"An' why? Because...because I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why." You see that quote? That’s a true symbol of what we call "brotherhood". A strong sacred oath that guys share when they come together and stand by one another. In the book 'Of Mice and Men' we see many examples of brother hood. Mainly between the two characters Lennie and George. Not only that but the guys who work together unite and show a sign of brotherhood. They unite and play games such as horse shoes or flop house. They also united when it came down to killing Lennie; but doesn't go against what "brother hood" symbolizes? Is Steinbeck trying to tell us that brotherhood is a good thing but doesn't always last?
So through out the book you read about all the situations that Lennie and George go through. They form a tight bond known as 'brotherhood' between them. They meet years ahead of the book when Lennie was still being taken care of by his aunt. When she passed away George promised her that he would take care of him. They stick together through thick and thin, but dealing with Lennie there seems to be much more "THICK" then thin that they have to go through. Even though George could be a free spirit and roam around the world as freely as he would like; he doesn't. Since he's handicap free he bounds himself down to Lennie. We may ask ourselves why would he do this since he complained through out the whole book that Lennie held him back. Crooks once said,"'A guy needs somebody-to be near him.' He whined, 'A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody.' Could this be the reason why brotherhood is ultimately formed?
Brotherhood could be shared through a small group of people like Lennie, George, and Candy. Or even a large group of people such as the whole work force. Those group of guys lived together in a flophouse and also came together to play games such as horseshoes. Horseshoes is a game that’s been around for many centuries. It was played by the Romans (then called 'discuss throwing') and even by the guys in the revolutionary war. Its been an ultimate form of companionship through games. In order to play two groups of people must come together and try to get the highest amount of points in order to win. I believe that this is a way that Steinbeck attempts to show that all the guys in the work force are together as one big team.
Towards the end of the book we see examples of how the 'brotherhood' among the group of men have strengthened and pulled through. By the end of the book we also see it take a turn for the worse. Steinbeck leaves us with a baffling though towards the end of the book. Did the oath of 'brotherhood' end or get stronger? Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife. Out of rage and a prior dislike to Lennie, Curly flips and forms a party to go search and kill Lennie. The men that once stood by Lennie were now on their way to go KILL him. Out of panic George is determined to find Lennie and kill him first so that he doesn't have to go through misery. In the end did 'brotherhood' as we know it end? Or did it get stronger? Was the brotherhood between the workers and Curly strong enough for the workers to override their brotherhood towards Lennie? Did George kill Lennie despite their own personal brotherhood and love for eachother? Or did he do it because of his new 'brotherhood' with the workers?
In the end of the book we may never know why these things happened. Does 'brotherhood' have certain levels of trust, or made to one day completely crash and burn? Is it a good thing or will you end up being 'shot in the back' by someone that you once cared about. Throughout the book the brotherhood between George and Lennie, and all the workers seemed to be strong but eventually took a drastic plunge. Steinbeck! You crazy ol' dude, what are you trying to tell us? I guess is up to the reader to draw their own conclusions. What do you think huh?
Quotes
#1(Chapter 1, pg. 14)
#2(Chapter 4, pg. 72)
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