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Crooks said, "Candy leaned against the wall beside the broken collar while he scratched his wrist stump. "I been here a long time," he said. "An' Crooks been here a long time. This's the first time I ever been in his room."

Crooks said darkly, "Guys don't come into a colored man's room very much."" (Steinbeck, 107)
Prejudice works both ways: Crooks may be isolated because of his skin color, but the white guys might also be missing out on a good friend.

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Lennie said, "Lennie said, "I thought you was mad at me, George."

"No," said George. "No, Lennie, I ain't mad. I never been mad, and I ain' now. That's a thing I want ya to know.""(Steinbeck, 147)
Lennie's biggest fear isn't being locked up: it's being locked out. To him, being on George's bad side would be about worse than anything. And George telling him here that he's never going to be mad at him makes Lennie so happy.

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George said, "George said softly, "—I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we'd never do her. He usta like to hear about it so much I got to thinking maybe we would."" (Steinbeck, 131)
It turns out that dreams, hopes, and plans aren't worth all that much when you know they'll never come true in the first place. But maybe George clung to their shared dream because it helped him schelp along through a rather tough life.

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Candy said, "Then—it’s all off?" Candy asked sulkily. George didn’t answer his question. George said, "I’ll work my month an’ I’ll take my fifty bucks an’ I’ll stay all night in some lousy cat house. Or I’ll set in some poolroom til ever’body goes home. An’ then I’ll come back an’ work another month an’ I’ll have fifty bucks more." (Steinbeck, 131)
George is farther away than ever of his dream, looking forward to a life of cat houses and pool rooms.. Unfortunately, it's the only life he knows.

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""…You go on get outta my room. I ain’t wanted in the bunk house, and you ain’t wanted in my room."
"Why ain’t you wanted?" Lennie asked.
"’Cause I’m black…"" (Steinbeck, 100
Lennie can’t fathom racial prejudice. We’ve already seen he doesn’t have a lot of the societal niceties down (like when to pet girls and when not to pet girls), but it’s actually pretty interesting that Lennie doesn’t think of Crooks as being different from himself. Remember, Lennie is more in touch with the natural side of things than the "civilized" side of things, so he doesn’t accept the "institution" of racism.

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"Sure," said George. "All kin's a vegetables in the garden, and if we want a little whisky we can sell a few eggs or something, or some milk. We'd jus' live there. We'd belong there. There wouldn't be no more runnin' round the country and gettin' fed by a Jap cook. No, sir, we'd have our own place where we belonged and not sleep in no bunk house." (Steinbeck, 85)
George's story about the dream farm is so detailed that it almost sounds like a plan, complete with how they're going to get whisky. So what's the difference between a dream and a plan? Just money? Or something more?

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"Candy said, "That bitch didn't ought to of said that to you."

"It wasn't nothing," Crooks said dully. "You guys comin' in an' settin' made me forget. What she says is true." (Steinbeck, 115)
Turns out, there's a little spark left in Crooks, too. He has a vision of America where he can retain a little dignity working for Candy, Lennie, and George—but Curley's wife is happy to step all over his little American Dream, even though hers is just as unattainable.

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"The old man squirmed uncomfortably. "Well-hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him." He said proudly, "You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen." (Steinbeck, 71)
This is almost the exact same thing that George says about Lennie: he's "had him so long." But can you really be friends with a dog? Or someone who's way mentally inferior to you?

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George said, ' [...] "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 outta the ground.'" (Steinbeck, 65)

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"'Stable Buck - ooh, sta-able Buck!' And then, 'Where the hell is that God damn nigger?'.

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Lennie said, "'If it was here, you could have some.' 'But I wouldn't eat none, George. I'd leave it all to you. You could cover your beans with it and I wouldn't touch none of it.'" (Steinbeck, 30

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George said, "[...] we'll have a big vegetable Patch and a rabbit hutch and chickens..." (Steinbeck, 33)

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George said, "I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cathouse all night." (Steinbeck, 29)

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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." (Steinbeck, ##)

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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.

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." (Steinbeck, 93-95)

VS.

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

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Slim said, "dgfsfvgfewirvgfiewgfeiurvgfiegfiegfvgfiugeiub vrr vervwe" (Steinbeck, 71-72).
Slim is saying that old people are isolated and don't deserve a full life.

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Racism, sexism, ageism: just parts of our human nature?  

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Racism, sexism, ageism: just parts of our human nature?  

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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." (Steinbeck, ##)

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In Of Mice and Men, dreams, hopes, and plans are the very foundation of what makes life worth living, but they are also double-edged. What does this mean?

The word "dream" is never used in the book in reference to anything like a hope or aspiration.

The characters never regard their hopes as impossible things to

fulfill. Instead, they see them as concrete and realistic plans.

GEORGE said, "O.K. Someday—we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and ...." (Steinbeck, ##)