Of Mice and Men Freedom and Confinement Quotes Page 1

George is sure to be a hard worker, but it’s clearly not the thing he enjoys best. For George, as for most people, it’s nicer to enjoy the woods than to be busy "bustin’ a gut" at work. Although George doesn’t have the same simple delight in nature that Lennie does, what he really revels in is the freedom from work, the chance to spend a lazy evening under the stars. It almost seems that there’s a reason George has been a traveling man of the road, rather than getting tied down to any one place. Transient living has its downsides (like poverty and homelessness), but being free is priceless.

George’s outburst concludes with a wish that he could lock Lennie up (presumably trapping him the same way George feels confined by their friendship). Once he’s said this awful thing, he stops himself from ranting and becomes ashamed, especially once he’s seen how he’s hurting his friend. This is an important moment of distinction between confinement that’s forced on you and confinement you choose. Friendship shouldn’t be a kind of prison, but rather a voluntary bond. George knows the difference.

The relationship between George and Lennie constricts them both in different ways: in this particular situation, George needs Lennie to speak up, but Lennie is under orders from George not to speak up at all. George, because he’s so stern about having Lennie always follow his orders, is now under the watchful gaze of the boss, confining him even further. Throughout the novella, George has the habit of getting backed into a corner of his own design. This idea is especially interesting if we consider George’s final decision in the novella – is it a liberating choice, or just another episode of George being backed into a corner?