George Milton in Of Mice and Men

George Milton in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is crude, snarky, and downright normal. He’s a character that, while some of his decisions are questionable, is easy to relate to from his actions, thoughts, and personality. The idea of such a character being remindful of the reader by spirit or another is emphasized by Alan Moore’s quote, “I suppose all fictional characters, especially in adventure or heroic fiction, at the end of the day are our dreams about ourselves. And sometimes they can be really revealing.” Throughout the book, the reader will see George as an abundant wealth of realism from his own strengths and weakness. It’s not only limited to that, for his own appearance is neither an exaggerated stretch of flesh, nor an over-glorified Adonis, but that of an average person with common struggles in life (though that may be because of Steinbeck’s own habit of writing based off his experiences and views). Even though George’s speech may be considered partly obsolete, it not only is still understandable to readers, but it fits in the 1930’s setting in the book. Specifically, the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is a historical, western to be exact, book on the story of one George Milton and Lennie Small’s life on a ranch. George Milton is shown to be a conventional character that’s shown to be easy to relate to, right up until his last action.

In the beginning, there’s a certain “feel” already given on George’s strengths. He’s a role model for some, Lennie being the most evident example as shown by the quote, “Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly…” (Steinbeck 4) George, whose strengths are best exemplified with the times he’s with Lennie. Perhaps it’s because George travels and stay with L...

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...he action itself causes so much thought and reason, it’s unclear with its reason, and it was the main choice that lead to further characterization of George.

George Milton is as realistic as realistic can be, and that’s very much appreciated. It’s not sensitivity that makes him seem so realistic, but a sense on the harsher things on life. He shows strength in being loyal but it shows in such unconventional ways, and smart to hold his tongue yet he lets it run off when able to. However, in his ‘weaknesses’ he swears with a mouth that a grandma would be ashamed to kiss, and faces difficult (but real!) situations that make it so easy to relate to, including him killing Lennie. It’s with these ideas that George is fleshed out from a book to a being with a literal spine to readers, that it draws one to go back and think of what George would do in theoretical times.