Less than a month away from achieving their dream, the whole thing comes down in tatters. While George and the other ranch hands are playing horse shoes, Lennie first accidentally kills the puppy George had Slim give him. It's while he's lamenting over this that Curley's wife finds him and has a conversation with him. She invites him to pet her hair and seals her fate. As he did with the woman's dress in Weed, he grabs on too tight and panics when she screams and struggles to get away. He snaps her neck effortlessly. He manages to recall what George drilled into his head about where to go and what to do if something bad happens and sneaks away to the river campsite where the novel opens. Candy first discovers her and very quickly fetches George. George immediately knows what has happened. Once again demonstrating an ability to think on his feet and under intense emotional pressure, George convinces Candy to let him go back to the bunkhouse and wait to tell the rest of the men. He claims it's so the others won't think he's in on it. In reality, he's stealing another ranch hand's Luger because he knows that there's no chance of saving Lennie. Curley and the other men will be too intent on carrying out their own brand of justice. He has a brief conversation with Slim about the possibility of just having Lennie locked up and somehow convincing Curley not to kill him. Both men agree it would be cruel given the state of institutions at the time and that the likelihood of putting Curley off his plans is slim to none. He initially sends the party in the wrong direction from the one he knows Lennie took to buy them some time and proves himself to be a competent liar when the situation calls for it.
He agrees to go along with the hunting party. Somehow he's able to evade them despite Curley claiming he'll be keeping a close eye on him. He finds Lennie waiting where he told him to wait. He calms him down and tells him he's not angry with him and never really has been. He tells him it's important for him to understand that. In calming Lennie down, he's also saying good-bye to him without letting on it's his intention. He still puts Lennie's needs before his own. For one last time he paints the picture of their dream and has him look away from him and over the river so he won't see the gun in his hand or be aware of what he intends to do. Somehow he manages to maintain his composure and not break down despite how hard this is for him. Twice he raises the gun and has to lower it again. When the search party gets too close, he steadies his shaking hand and shoots him once in the back of the head, making a clean kill. He then claims Lennie stole the gun, that he got it away from him, and killed him. Of all of the men in the party, only Slim really seems to understand what has happened and assures him that he had to do it. It takes tremendous self-control, strength of character, and selfless love to do what George did. He's responsible for Lennie all the way up to the bitter end.
George knows his dream is over and that without Lennie his life is as meaningless and empty as those of all the other migrant workers he has seen and known in his travels. He agrees to go off with Slim for a drink, resigned to his lonely fate and refusing even to consider still pursuing the dream with Candy and without Lennie. He seems to have no awareness of his own intrinsic worth, beaten down by circumstance and society to accept external definitions of what gives a person value or meaning, namely wealth, possessions, land, and power. It's a bleak, realistic ending for a dream that remained out of reach for most of the working poor in the Depression and a novel outlining their plight, and George is a poignant representation of that.
Flavor Abilities: N/A George is an average human.
Suitability: I want to see what happens to George after the worst has already happened. Despite the character's despair and fatalism regarding what his life will be like if he's alone, at the end of the novel he hasn't lost his moral core or become a bad man. With the game themed largely around isolation and people having to rely on their connection through the tablets, I think it will be interesting to see him coming to the realization that not only can he rely on some other people, he should and will need to in order to survive a harsh, strange environment. I'm also interested in seeing how a character as internalized and self-contained as George comes to terms with what he had to do, if he does so at all, or if he'll lock it away and compartmentalize it. I think it will largely depend on who he meets, whether they're trustworthy or not, and what his early experiences in the game turn out to be. He could either clam up even tighter or open to becoming more willing to help and be helped. There's a chance he could even wind up falling back into some sort of care-taking mode. I would find any of those paths rewarding to develop in game.
Having him deal with people of different races, walks of life and time periods, non-humans, and women is also something I'm looking forward to, because George's attitudes are societal more than an intrinsic meanness or sense of superiority. I'd like to see him having to come to terms with the fact that a lot of his assumptions and beliefs are just plain wrong. Because he's truly not a bully, I think that if someone could explain things to him in a way that made sense to him or better yet demonstrate their competence, he'd be open to changing some of those views, although I believe his discomfort with women runs a lot deeper than his feelings about foreigners and other races, particularly after what happened with Lennie. I'd really like to see him having to face some of that discomfort head on, or even having to rely on women in scary or dangerous situations.
If there's alcohol in the setting or the chance of getting his hands on it, I think he will also have to deal with some heavy drinking. He always implied that Lennie was the only thing that kept him from that, and whether initially that was true or not, I think he'd be inclined to turn that into a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially after what he was forced to do. If there isn't, then there's a chance he might indulge in some other forms of escapism if they're available.
Mostly, I feel like a physically and psychologically challenging setting like this has the potential to allow for some amazing character development, both in dark and more hopeful directions. George is a man used to going without. Life on the road is a very hard one, so the discomfort and privation will feel very familiar. However, he's also used to having someone to care for, and finding himself bereft of that puts him out of his element. I think this is the sort of setting that will provide rich RP opportunities for a character like George.
RP Samples:Sample One (In the test drive, I had no threads with any one character totaling 10 from mine, but there are more than 10 prose style comments under my top level set in the setting and not network based. If you need more, I can link others.)
Sample Two Network Prompt (Voice): [George's voice sounds tense and more than a little tired.] Been walkin' for two days now, and I still ain't found a single place with electricity. Plenty a' switches. Busted bulbs. Place had it once.
It don't make sense. Don't make sense why anybody'd just up and leave a whole town. I mean, used to see 'em back home some. Ghost towns. Most of 'em from the gold bust. They ain't like this. For one thing they don't lock you in at night.
[He lets out a soft huff of breath, almost a snort.]
Don't mind me. Been a while since I heard the sound 'a my own voice. A man could go screwy in a place like this if he don't never talk.
Re: George Milton | Of Mice and Men | Reserved (2/2)
He agrees to go along with the hunting party. Somehow he's able to evade them despite Curley claiming he'll be keeping a close eye on him. He finds Lennie waiting where he told him to wait. He calms him down and tells him he's not angry with him and never really has been. He tells him it's important for him to understand that. In calming Lennie down, he's also saying good-bye to him without letting on it's his intention. He still puts Lennie's needs before his own. For one last time he paints the picture of their dream and has him look away from him and over the river so he won't see the gun in his hand or be aware of what he intends to do. Somehow he manages to maintain his composure and not break down despite how hard this is for him. Twice he raises the gun and has to lower it again. When the search party gets too close, he steadies his shaking hand and shoots him once in the back of the head, making a clean kill. He then claims Lennie stole the gun, that he got it away from him, and killed him. Of all of the men in the party, only Slim really seems to understand what has happened and assures him that he had to do it. It takes tremendous self-control, strength of character, and selfless love to do what George did. He's responsible for Lennie all the way up to the bitter end.
George knows his dream is over and that without Lennie his life is as meaningless and empty as those of all the other migrant workers he has seen and known in his travels. He agrees to go off with Slim for a drink, resigned to his lonely fate and refusing even to consider still pursuing the dream with Candy and without Lennie. He seems to have no awareness of his own intrinsic worth, beaten down by circumstance and society to accept external definitions of what gives a person value or meaning, namely wealth, possessions, land, and power. It's a bleak, realistic ending for a dream that remained out of reach for most of the working poor in the Depression and a novel outlining their plight, and George is a poignant representation of that.
Flavor Abilities: N/A George is an average human.
Suitability: I want to see what happens to George after the worst has already happened. Despite the character's despair and fatalism regarding what his life will be like if he's alone, at the end of the novel he hasn't lost his moral core or become a bad man. With the game themed largely around isolation and people having to rely on their connection through the tablets, I think it will be interesting to see him coming to the realization that not only can he rely on some other people, he should and will need to in order to survive a harsh, strange environment. I'm also interested in seeing how a character as internalized and self-contained as George comes to terms with what he had to do, if he does so at all, or if he'll lock it away and compartmentalize it. I think it will largely depend on who he meets, whether they're trustworthy or not, and what his early experiences in the game turn out to be. He could either clam up even tighter or open to becoming more willing to help and be helped. There's a chance he could even wind up falling back into some sort of care-taking mode. I would find any of those paths rewarding to develop in game.
Having him deal with people of different races, walks of life and time periods, non-humans, and women is also something I'm looking forward to, because George's attitudes are societal more than an intrinsic meanness or sense of superiority. I'd like to see him having to come to terms with the fact that a lot of his assumptions and beliefs are just plain wrong. Because he's truly not a bully, I think that if someone could explain things to him in a way that made sense to him or better yet demonstrate their competence, he'd be open to changing some of those views, although I believe his discomfort with women runs a lot deeper than his feelings about foreigners and other races, particularly after what happened with Lennie. I'd really like to see him having to face some of that discomfort head on, or even having to rely on women in scary or dangerous situations.
If there's alcohol in the setting or the chance of getting his hands on it, I think he will also have to deal with some heavy drinking. He always implied that Lennie was the only thing that kept him from that, and whether initially that was true or not, I think he'd be inclined to turn that into a self-fulfilling prophecy, especially after what he was forced to do. If there isn't, then there's a chance he might indulge in some other forms of escapism if they're available.
Mostly, I feel like a physically and psychologically challenging setting like this has the potential to allow for some amazing character development, both in dark and more hopeful directions. George is a man used to going without. Life on the road is a very hard one, so the discomfort and privation will feel very familiar. However, he's also used to having someone to care for, and finding himself bereft of that puts him out of his element. I think this is the sort of setting that will provide rich RP opportunities for a character like George.
RP Samples: Sample One (In the test drive, I had no threads with any one character totaling 10 from mine, but there are more than 10 prose style comments under my top level set in the setting and not network based. If you need more, I can link others.)
Sample Two Network Prompt (Voice): [George's voice sounds tense and more than a little tired.] Been walkin' for two days now, and I still ain't found a single place with electricity. Plenty a' switches. Busted bulbs. Place had it once.
It don't make sense. Don't make sense why anybody'd just up and leave a whole town. I mean, used to see 'em back home some. Ghost towns. Most of 'em from the gold bust. They ain't like this. For one thing they don't lock you in at night.
[He lets out a soft huff of breath, almost a snort.]
Don't mind me. Been a while since I heard the sound 'a my own voice. A man could go screwy in a place like this if he don't never talk.