Of Mice and Men Essay Jivan Garcha The novel Of Mice and Men illustrates the importance of compassion and tolerance amongst the characters in the novel. Compassion and tolerance benefit both the recipient and provider in many ways, and they can also help one make conscientious decisions. Furthermore, being able to tolerate and show compassion towards other people can help one develop their feelings of deep sympathy for the sorrow and pain of other people. Compassion and tolerance are virtues of life and they should not be ignored. People who chose not to follow these virtues are often considered to be arrogant and selfish. Characters in the novel such as Curley and Carlson are arrogant and selfish because of their lack of compassion and tolerance towards other characters and animals. These characters show the reader the importance of compassion and tolerance in their daily lives. Compassion and tolerance benefit both the provider and receiver in many ways. The novel Of Mice and Men illustrates this through its characters and their situations. Slim is a character in the novel that benefits from the compassion and tolerance he provides because of which he is greatly respected by other characters in the novel. Crooks, a black ranch worker expresses that he respects Slim because of his compassion and ability to tolerate him when he says, “Slim comes in sometimes two, three times a night. Slim’s a real skinner. He looks out for his team.”(pg.74) When Crooks says this he is implying that he respects Slim because Slim comes into his room out of compassion to check on him and ask if he is alright. Secondly, a character in the novel that benefits from receiving compassion and tolerance rather than providing it is Lennie Small. Lennie receives compassion and tolerance from George, Slim, and Candy. The compassion and tolerance he receives from George keeps Lennie alive, which is a benefit for him since...