George -> strong and quick witted character BUT can be short tempered. - George has the most potential out of all of the hopeful characters as he is both clever and physically strong however, his understandable attachment to Lennie restrains his bright future.
Weakness: subconsciously dependent on Lennie - blames him for his failures. Seems unable to accept his situation as a migrant worker, constantly tells Lennie how he could be living if he did not have to look after him -> often takes advantage of L's mental incapability to release his anger.
Loneliness: George's closest companion has mental difficulties, hard to converse with - also constantly forgets things (repetitive conversations). Plays solitaire - a one player game. Lonely after Lennie dies -> dependent on his company. Unable to settle - no wife or home - due to L's unpredictable behaviour -> life has no constant (apart from Lennie) - little comfort
Dreams: After working on the ranch George wants to 'live off the fat of the land' with Lennie - FREEDOM. He believes they could succeed despite the cynicism surrounding the 'American Dream', very hopeful - the idea of owning their own piece of land = safety and comfort - no one can cause trouble for Lennie.
Friendship: George + Lennie - G is familial figure to L, acting as a brother/father. -> L has great respect for him (beginning of book, copies G). Authoritative towards Lennie e.g. 'don't drink so much'. L is G's 'responsibility' essentially, he does not have to look after Lennie but he feels obliged to e.g. at the beginning of the book George has had to escape with Lennie from Weed because L had been involved in a misinterpreted situation (was wrongly accused of rape) - G is very protective over L and understands his good intentions -> does not want anyone to mislead or provoke Lennie (does not allow L to talk to Curley's Wife) - or take advantage of his naivety. Knows what's best for L and makes a very brave decision at the end of the book to kill him instead of letting him suffer hatred and discrimination.
George + Candy - business arrangement rather than friendship, G is reliant on Candy to provide for them - C would play a large part in the outcome of their Dream if it was to succeed. Candy offers G + L money to aid their payment for the Dream in return for a place on their future piece of land -> mutual acceptance, no problem with each other.
George + Slim - G and Slim are on par with each other mentally -> both intelligent.
Best Laid Plans: George made plans to ensure the Dream's success e.g. he found a piece of land to buy, calculated the number of days both he and L would have to work to accumulate the right amount of money ALSO made arrangements with another worker (Candy) who offered him a good amount of money and would enable them to achieve the Dream sooner. - HOWEVER - each member were dependent on each other, needed all 3 to enable its success. -> inevitable that with L's uncontrollable behaviour they would not be able to do it altogether.
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