In chapter three of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, what does the fight between Lennie and Curley show about their characters? Why doesn't George help...

Curley is described as belligerent and "pugnacious." He is also a former boxer who competed in the Golden Gloves (an amateur boxing competition). In chapter two, Candy describes how Curley often liked to pick a fight with bigger men:

“Never did seem right to me. S’pose Curley jumps a big guy an’ licks him. Ever’body says what a game guy Curley is. And s’pose he does the same thing and gets licked. Then ever’body says...

Curley is described as belligerent and "pugnacious." He is also a former boxer who competed in the Golden Gloves (an amateur boxing competition). In chapter two, Candy describes how Curley often liked to pick a fight with bigger men:

“Never did seem right to me. S’pose Curley jumps a big guy an’ licks him. Ever’body says what a game guy Curley is. And s’pose he does the same thing and gets licked. Then ever’body says the big guy oughtta pick somebody his own size, and maybe they gang up on the big guy. Never did seem right to me. Seems like Curley ain’t givin’ nobody a chance.” 

Lennie, on the other hand, is childlike, and despite his size and strength, does not like fighting. In chapter two, he pleads with George not to let Curley "sock" him. In chapter three, however, Lennie cannot avoid the fight with Curley, who has been insulted by the other men and thinks that if he beats Lennie, he will gain back respect.

At first, Lennie doesn't engage Curley. He automatically waits for George's instructions about what to do. George knows that Lennie is much stronger than Curley, and once he tells Lennie to fight, he knows things will be over quickly. There is no reason for George to enter the fight. All it takes is one move by Lennie, and Curley is "flopping like a fish on a line." Because Curley wishes to avoid embarrassment over being bested by Lennie, he agrees to Slim's demand that he should use the excuse of getting his hand "caught in a machine" to explain his injury. George really had no alternative but to call for Lennie to fight. Lennie was already beaten up badly when George yelled. Had George allowed the fight to continue, Lennie might have been really injured because Curley was an experienced boxer.