Why George and Lennie Were Doomed to Fail
             In the novel, Of Mice and Men the author John Steinbeck explores the concept or people trapped in their own sets of life circumstances. Each of the characters with the exception of Slim dream of a better life. However, they are trapped in a life from which there seems to be no escape. Each of them - Curley, his wife, Carlson and Crooks are lonely and unhappy with their lives. They can only dream of a better life but seem to be unable to make that life happen. Their lives are controlled by their obligations and their past choices. Each person seems to lack control over their own lives.
             The main characters, George and Lennie are no exception. That they lacked control over their own lives and were to some extent at the mercy and decisions of others - they were doomed to fail in fulfilling their dream of owning their own farm. In Chapter One, when the two characters are introduced George warns Lennie that he must behave himself as they are going to work on a ranch, that he must behave himself and not create trouble like he did where they worked before. This reveals that there has been trouble in the past, and the fact that George has to caution Lennie to behave indicates that he has some doubt as to whether or not Lennie will act properly.
             In Chapter Three, it is revealed that George has always taken care of Lennie. Since the death of Lennie's Aunt Clara, George has been responsible for Lennie. He admits that Lennie makes him feel smart and keeps him company. That he doesn't feel smart on his own and that he has to have Lennie in his life to make him feel so is a flaw of his character that eventually leads to the failure of their dream. When George told Slim the story of how he and Lennie had become friends and travelled together, it became obvious that the two were not friends because they shared the same interests and feelings for one another, but that they were drawn to
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