George and Lennie have been associated from a long time, and that their bond symbolizes respect, care and concern over each other.
Step-by-step explanation:
As we start reading Chapter 3, readers now understand the basic outline of the characters. George and Slim comeback to bunk house, sit down to relax while they start talking about Slim giving his puppy to Lennie. This is the time where George starts sharing his memories/experiences that he has had with Lennie to Slim.
The incident where George played a prank asking Lennie to jump into the river where they were hanging out. Lennie jumped into the water without thinking twice about not being able to swim, only because George ordered him to do so was a thought-provoking memory for George. Since then, George never played any prank against Lennie's innocence but has lot of fun with him.He understood how pure Lennie is. He shares with Slim that he enjoys Lennie's company and that they also became bullies many times and came out of those bad times together.
This depicts the depth of understanding each other and the bond they share.