In the novel “Of Mice and Men”, John Steinbeck gives Lennie the gift of immense strength in order to convey that the gift could be beneficial but also a burden, ultimately illustrating any quality a person has could be useful or a handicap depending on the situation.
First, Steinbeck shows the benefits of Lennie’s almost superhuman strength. Lennie is mentally handicapped and that means he has to travel with his friend George. George is small and not very strong so it’s hard for him to find work solo. But, because Lennie is so strong, they are able to find work and they are able to survive. For example, in the story George and Lennie are able to work on a farm because of Lennie’s strength. He is an asset to the farm because he carries hay bales with ease and that allows him and George to be able to make a living. John Steinbeck also shows Lennie’s strength being used for more than just work. Since Lennie is mentally disabled, he is an easy target for bullying. A farmhand named Curley is a bully and he picks on Lennie throughout the story. In particular, one part of the story involves Curley getting enraged with Lennie and he starts beating Lennie relentlessly. No one steps in because they are afraid they will get in trouble. But since Lennie is so strong he fights back and breaks Curley’s hand. Lennie’s strength benefited him in this situation by helping him defend himself and prevent future torment. But, Steinbeck also shows how Lennie’s gift of strength isn’t all good. Lennie’s strength is shown to be a burden throughout the book. Lennie may be very strong and able to work like a horse but it’s not all beneficial. For example, Lennie accidently kills puppies in the book. It happens more than once because sometimes he isn’t aware of his own strength. On its own, immense strength sounds great but when it's paired with Lennie’s mental disability, it can be a major issue. Lennie loves soft things so it's no surprise he loves petting puppies. But he accidently kills them by petting them too hard or getting mad and slapping them. This causes George to have to help hide the bodies to avoid both him and Lennie getting fired. Lennie’s strength is also shown to do more harm than just killing puppies. For example, Curley’s wife is killed by Lennie because once again, Lennie doesn’t realize his own strength. He is touching her hair when she freaks out and that scares Lennie and causes him to break her neck by accident. This only happened because Lennie is so extremely strong. Because Lennie did this he is ultimately killed. So his death is pretty much a direct consequence of his strength.
Overall, Steinbeck giving Lennie extreme strength shows the benefits and drawbacks of being that strong and ultimately illustrates that a quality someone has can be useful in some scenarios but a burden in others. Lennie is shown to be both an asset and a handicap because he is so strong but he is not able to control it sometimes and this leads to many problems outside of just him. Through Lennie’s actions, it is shown that any quality that a person possesses could be advantageous in certain scenarios and disastrous in others.