After reading 'of mice and men' by John Steinbeck my opinion is that the most sympathetic and empathetic character in the book is Lennie. Lennie goes through much hardship because of his disability. Lennie is in many ways the most sympathetic character of the tragic novella.
             One of the main reasons that we feel sympathy for Lennie is because he is intellectually disabled. He hasn't the ability to learn or remember much, he cannot live independently, he needs to have someone to look after him and make sure he doesn't step out of line or get in to trouble, this person happens to be George, we feel sympathy for him for having Lennie tied to him, Lennie also feels Sympathy for George and cannot bear to see George angry at him, George says to Lennie in the first chapter "god a' mighty, if I was alone I could live so easily. I could get a job an' work, an' no trouble. No mess at al, an when the end of the month come I could take my fifty buck and go into town and get whatever I want" and Lennie says" George if you want I should go away and leave you alone " which tells us that he also feels sorry for George.
             Lennie has the mind of a child but the body of a giant. Lennie is extremely large and powerful. But he is uncoordinated therefore his strength is not entirely under his control as a result of this he hurts many animals and people, for example the mice that aunty Clara gave him and the mouse in his pocket on the way to the ranch at the beginning of chapter one. Lennie is too powerful for the mice, as he pets them he scares and hurts the mice resulting in the mice biting him which makes him angry and resulting in him killing the mice. Likewise with Slims puppy, After Lennie killed the pup Curly's wife saw it and asked him what had happened to the dog and he said" he was so little'' I was jus' playin' with him....an' he
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