In John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men, many themes often emerge throughout the story, particularly the theme of bonds between two people. John Steinbeck's novel Of Mice and Men expresses the theme of friendship through various literary elements. Friendship is people caring and respecting each other. It is the bond that keeps people together through life's struggles. This essay will prove that friendship is important in life. The book begins in a town called Soledad, which means alone, but George and Lennie are far from alone. Their friendship is caring because all they have is each other. The first example of their friendship is when George and Lennie are at the pond and Lennie boasts, “…because I have you to take care of me, and you made me take care of you” (Steinbeck 14). The friendship between Lennie and George is close and strong. Both faithfully show their friendship and are happily together. The second example that demonstrates their friendship is when George talks to Slim and George convinces him, “It's much nicer to hang around with a guy you know” (Steinbeck 35). George enjoys Lennie's company. He feels that Lennie's friendship protects him from loneliness. The third example that presents their friendship is when George tells Lennies about Curley's wife and he asks, "Well, stay away from her, for she's a mousetrap if I ever saw one" (Steinbeck 32). George doesn't want Lennie to get in trouble with Curley's wife. George proves that he is responsible for their friendship by trying to protect them both. The fourth example that shows their friendship is when George explains something to Lennie and states: "People like us, who work on ranches, are the loneliest in the world. The... middle of paper... ...that's how many conflicts he has caused and begins to blame himself for it. Lennie regrets getting them both into trouble. Lennie worries about George's reaction. The third instance of their friendship is when Slim recognizes George's actions and sighs "You did , George. I swear, you did" (Steinbeck 107). George puts Lennie out of misery by killing him. If they caught Lennie, he would die a slow, painful death. George still cares about Lennie, so he gives him a painless death. This shows that the theme of friendship is important in life.Throughout the book, Steinbeck mainly uses the friendship between George and Lennie to emphasize a message he wants to convey to us by looking at the situations in which George, Lennie and Candy were there, we can conclude that Steinbeck he wrote the book to tell us how important it is to have a friend to share life with.