Innocence: Can it survive as you mature? John Steinbeck effectively relates this driving question to his novel, Of Mice and Men. Several passages in the story explain and relate to the answer. Lennie and George, the main characters, possess innocence and answer this question in several different ways.
             By definition, innocence is free from guilt or sin through lack of knowledge. Lennie demonstrates the definition when he and his colleague George rest from their journey to the ranch for new work. Fire blazing, George cooks some canned beans for dinner. Lennie suggests, "I like'em with ketchup." (Steinbeck, 10) Innocently, Lennie is more concerned about the taste of his beans instead of his journey to his new employment. Lennie is mentally challenged and therefore only thinks like an innocent child, despite his massive and powerful physic. Therefore in Lennie's case innocence survives as he matures.
             Innocence also means harmless in effect or attention. Lennie's friend, George, complements Lennie's qualities. George is bright but scrawny. Therefore George acts like Lennie's brain, and Lennie does what ever he is told. Unfortunately, George took advantage of this control and almost drowns Lennie. An example of this is when George mentions to Slim, a memory when George and some boys were at the Sacramento River. George says to Lennie, "Jump in.' And he jumps. Couldn't swim a stroke. He damn near drowned before we got him." (Steinbeck, 40) After this incident George learned his lesson of how Lennie takes every word of George's seriously. Therefore this mistake by George matured him of his innocence.
             A third definition of innocence states the lacking of something. An example of this definition is Lennie's lack of understanding. Lennie had murdered the flirtatious wife of Curley a rambunctious co-worker who is jealous of Lennie's size and strength. Lennie was...