Without George, Lennie does not understand what to do. Lennie gets frightened and uses his strength to hold on to objects. Lennie is just like a child. He will do what ever George tells him to: "Curley was flopping like a fish on a line, and his closed fist was lost in Lennie's hand. George slapped [Lennie] in the face again and again and still Lennie held on. Through Lennie's actions we can see that Lennie is very similar to a child. Lennie's first instinct when he is scared is to hold on. Just as a little kid holds on to its mom or dad when they become frightened, Lennie holds on to objects. .