anything wrong when he reaches out to touch the texture of a girl's dress. He grabs it and will not let go. Other people mistake Lennie's obsession with soft materials as threatening. Lennie is on the run to keep others from harming him.

George becomes Lennie's caretaker after Lennie's aunt passes away. Lennie is dependent upon George just as much as a child is dependent upon a parent. Lennie cannot make adult decisions. In fact, he does not even realize his own strength. He would never have hurt Curly if George had not given him permission. Also, he never meant to kill Curly's wife. He only meant to silence her so she would not scream. Lennie is an innocent character.  

Lennie can be described as having animalistic qualities.

Early in the book, Lennie is depicted as "dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws." At the end of the novel when Lennie returns to the glen to wait for George, he "came as silently as a creeping bear moves." 

There are numerous references in the text that connect Lennie to the animal world, perhaps suggesting that Lennie is unsophisticated to such an extent that he is not actually "civilized." In this way, if we cannot excuse his behavior, we can at least explain why he would act so violently and unthinkingly.

When Lennie projects in a hallucinatory fashion at the novel's end, he imagines that he is speaking to a gigantic rabbit, further establishing an unconscious or subconscious connection between Lennie and the world of nature.  

But, what does it mean that Lennie is repeatedly associated with nature? For me, this motif suggests that there is more nuance in Lennie's character than it is convenient to recognize. 

"Lennie Small, a simple-minded man of great size and strength" (eNotes).

While we can accurately summarize Lennie's character in the novel in this way, the connections between Lennie and nature imply that this shambling and shy giant serves a greater role somehow than that of the simple-minded brute. 

He is a cipher, of sorts, an irreducible figure that cannot be explained via the common and ideologically imbued rhetoric of society. His actions are not conventionally moral or immoral. It is almost as if Lennie stands in as a symbol of nature - not man's nature but Nature itself - and while George attempts to protect and befriend Lennie, the connection between the two cannot be maintained. 

To participate in the life of the society (keeping a job and having a social life), George cannot also keep living alongside Lennie. 

Of course, this is only one way to interpret Lennie's character - one way among many. The idea here is simply to suggest that Lennie, in his animalism, is not reduced to simple-mindedness. His mind-set, rather, is something to be reckoned with and may be a more complex statement from Steinbeck than is commonly or easily understood.

Lennie is a grown man, but he talks like a child because of his mental handicap.

You can tell by the conversations between Lennie and George that Lennie depends completely on George.  Lennie looks up to George as a big brother or father figure.  He does not really think about anything except the present.

Lennie spends a lot of time talking about rabbits, mice, dogs, and things he can pet.  He is obsessed with soft things.  His memory is not very good, so he often asks George to repeat things to him.  He even picks up a dead mouse in the first chapter.

"Uh-uh. Jus' a dead mouse, George. I didn't kill it. Honest! I found it. I found it dead." (Ch. 1)

The interaction between George and Lennie in the first chapter introduces the reader to the unequal relationship between the two of them.  George tells Lennie he thinks they should not drink the water, while Lennie tells George happily that the water is good, not paying any attention to whether or not it might be running.  Then Lennie finds a mouse and tries to pet it, swearing he did not kill it.

Lennie’s childlike innocence really comes through in how he talks.  Another incident is when Curley picks a fight with him.  Lennie is scared, and does not know what to do.

Lennie gave a cry of terror. Blood welled from his nose. "George," he cried. "Make 'um let me alone, George." He backed until he was against the wall, and Curley followed, slugging him in the face. (Ch. 3)

Even though Lennie is bigger and stronger than Curley, he is genuinely scared.  He does not know what to do in this situation, when Curley is picking a fight with him.  George has told him to stay away from Curley, and Lennie also does not pick fights.  He relies on George to protect him, because he is in many ways still a child. 

When George calls out to Lennie to get Curley, Lennie crushes his hand, so that Curley will stop hitting Lennie.  George knows that this is the beginning of the end for them.  He cannot protect the gentle giant for long now.

In Of Mice and Men, Lennie is a static character.  He does not develop.

In literature, a static character is a character that does not change.  A dynamic character grows and changes in some way throughout the course of the story.  Since Lennie does not change in any way, he is what we call a static character.

At the beginning, Lennie is a gentle giant who is not bright enough to understand that his strength can be deadly to small creatures.  This is foreshadowed clearly by his dead mouse.

"Uh-uh. Jus' a dead mouse, George. I didn't kill it. Honest! I found it. I found it dead." (ch 1)

George does not really believe him, or doesn’t care.  He knows that Lennie can be dangerous, even though he does not mean to.  He reminds Lennie when they had to run after he tried to touch a girl’s dress because it was soft.

"Jus' wanted to feel that girl's dress- jus' wanted to pet it like it was a mouse- Well, how the hell did she know you jus' wanted to feel her dress? (ch 1)

George has to look out for and protect Lennie, because he cannot do it himself.  He lives by what George tells him, and cannot survive on his own.  The fact that Lennie does not change is demonstrated by the other incident when he did not let go, this time of Curley’s hand.  George tells him to “get” Curley to avoid getting hurt in the fight, but Lennie does not know when to stop.

But Lennie watched in terror the flopping little man whom he held. (ch 3)

It is not long after that Lennie accidentally kills the puppy, and then Curley’s wife.  Time after time he does not know his own strength, but he never changes.  He can’t change.  He does not have the mental capacity to change.

Lennie Small is one of the main characters in John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Contrary to what his name suggests, Lennie is physically very large and strong. He is compared to a bear because of his size and strength. Mentally, he is childlike and has a very limited understanding of the world. For this reason, he is completely reliant on George to guide him, teach him, and keep him safe and out of trouble.

Lennie's extreme physical strength and severely limited awareness are a dangerous combination. Lennie often does not realize his own strength, and he has a love for soft things: this results in him inadvertently killing small animals and, ultimately, Curley's wife.

One of Lennie's most notable characteristics is his loyalty to George. Although he probably would not be able to define loyalty if asked to, Lennie greatly respects George and tries his best not to disappoint or upset him. Despite his best efforts, Lennie's lack of intelligence often causes him to unknowingly engage in behaviors that anger George and put the pair in danger.

Lennie has unwavering enthusiasm about his and George's shared dream of owning their own farm. George is realistic and only partially believes in their dream, but Lennie is filled with childlike wonder and never doubts that their dream will be realized one day.

While he has a central role in the story and its plot, Lennie does not undergo any significant growth or changes throughout the novel. At the end of the book, he remains much the same as when we first met him: a large, strong, mentally incapacitated man with a simplistic view of the world, intense loyalty to George, and a love of soft things.

Lennie is described as an animal. His arms hang at his sides "the way a bear drags his paws." When he gets to the pool, he drinks like a horse. Lennie is large and simple-minded. He is like an animal. It is fitting that the is so affectionate with smaller animals. Lennie is strikingly strong but he wants nothing more than to live on a farm and care for small, cute animals. 

Lennie claims to have found the dead mouse and instead of throwing it out, he wants to keep it in his pocket so that he can keep petting it. George tells Lennie to give up the mouse because it isn't sanitary. Lennie recalls how his Aunt Clara used to give him mice. George reminds him that she stopped giving Lennie mice because he would accidentally kill them. 

At the end of the chapter, they discuss the incident in Weed in which Lennie tried to pet a girl's dress. Lennie says, "Jus’ wanted to feel that girl’s dress—jus’ wanted to pet it like it was a mouse . . ." This tells us that Lennie is loving but destructive. In his simplicity and brute strength, his attempts to be loving have the potential to be destructive. Lennie is drawn to cute, soft things. But he has the tendency to destroy these things. His obsession with the dead mouse in the first chapter foreshadows what will happen with the puppy and Curley's wife. 

Lennie's character actually remains the same even if his living circumstances change, and this static quality is at the heart of the tragedy that sets Steinbeck's novella apart from other works of literature that concern the death of a main character.

Lennie's innocence is undeniable, as his child-like mindset never matures and consequently, he never learns from previous conflicts or problems. Lennie is a danger to others and to himself, because he has the strength of a large able-bodied man but the desires, the intellect, and the awareness of a small child. He is unable to gain insight into himself and he reacts to difficult situations with extreme emotion, like a youngster with no ability to regulate himself. Unfortunately for George and for Lennie's innocent victims, Lennie's inability to change is the ultimate cause of Lennie's downfall, administered tragically by his best and most loyal friend.

Lennie's character does not progress throughout the story. Lennie is a static character, which is a character that does not change throughout a story. At the beginning of the novella, Lennie is portrayed as a mentally handicapped, dependent individual, who mimics George and relies upon George's friendship to help him through life. Lennie also has an affinity for petting soft things, which is shown in the opening scene of the novella when he continually strokes a dead mouse. George also elaborates on Lennie's incident in Weed, which almost got them killed.

As the story progresses, Lennie's character remains the same. His lack of intelligence and inability to comprehend various social situations is evident throughout the entire story. Lennie also remains loyal to George and relies on his guidance to the end. Lennie's static character is also portrayed in his obsession with petting his puppy and stroking Curley's wife's hair. Lennie's reaction to Curley's wife also mirrors the incident in Weed. Overall, Lennie remains a dependent, helpless, unintelligent character throughout the entire novella and does not change.

Lennie is a physically strong, large man who is emotionally sensitive and mentally challenged. Ironically, his last name is Small. Lennie walks and moves slowly. He is hopeful, kind, trusting, innocent, and easy going. He is also limited in his understanding of the world and naïve; he approaches people and situations simplistically. One of the things Lennie likes to do the most is to pet soft things, like mice, puppies, and bunnies; however, he is unaware of his own strength and often ends up harming them.

One of the central characters in the book, Lennie is the traveling companion of George Milton as they look for farm work. The men are devoted friends to one another and share a dream of a better future as they journey from place to place and job to job. As the novel is set in the Great Depression, both men represent the desire of many Americans at the time who wanted financial independence and land. Although he is large in stature, Lennie depends upon George for many things, including protection, as they travel. In many ways, Lennie is submissive to George.

Throughout the book, George tries to protect Lennie from others who might take advantage of Lennie’s good nature and trust. George also tries to explain situations to Lennie and provide understanding. Lennie trusts George blindly and completely, which ultimately contributes to Lennie’s death.

Lennie is as innocent as a child and he has the mind of a child. He has nothing but good intentions. The problem is that he is very simple-minded and he has awkward social skills. He also has the tendency to lose control of himself in tense or anxious situations. Lennie is also freakishly strong. In situations where Lennie feels tense or under attack, that strength becomes a dangerous weapon. This occurs when he crushes Curley's hand and when he smothers and breaks the neck of Curley's wife. 

Even though Lennie has the potential to be very destructive, he has no ill intentions. So, he is innocent in that sense. Lennie loves to pet small animals, but his love combined with his abnormal strength usually results in a dead animal. Lennie is described like an animal. In the opening paragraphs, George is portrayed as being small and quick. Lennie is George's opposite: 

Behind him walked his opposite, a huge man, shapeless of face, with large, pale eyes, and wide, sloping shoulders; and he walked heavily, dragging his feet a little, the way a bear drags his paws. 

Lennie has George to protect him. But without George, Lennie would have trouble finding a place in society. In this sense, he is an outcast. Other outcasts in the novel are Candy (who is too old to be useful), Curley's wife (who has missed opportunities), and Crooks (who is ostracized because of his race). Lennie's innocent but destructive ways escalate and increase the possibility of him becoming an outcast. 

In the novel, Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck creates a memorable character in Lennie.  A giant of a man with little intelligence, he dreams of owning his own piece of land in the world.  He gets into trouble with his strength without meaning to hurt anyone.  Steinbeck creates much of Lennie's character with his speech.  His speech is simple, "I remember about the rabbits, George."  He remembers the dream,  "No, you tell it, George.  It ain't the same if I tell it. Go on,George.  How I get to tend the rabbits." His words reveal his innocence when  he says after the fight about wanting ketchup, "I was only foolin' George.  I don't want no ketchup.  I  wouldn't eat no ketchup if it was right here beside me."  His speech also reveals his lack of intelligence as it is always George who takes care of Lennie.  Lennie was based on a real person who ended up in a home for the insane.  That reality keeps Steinbeck's picture of Lennie real--too real for some readers.

Whenever Lennie speaks in Of Mice and Men, it's patently obvious that he has quite a severe learning disability. In what he says and how he says it, Lennie reveals himself to have the mental age of a child, a condition that necessitates his being taken care of by his good friend George.

A good example of Lennie's being revealed through his speech comes in his constantly talking about rabbits and mice. Lennie likes mice because of their soft fur. He strokes them, pets them, and even carries them around in his pocket long after they're dead. It's for much the same reason that he likes rabbits. If George and Lennie should ever achieve their dream of having their own ranch, Lennie will have the responsibility of looking after the rabbits, which is something that means a lot to him.

This preoccupation with mice, rabbits, and all things soft and fluffy indicates that Lennie has the mental age of a child. The way he talks and what he talks about are not what we would expect from a grown man. But because Lennie has severe learning difficulties, he remains at a child's level of cognitive development.

Lennie also has the innocence of a child, which is revealed when he picks up a dead mouse in chapter 1:

Jus' a dead mouse, George. I didn't kill it. Honest! I found it. I found it dead.

These are the words we'd expect to hear from a small boy protesting his innocence to his mother. Only in the case of Lennie, he really is innocent; there's no lying in him.