In many ways, Lennie was too good to survive in our world. How does the world destroy the innocent among us?

I think Lennie is the perfect example of how the world
destroys the innocent among us. Look at what Lennie had to do to adapt. He had to keep
his mouth shut for fear his employers wouldn't want him, despite the fact that
physically he was ideal for the job.

Our society moves so
quickly and people in it are so jaded that they are skeptical of anyone who does things
for purely innocent or altruistic reasons. Even today, someone like Lennie would be hard
pressed to function on his own. He would still need someone like George to be his buffer
to the people around him.

Everyone is skeptical of people
who are innocent. We are so used to expecting that everyone is out for him/herself and
we can't believe that someone can be as innocent as he/she seems. We want results, we
want to be successful, we want to be rich. Those things aren't a result of being
innocent. To get ahead in society, as most people see it, you have to be willing to do
anything, walk over anyone.

Those people walked over and
taken advantage of are often the innocent. They are tricked, cheated, hurt, forgotten in
the modern quest for success.