In what ways does Steinbeck present the good/bad in George (whether through language techniques, plot, through other characters or the theme of the...

George in Of Mice and Men is basically good. He takes care of a friend in a world where most of his peers are solitary. He allows a new friend to share their dreams. His honest pursuit of the America Dream would be viewed as good by Steinbeck's readers.

Let's look at how George takes care of his friend, Lennie. He helps Lennie get a job at the ranch: "... We're gonna go in an' see the boss. Now, look- I'll give him the work tickets, but you ain't gonna say a word. You jus' stand there and don't say nothing. If he finds out what a crazy bastard you are, we won't get no job, but if he sees ya work before he hears ya talk, we're set. Ya got that?" -George, page 3. Without his help, Lennie would not be able to get a job. George is a good person because he helps a guy who can't succeed on his own. He tells Lennie about their future on their own farm: "...we're gonna get the jack together and we're gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an' a cow and some pigs and-" George, page 7. Lennie cuts him off because he has heard the story so many times he can recite it himself, but he prefers to have George tell it and George indulges him. He's a good friend.

Even though most ranch workers prefer to stay on their own, Candy loses his only friend, his old dog, and then George accepts him as a companion in their dream of owning a little house. Candy has some money saved up which George knows he can use to buy the house sooner. However, George could exclude Candy and continue to save money for the house as he and Lennie have planned. George knows that Candy is getting too old to work on ranches and won't have anywhere to retire, so he takes the old man under his wing as well as Lennie. This also shows that George is a good character.

When the novel was published in the 1930s, the dream of being able to rise from nothing to something through honest hard work was a big part of being American, and with the depression going on, the American Dream gave people hope. Therefore George's drive to work hard, save up money, and buy his own plot of land is another example of the goodness of his character. He doesn't break the law for his own benefit, and he doesn't hurt anyone else to get what he wants.  He just keeps working towards his dream and helps his friends along the way. This would make him an American hero for downtrodden readers to look up to at that time.

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