george Flashcards
(21 cards)
‘first man’ ‘follower’
establishes power dynamics as geroge is lennies protector as normally if you want to protect someone you go in front of them
its clear that george is the leader and lennie clearly depends on him
dont drink so much… you gonna be sick
george reprimands lennie like a father scolding a child. although geroges temper is tested, he clearly has lennie interests at mind
i aint done nothing like that no more
the incident at the sacramento river has a sacred significance as the name of the river connotes: George realizes the moral duty that comes with power (he has power over lennie because he is intelligent and lennie is vunerable)
we see this moral duty fulfilled when george praises lennies work to the boss and slim he repeatedly says that lennie ‘aint mean’ and by soothing lennie with their dream of being able to ‘live on the fatta the lan’
perhaps the most significant way he protects lennie is by killing him at the end of the novella in order to avoid a savage killing by curley or avoid the inhumane treatment in the mental asylum
george is a symbol of human compassion
this contrasts with the society he lives
at the sacramento river george learned the moral lesson that it is wrong to take advantage of the weak. Of Mice and Men follows him toward a difficult realization that the world is designed to prey on the weak
high unemployment caused the great depression and the dust bowl george lives in a world where its every man to himself
president hoover championed the notion of ‘rugged individualism’ and ‘self reliance’ that he argued protected american liberties but abandoned the most vulnerable in society
so seeing george looking out for someone who is weaker than him especially when he dosent need to look after him creates a contrast towards society when everyone looked out for themselves
georges power over lennie could also mirror the power landowners had over migrant workers. this contrasts to geroge as he learns at the sacramento river than power comes with responsibility which he lives up to, which is what the landowners failed to do as they continued to exploit migrant workers
through george steinbeck encourages the reader to question our moral duty to one another
you crazy bastard (1)
georges aggression is juxtaposed with his parental role which makes the reader call his character into question
when i think of the crazy time id have without you, i go nuts(1)
georges insensitivity at times reveals how burdened he feels being responsible for lennie
although he is callous in these moments, he never strays away from protecting lennie. if anything these outbursts reveal the sacrifice george makes and the extent of his unhappiness as this is a bad time to live and having the burden of having to look after someone who continuously gets into trouble is very stressful
please dont do that. georgell be mad
george tries to control lennie through fear. it could even be argued that curleys wife’s death results from the fear instilled in lennie
contexts of georges short temper in respects to mental disabilities
those with mental disabilities in the 1930s were often segregated from society by admitting them into mental asylums.
georges occasional poor treatment of lennie mirrors how the mentally ill were viewed as a burned to society and the inhumane treatment they recieved
there was very little understanding about mental illnesses during this time. many of the treatment such as lobotomy did more harm than good. although not as extreme,
georges attempt to control lennie through fear is another example f the little understanding society has on the mentally ill and how to correctly care for them
cynical readings of georges short temper
when describing how much better hus life would be, does george not reveal a motive for killing lennie in the end
does george enjoy the power he has over lennie in a world where he has very little power over anything else, he streches his hand out ‘imperiously’ and snaps ‘his fingers sharply’ when trying to get the mouse from lennie (1) almost like a dog
i got you to look after me and you got me to look after you (1)
the sentence/refrain memorized by lennie reveals the interdepencancy of george and lennies relationship. we reaise that this is a symbiotic relationship as they both benefit from being with one another.
male friendship became a necessary distraction (and a survival mechanism) in the face of social unheaval and economic devastation
solitaire
george is described as repeadedly playing the card game for one symbolizing his lonliness (deep down he truley is lonley) or forshadowing the solitary life ahead of him
context behind lonliness
the high demand for work amongst migrant workers created a competitive and hostile environment. rather than their hardships being a uniting factor, it set them against each other in the name of self interest or survival.
the transient lifestyle where they continuously travelled for work made it impossible to settle down with a family
tramp, bitch, rattrap, poison, jailbait (2)
george shows instant dislike towards curleys wife based on little interaction shows the contempt(disrespect) for women. his disgust towards cureleys wife sexuality is contradictory as he daydreams about beung able to stay in a ‘cat house’ all night and potentialy viit ‘old susy’s place’ (4) (which is what he would do if he wasn’t looking after lennie)
context behind misogyny
george had grown up in a patriachal society where women are considered the weaker sex
through georges unfair portrayal of curleys wife steinbeck draws attention to the impossible position of women in the 1930s
on one hand, they were expected to be pure and domesticated, on the other hand, they were objectified by men to serve their sexual needs- women cant win, George is used to highlight the misogyny
since george is living a transient life, its possible that george has very little experience with a woman. maybe he feels threatned by curleys wife who challenges the binary stereotypes of a woman (pure domesticated or sex worker)
living offa the fatta the lan
george has the ambition to be self suffiecient and control his own fate. in sharing this ambition with lennie and candy, he goes against the grain of self interested ethos of the migrant workers. hes challenging a time of self interest and instead creating a sense of community
this dream gives him comfort during this difficult time and a sense of purpose
also george knows that for either him or lennie to confront the truth about lennie- that hes a burden and a dangerous one that it would tear them apart so he retreats into the dream of him and lennie having their own farm
‘ten bucks’ ‘ ill work my month an ill take my fifty bucks an ill stay all night in some lousy cay house.. an then ill come back an work another month an ill have fifty bucks more
we question the seriousness of this dream when we find out they they only have £10 between them despite making a hundred in total by a month and then george returns to his typical migrant life at the end of the novel by telling candy that hes going to spend it at a cathouse. but we question if he was doing anything different before since they only £10, either the dream was impossible or george wasnt willing to make it happen
as hinted by the titles allusion to robert burns famous quotes ‘the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry’, steinbeck is highlighting man is doomed. not only are poverty and exploitation obstacles in a mans life, but so is human nature, they let themselves down. george is a flawed character. humans are flawed so we cant have a ‘perfect life’
context behind american dream
the faliure of george and lennies dream highlights the unattainability of the american dream during the great depression
the dream at best was an illusion and at worst a trap unattainable dreams in a way are still a necesary in order to make life bearable.
moral dilemmas george is faced with
when he shoots lennie- he saves him from being admitted to a mental asylum where he would recieve brutal treatment.
by intergrating him in ranch life places curleys life into danger which then places lennie in danger as hes then going to be hunted.
FULL CIRCLE OF LENNIE BEING IN A BAD POSITION
clear sense of justice when he ordered lennie to beat up curley even though it threatnes their job
if he lets lennie live he will facea brutal attack from curley or be admitted to an asylum
lennie is put in impossible situations where neither desicions have a good outcome- hopelessness , he has to do the bad thing (kill lennie) in order to do the moral thing
i ought to of shot that dog myself (candy,3 )
draws parallels to georges predicament and presents his actions as euthanasia
does he ley curley kill lennie, or should he do it himself in a quicker/nicer way
now what the hell ya supoose in eatin them (carlson)
contrasts george and slim to the other ranch men to emphasize their compassion- emphasises cruel and lonely world they live in. they didnt have compassion for each other because they didnt live in a world that encourages compassion
you hadda i swear you hadda (slim, 6)
as the moral character in the novella slims support of georges actions comforts the reader- it was a difficult decision to kill him but the right one
