Cruel or Kind?

In the novel Of Mice and Men, the characters often act cruelly to each other, but at other times we see acts of kindness. Describe at least one act of cruelty and one act of kindness from the novel and explain what you think the character’s motivation was. Are some characters only cruel? Only kind? Or is there a mixture of both?

• One act of cruelty can be seen when Curley starts to punch Lennie just because he did not want to see him, or just because Lennie is larger and stronger than he is. One act of kindness can be seen from the start of the novel and also throughout the novel: George has always kept Lennie with him and has always taken care of Lennie even though he doesn't have to, even though he could have just left him alone and not care about him. I believe that the motivation for Curley wanting to punch Lennie was because Curley was jealous of Lennie's large body size and also his strength (he was a big guy). The motivation for George keeping Lennie with him was because of his selfishness, because he wanted company, and he believes that Lennie is good company for him. There are not characters who are completely cruel or completely nice. All characters have a bit of good or a bit of bad in them. Curley, though most people believe that he is evil, still has a bit of good that can be seen when he is with his wife. Lennie, who may seen as the innocent character, actually has a bit of evil within him. This can be seen because Lennie went berserk and even killed Curley's wife. He didn't do it on purpose, but this shows that he still has a bit of "evil" in him. Most of the others are clearly people with a bit of good and a bit of bad.