Character Name: George Milton
Age: It's never stated. He looks to be in his late 20s to early 30s.
Canon: Of Mice and Men (Book)
Canon point: The end of the novel, the night he goes drinking with Slim after shooting Lennie.
History: George had the misfortune of being an intelligent man born in hard times. Much of his background is a mystery as with many drifters. For a large part of his life, at least since coming of age and moving into the work force, George took care of a mentally disabled giant of a man named Lennie Small. They were both born in Auburn, and George knew Lennie's Aunt Clara. Before she died, he promised her he'd look after Lennie.
The decision had a momentous impact on George's life. It largely shaped and defined every interaction and job he had as he moved up and down northern California looking for work during the Great Depression. Although Lennie was a simple man, George's relationship to him was complex and sometimes contradictory. He viewed him both as the albatross around his neck who never allowed him to get ahead and as the companion who kept him away from vices such as drinking and frequenting prostitutes. With Lennie in his life, George wasn't engulfed by the terrible solitude and isolation of a migrant ranch worker's lot. He had purpose and direction, and eventually he had a dream.
It started as nothing more than a story to keep Lennie's mind occupied as they traveled from job to job, always winding up driven away because of Lennie's childishness and inability to judge his own strength. No matter how close of an eye George kept on the man, eventually he would do something, kill a small animal while trying to pet it, touch a woman's soft dress uninvited, and it was time to move on hastily, sometimes at the head of a mob out for blood.
The story typified the American dream: living off the fat of the land, a place to call their own, a place where Lennie no longer had to be afraid and could raise rabbits. Together they worked to save their meager wages, and it seemed the story would always be nothing more than an out of reach dream to pacify Lennie, until they arrived at a small ranch outside of Soledad, California.
Among the motley collection of ranch hands was an old, one handed man named Candy. When he caught wind of their plans, he offered $350 toward the stake. Suddenly, the pipe dream seemed well within reach. George displayed practicality and intelligence in calculating exactly how much longer they'd need to work, finding them a prospect, and putting the plan into motion.
Although initially wary of Candy, he recognized that he was more than just someone to give them money. He was willing to cut him in all the way and widen his circle of two to one of three. He recognized his decency and was moved by his plea not to be tossed away as useless when the ranch owners eventually decided he was no longer worth paying.
The dream died abruptly when Lennie accidentally killed Curley's wife while petting her hair. Once George saw the body, he knew it was all over. He stole a gun from one of the ranch hands named Carlson during the initial confusion and misdirected the mob now out for Lennie's blood, knowing his companion would be where he told him to meet him if anything went sour. It was a plan they had relied upon countless times before, a necessity due to Lennie's nature.
When George found Lennie, he reassured him and comforted him. He took the opportunity to let him know that out of all the times he "gave him hell" and seemed angry with him, he never truly was. Knowing that Curley intended to gut shoot Lennie when he found him, a horribly painful way to die, he had him look out across the water and told him the story of the dream one last time. During the telling with the mob drawing closer, he took out the pistol, aimed it at the base of Lennie's skull, and shot him dead. Rather than an act of anger or frustration, it was one final act of love.
When they arrived, the ranch hands assumed that Lennie had stolen the pistol and that George had been forced to fight him for it and shoot him. George didn't bother to disabuse them of the notion, only Slim seeming to understand what had really happened. When Slim offered to take George out for a stiff drink, he accepted without hesitation. Not only was it clear that the dream and Lennie were dead, but it seemed that the best of George was dead, too. Everything that had kept him anchored and given him reason to be different was gone.
Personality:Loyal: George was in a position in life where caring for a man who wasn't even family was a burden and a very real threat to his continued survival and ability to make a living. No matter where they landed, sooner or later Lennie ruined it for them. Although he found himself often frustrated, George never abandoned Lennie. He knew Lennie would never survive without him, and he willingly took on the responsibility not only of keeping him safe but trying to keep him happy. He stood up for him, and when he was physically incapable of that because he would be overpowered encouraged Lennie to stand up for himself and fight for himself, such as when Curley tried to bully him. He always comforted him afterwards and made sure he knew it was OK.
Empathetic: Traveling with Lennie forced George to grow as a person and see things from others' viewpoints. Seeing how poorly many people were inclined to treat Lennie because he was different and emotionally defenseless, including how he used to treat him, himself, made him more open to others' experiences of oppression. He didn't join in the contempt with which the other workers treated Candy for his disability or Crooks for his race. He didn't see Candy as a burden for his age. He talked with Slim about how hard things were for Lennie and how he just wanted him safe.
Hard-Working: George was willing to take any work he could in a time when work was scarce and farm work/ranching dangerous and grueling. He never sought to laze away in the bunkhouse or shirk just because Lennie was stronger and had more stamina than he. He was out there with him every day taking the same risks and making sure both of them had a roof over their heads and enough to eat. Despite the fact he may have had more financial stability without Lennie and have been able to move up to a life of more ease, he didn't choose the easy way out. Once he realized his pipe dream could be a concrete reality, he doubled down with the full intention of making it happen.
Impatient: There were plenty of times Lennie was too much for George. By his own admission, he was quick to rake him over the coals verbally when he forgot important things, made mistakes, or asked him too many questions. He wasn't above taking his temper out on him with a stern talking to, despite how bad he'd feel about it after the fact. Sometimes he expected too much of him, only to realize later he needed to give him more time. Taking time away from Lennie ultimately opened the opportunity for Curley's wife to approach him, not realizing he was dangerous when scared, and led to tragedy on multiple fronts, her death, Lennie's, and the death of George's and Candy's dreams of anything beyond desperate, hardscrabble lives and likely early graves.
Hot Headed: Lennie wasn't the only one subjected to George's quick tongue or tendency to lash out. He gave Candy plenty of hell for spilling the beans about the land stake to Crooks. He openly admitted his hatred for Curley and said he might have a go at him, himself. It was implied several times throughout the novel that the only thing keeping George from some of his worst tendencies was being responsible for Lennie. He often spoke before thinking and said he'd be a hard drinker if it was just on him. The two of them together had been in more than their fair share of fights. It's unlikely from what we see of George that all of those were on Lennie.Suitability: George is clever, practical, observant, and a survivor who knows how to keep his ear to the ground and read the mood of a crowd. He is at his best when his life has purpose. Although he is at a point in his life of having suffered a major loss and having been forced to do something unfathomably painful, at his core he's a good, decent man capable of great sacrifice for the greater good. Redemption will likely be a powerful motivator and driving theme once he becomes aware that his situation has changed and that there is more to life than anything he has seen before. If he becomes aware the very world is at stake, that's something he'll want to stick around for.
Powers/Abilities: George has no extraordinary powers. He is good at budgeting and managing money and inventory as well as making do with very little, has animal wrangling and farm skills, is a fast talker with an ability to be persuasive (he had to be to convince others to hire him and Lennie together as a team), knows trouble when he sees it, and can be diplomatic when he's not the one with temper flaring. He's also decent in a scrap and not a terrible hand at cards.
Entity Affinity: Although George has no powers or magic, a few different affinities could apply to him because of his history and recent events:
The Buried: Poverty and financial strain have plagued George his entire life. He has known lean, hungry times, and has believed for most of his life he'd never get out from under it. He feels that all the more keenly now that he had a way out in his grasp only to have it brutally ripped away by circumstances beyond his control.
The Desolation: George was forced to end Lennie's life to prevent him from an even worse death. In George's mind, realistic or not, he believed that if he could just find the right place, he could save Lennie from himself. The fact that he failed eats him alive.
The Lonely: Although it took George time to realize that he needed Lennie as much as Lennie needed him, he did come to recognize it. He liked who he was with Lennie. He realized their bond was what set them apart from every other desperate bindlestiff on the road, and he knows that without him, he has also lost the best parts of himself. He fears he's not enough to push back his own dark tendencies or desperate actions to fill the void.
The Slaughter: Once Curley found his wife, there was no chance whatsoever of Lennie making it out alive. George couldn't move him fast enough and wasn't familiar enough with the region to hide him. He had time in which to make a plan to steal a gun with the full knowledge that he had to reach him first and had to be the one who pulled the trigger. It was a horrific inevitability that will haunt him to the end of his days.Inventory: George is wearing a singlet under a stiff cotton shirt and a thick denim work jacket with brass buttons, a wide brimmed work hat, boxers under a pair of Levi's, a worn leather belt, a pair of socks, and scuffed work boots. He has a folding pocket knife. He's carrying a bindle that consists of a bedroll, a razor, a bar of Ivory soap wrapped in a bandana, a box of matches, and 3 beat up spoons. In an outer pocket of the canvas bindle rests a sturdy pair of leather work gloves.
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