Upon a rainy Sunday morning, I finished reading this novella. The story left in me melancholy, nostalgia, and pity. The author built the story with a promising and tranquil tone, that George and Lennie "gone get a little place", "got a future", and had each other. Ironically, the novella ends just the same: the same envision, the same characters, the same location where everything started.
Before jumping to the denouement, let us rewind to how everything began. George and Lennie were friends, one defined and one shapeless, respectively. They came to a ranch for a farming job, meeting Candy, the "old swamper", Curley, the boss's mean-spirited son, Slim, the mule driver, and Carlson, the ranch hand. Lennie had a preponderance for soft things, which he accidentally killed with his physical strengths: from mice to Slim's puppies though he never had a vicious purpose. When Candy's old dog was killed for his uselessness, it gave Candy a warning that he would eventually be "disposed of" when he reaches his old age, convincing him to join hands with George and Lennie to realize their joint dreams. One day, Lennie met Curley's wife, inveigled to touch her hair and yet again, accidentally broke her neck when trying to stop her cry without intending to kill her. When the manslaughter was discovered, George found Lennie at the bush where the story first took place. George stole Carlon's gun, killing Lennie out of mercy, or else Lennie would have been brutally murdered by the angry mob led by Curley.
The story gave readers a myriad of lessons, fleeting but haunting.
First, it is the tragic life of Curley's wife. Throughout the novella, her real name was never revealed but just her title, Curley's wife, indicating her inferior role not only in the ranch but also in society. Her dream of becoming an actress was shattered by her mother, her desire to have a friend was extinguished by the patriarchal men in the ranch. She led a reclusive existence in the ranch, nameless and friendless.
Second, Crooks appeared as a sharp-witted, polite, and above all, black man. He was consistently referred to by others as "negro" and lived in the stable. He made a rule for himself that as a black man was not allowed in white men's house, whites were not allowed in his. Notwithstanding this forbiddance, Crooks could not win his thirst for a companion when inviting Lennie, and then Candy to sit in. It can also be observed that Crooks had a common nature: turning vulnerability into the attack, which can be blatantly seen in many cartoons illustrating hierarchy.
Of the two belittled characters, we both sense loneliness and the wish for companionship. And Lennie inadvertently became the friend. He was like "a giant baby" without any discrimination or superiority. He just befriended them out of his naivety. But sometimes, fate is ironic.
Comments