George character essay- Of Mice and Men

Alternative transcript:

the first nor last. Steinbeck uses George to show that there was no real place to call home for a typical ranch hand as they live on the fringes never really belonging anywhere, trapped by their jobs in solidarity and lack of companionship. George, along with many others of the time, dreamed of living "Off the fatta the lan"" and having a place where they'd "belong" as many yearned for self-dependency as they didn't have control over their own lives. Throughout the novella, although George is depicted as an intelligent man with morals, we see him succumb to the temptations of the typical ranch hand by joining the other men for a night out in town to spend some time in the "cathouse" showing that part of him yearns for the life he'd have without Lennie. Throughout the novella, Steinbeck uses the character of George to show the importance of dreams in a time of depression. George shares a dream with his companion, Lennie, with its foundations rooted in the idea of the American dream. He dreams of living "off the fatta the lan"" and having a place where they could say they "belong there". This dream is an idealised goal that is mentioned throughout the novella and represents the dream of many working-class Americans as it gives them hope even in the darkest and most difficult times. When Candy's contributions towards the dream seem to make it a momentary reality, we see the farm taking on heavenly qualities. These contrast with the mundane lives that many itinerant ranch hands had. The dream George shared with Lennie mirrors the dreams of many ranch hands of the time. It shows how such theoretical fantasies of a better life could distract from the unhappiness of the time even if they were impossible to achieve. In the aftermath of Curley's wife's death, however, his dream failed to become reality which led to disappointment. This caused George to revert to the pessimistic outlook on life in 1930s America with no hope as he says, "i think i knowed we'd never do her". Throughout Of Mice and Men we see Steinbeck explore a potent bond between the two protagonists of the story, Lennie and George, through the theme of friendship. We see the two share an unusual yet unique bond that breaks social norms as the other ranch hands had been forced into solidarity because of fear in the dog-eat-dog society as "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world". George acts like a parental figure to a child-like Lennie and throughout the novella both characters value and treasure their friendship even if they don't always show it as Lennie says, "i got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you". At the end of the novella, George makes the decision to shoot his best friend to save him from the unforgiving society of 1930s America as he knows that if the other men catch him Curley would show no mercy towards him. However, the death of Lennie also causes the destruction of an idealised friendship and the death of the dream as George can't envision himself carrying out the dream without Lennie as it's what bonded the two men together. To conclude, Steinbeck uses George to mirror the harsh and cruel reality of a typical itinerant ranch hand throughout America in a time of depression. Through the dream shared with Lennie, Steinbeck shows the importance of theoretical fantasies during the time the book was set as it gave people hope, a hope that helped people get through even the most difficult of times. Through Georges friendship with Lennie, we see how convivial friendship a rare and yet treasured thing as everyone longed for someone to talk to.