Adversity is any kind of hardship that offers individuals an opportunity to strengthen themselves. In Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie certainly experience difficulty that enables them to be more resilient men, individually speaking, but the interesting thing about adversity for George and Lennie has more to do with the fact that the hardship they suffer strengthens their bond and their friendship with each other.

For example, George explains that he and Lennie were forced to run out of their last town when Lennie's characteristic over-enthusiasm terrifies a young woman. Lennie is thought to have attempted to rape the girl, so he and George have to flee to avoid more trouble from the men who seek to defend her honor; as well, George knows that trying to explain what actually happened is futile, so running is the best option for himself and Lennie.

This experience leads George to realize, with even more clarity than he had before the incident, that he and Lennie are forever linked, as it is obvious that Lennie has to rely on George to get him out of difficult situations he creates for himself. Though George struggles sometimes in this relationship with Lennie, he knows they are close and that their connection is strong. Every adverse situation the two men face simply emphasizes their closeness to each other.

With the setting as the Great Depression of the 1930s, George and Lennie of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men have overcome the hardship of being unemployed as they have procured work through Murray and Ready to whom the boss of the barley-ranch wrote for two hands. In addition, although they are bindle stiffs and among the dispossessed who must ride railroad cars and migrate from job to job, they are not alone as are most of the other iternant workers; they have the friendship and trust of one another.  Finally, until the tragic ending, George and Lennie share the hope of having a little farm of their own on which they can live on "the fat of the land" someday.  With this dream, they conquer the terrible alienation that men without homes encounter.  Thus, George and Lennie have overcome the adversities of poverty, alienation, and despair.