Nancy K. answered 05/15/20
English, Social Studies, ACT and SAT Tutor
If it is the Gary Sinise/John Malkovich version, Lennie is depicted as an immensely strong, good worker, which helps he and George find work. However, Lennie is also depicted as "simple," with all that word implies. He is mentally slow and doesn't understand complicated ideas or the impact of his own actions. However, he is also simple in that he appreciates simple things and is loyal to George-- understanding that their friendship is a crucial part of his life. Lennie also automatically responds to beautiful, soft things-much like a child is drawn to soft things. (Lennie wants to raise rabbits and loves them, he kills his pet bunny because he pets it too hard, and he is drawn in by Curley's beautiful and soft wife). Curley's wife is both villain and victim -- like most of the characters in OMAM, she is lonely and she wants Lennie's attention, but she is curdled by her husband's brutal treatment and she lacks the capacity to understand that Lennie doesn't know his own strength and is dangerous. Lennie is also depicted as mentally slow because he fails to learn the lesson that he needs to avoid acting on impulse-- a lesson he cannot learn, because he is still, mentally, a child.