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The kind of relationship that George and Lennie have is in many ways complicated. It is mainly due to the way George treats Lennie. There have been many cases where George is very harsh on Lennie and treats him like he's nothing. Like the time where he said that he would be better off without Lennie in chapter one and completely blew up. Lennie didn't know how to react. Other times, however, George can be a bit nicer to Lennie, like when they discuss their future ranch together.
I would say that George and Lennie's relationship is a friendship. Although George can treat Lennie very rudely, I be believe that they need each other. There is a quality in each of them that one of them has and the other doesn't. George is the brains, and Lennie is the brawn. Lennie especially needs George. In many cases, such as when Curly was beating Lennie up, Lennie had no idea what to do. He really doesn't know how to fend for himself, and needs George to do many things for him, like talk.
This relationship expresses Steinbeck's position on the individual versus the community pretty clearly. He believes that even though at times being an individual can help you, ultimately being in a community will be needed. This is a perfect example of Lennie and George's relationship.
http://www.essayforum.com/literature-review-5/beauty-dreams-george-lennies-relationship-mice-men-37438/
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