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Which to choose?  Friendship or Isolation...

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Which to choose?  Friendship or Isolation...

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In this novella, George and Lennie represent THE ideal male friendship.  They don’t talk about how they feel about each other or why they should stay loyal – they just stand by each other, and that’s that.

In contrast, everyone else is isolated from one another.  Everyone seems to get along quite well together by talking about how isolated they are, even though the men on the ranch are constantly together and chatting.

Although they are always together, George and Lennie are isolated from the rest of the world. Friendship is a negative relationship in the novella; every time any character gets close to any other, something goes wrong.

Friendship:

LENNIE exclaimed, "But I wouldn’t eat none, George. I’d leave it all for you. You could cover your beans

with it and I wouldn’t touch none of it." (p.13 in pdf)

Isolation:

LENNIE whined, "If you don’ want me I can go off in the hills an’ find a cave. I can go away any time." (p. 14 in pdf)

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The American Dream:  a reality or an illusion?

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The American Dream:  a reality or an illusion?

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Of Mice and Men captures the feel of rural America during the Depression. Different outlooks are presented:
--the never-will-be starlet trying to make it to Hollywood,
--the isolated black man born and raised in California,
--a ranch full of men that like to go to whorehouses, play pool, and drink away their earnings
--men that are constantly bouncing from job to job just shy of making ends meet.

The America of Of Mice and Men is populated with dreamers who are constantly struggling to achieve their dreams.

This novella argues that there is no single America. Rather, there are many different groups

(women, blacks, farm workers, farm owners), each with their own unique struggle.

Quote:

GEORGE complained, "…If I was bright, if I was even a little bit smart, I’d have my own little place, an’ I’d be bringin’ in my own crops, ‘stead of doin’ all the work and not getting what comes up outa the ground."
(p. 40 in pdf)

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Of Mice and Men deals with many of America’s age-old, hot-button issues, including sexism, racism, ageism, and discrimination against those with disabilities. Most importantly, this prejudice isn’t ever explicitly noted or fought against – those who are discriminated against accept the prejudice against them as a way of life.

Prejudice is a fact of life on the ranch because it was a fact of life everywhere in America at

that time.

Crooks said darkly, "Guys don’t come into a colored man’s room very much." (p. 76 in pdf)

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George said, "I want you to stay with me, Lennie. Jesus Christ,somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself. No, youstay with me. Your Aunt Clara wouldn’t like you running off byyourself, even if she is dead." (p. 14 in pdf)

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George complained, ''God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live soeasy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess ' all,and when the end of the month come I coul' take my fifty bucksand go into town and get what‘ ever I want. Why, I could stay in acat house night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or an place,and order any damn thing I could think of. An’ I could do all thatevery damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool roomand play cards or shoot pool." (p. 12)

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George complained, ''God a’mighty, if I was alone I could live soeasy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess ' all,and when the end of the month come I coul' take my fifty bucksand go into town and get what‘ ever I want. Why, I could stay in acat house night. I could eat any place I want, hotel or an place,and order any damn thing I could think of. An’ I could do all thatevery damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool roomand play cards or shoot pool." (p. 12)

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George said, "Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place. They come to a ranch an’ work up a stake and then they go inta town and blow their stake, and the first thing you know they’re poundin’ their tail on some other ranch. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to."
(p.15 in pdf)

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Lennie broke in."But not us! An’ why? Because .... because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why." He laughed delightedly. "Go on now, George!"
(p.15 in pdf)

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 "O.K. Someday - we’re gonna get the jack together and we’regonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and somepigs and -" "An’ live off the fatta the lan’,"Lennie shouted. "An’ haverabbits.Go on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the gardenand about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in thewinter and the stove, and how thick the cream is an the milk likeyou can hardly cut it. Tell about that, George."  

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 "O.K. Someday - we’re gonna get the jack together and we’regonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and somepigs and -" "An’ live off the fatta the lan’,"Lennie shouted. "An’ haverabbits.Go on, George! Tell about what we’re gonna have in the gardenand about the rabbits in the cages and about the rain in thewinter and the stove, and how thick the cream is an the milk likeyou can hardly cut it. Tell about that, George."  

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(p.16 in pdf)

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’ An’ he give the stable buck hell, too." George patted a wrinkle out of his bed, and sat ' down. "Give the stable buck hell?" he asked. "Sure. Ya see the stable buck’s a nigger."
(p.20 in pdf)

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George broke in loudly, "Oh! I ain’t saying he’s bright. He ain’t, But I say he’s a God damn good worker. He can put up a four hundred pound bale."
(p.22 in pdf)

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George pretended a lack of interest. "Looks like we was gonna have fun." The swamper stood up from his box. "Know what I think?" George did not answer. "Well, I think Curley's married . . . . a tart." "He ain't the first," said George. "There's plenty done that."
(p.29 in pdf)

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George said,  ''If we can get jus' a few dollars in the poke we'll shove off and go up the American River and pan gold. We can make maybe a couple of dollars a day there, and we might hit a pocket."
(p.34 in pdf)

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"You guys travel around together?" His tone was friendly. It invited confidence without demanding it. "Sure," said George. "We kinda look after each other." He indicated Lennie with his thumb. "He ain't bright. Hell of a good worker, though. Hell of a nice fella, but he ain't bright. I've knew him for a long time." Slim looked through George and beyond him. "Ain't many guys travel around together," he mused. "I don't know why. Maybe ever'body in the whole damn world is scared of each other." "It's a lot nicer to go around with a guy you know," said George.
(p.36 in pdf)

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Slim moved back slightly so the light was not on his face. "Funny how you an' him string along together." It was Slim's calm invitation to confidence. "What's funny about it?" George demanded defensively. "Oh, I dunno. Hardly none of the guys ever travel together. I hardly never seen two guys travel together.''
(p.40 in pdf)

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"I ain't got no people," George said. "I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain't no good. They don't have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin' to fight all the time. "Yeah, they get mean," Slim agreed. "They get so they don't want to talk to nobody."
(p.41 in pdf)

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Slim said,  "Carl's right, Candy. That dog ain't no good to himself. I wisht somebody'd shoot me if I get old an' a cripple."
(p.46 in pdf)

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Lennie asked,  "George, how long's it gonna be till we get that little place an' liveon the fatta the lan-an' rabbits?" 

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Lennie asked,  "George, how long's it gonna be till we get that little place an' liveon the fatta the lan-an' rabbits?" 

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(p.58 in pdf)

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"Why ain't you wanted?" Lennie asked. "'Cause I'm black. They play cards in there, but I can't play because I'm black. ''
(p.69 in pdf)

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Crooks whined  "A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya," he cried, "I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick."
(p.73 in pdf)

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 "I seen hunderds of men comeby on the road an' on the ranches, with their bindles on their backan' that same damn thing in their heads. Hunderds of them. Theycome, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got alittle piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Everybody wants a little piece oflan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven,and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head. They're all thetime talkin' about it, but it's jus' in their head." 

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 "I seen hunderds of men comeby on the road an' on the ranches, with their bindles on their backan' that same damn thing in their heads. Hunderds of them. Theycome, an' they quit an' go on; an' every damn one of 'em's got alittle piece of land in his head. An' never a God damn one of 'em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Everybody wants a little piece oflan'. I read plenty of books out here. Nobody never gets to heaven,and nobody gets no land. It's just in their head. They're all thetime talkin' about it, but it's jus' in their head." 

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(p.75-76 in pdf)

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Crooks said angrily,  "You got no rights comin' in a colored man's room. You got no rights messing around in here at all. Now you jus' get out, an' get out quick. If you don't, I'm gonna ast the boss not to ever let you come in the barn no more."
(p.80 in pdf)

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Curley's wife whined, "Aw, nuts!" she said. "What kinda harm am I doin' to you? Seems like they ain't none of them cares how I gotta live. I tell you I ain't used to livin' like this. I coulda made somethin' of myself."
(p.88 in pdf)

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George said,  "Because I got you an'' "An' I got you. We got each other, that's what, that gives a hoot in hell about us," Lennie cried in triumph.''
(p.104 in pdf)