“You remember about us goin’ into Murray and Ready’s, and they give us work cards and bus tickets?” (5)

My first thought when reading this line was, “Why would they need bus tickets and work cards?” At this point in the book nothing has really been explained as to who the characters are. The only thing we really have is their physical appearances, which doesn’t tell us much about where they come from or why they would be leaving there. It becomes apparent after reading a little bit more that they had to leave Weed, where they come from, because they were on the run because of Lennie touching a girls dress.

“Awright. You got that. But we’re gonna sleep here because I got a reason” (7).

Why were they going to sleep there? What WAS George’s reason? It made no sense to me, as it apparently didn’t to Lennie either. Why sleep in the forest/wilderness, when the ranch was only “about a quarter mile down”? It makes me wonder if George might have something up his sleeve, or maybe really does just want to enjoy a peaceful night in the wilderness, and “look up,” before he starts work the next day.

“I’d pet ‘em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead – because they was so little” (10).

This line kind of made me sad. To me it resembled something a small child would say. He sounds sad because he doesn’t realize his own force, and it is obvious that he really likes mice. He has no intent of harming the mice, he just wants to pet them, and he accidentally ends up killing them.

“When I think of the swell time I could have without you, I go nuts. I never get no peace” (12).

If George thinks that he could have such a “swell” time without Lennie, then why doesn’t he do it? I’m not sure exactly why he keeps Lennie under his watch, but I’m sure it isn’t forcefully. If he wants to go have a “peaceful” time then maybe he should, because the way he is talking to Lennie is probably just going to hurt his feelings. From what I have read so far in the book it doesn’t seem to be Lennie’s fault that he doesn’t remember things, because he doesn’t remember an awful lot. Most people wouldn’t just choose to “forget” basically everything they are told.

“Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. . . . With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. . . . because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that’s why” (14).

It is obvious by this line that the two care a lot about each other, and their well being. No matter how frustrated they may get with each other at times, it kind of seems like they’re the only people they have. They aren’t lonely because they always have the company of each other, and they’ve fallen into this pattern, and are used to it. I’m not sure if George just reassures Lennie with this, but it’s obvious that it isn’t the first time he has heard this.