George

George is the narrative’s central character, its protagonist. Initially portrayed as sharp-tongued, violent of temper, and grudgingly compassionate, events of the narrative gradually peel away layers of personality to reveal a profound sense of loneliness and a deep sense of affection, perhaps even love, for Lennie. George is, it seems, a good man but a markedly wounded one, desperate for something, anything that will bring what he believes to be an empty existence some meaning.

For most of George’s adult life, it seems, he has been able to fill that emptiness with two things – dreams of an independently owned and run farm, and his friendship with Lennie, whom he often seems to berate but who, in turn, needs and respects and values him. The tragedy of the narrative is that, by its conclusion, George ends up with neither of those things. It might not be going...