Say dawg, welcome back to Thug Notes. This week we workin it with
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
This book tell the story of two ranch hands: a skinny hood named George and
some gumby lookin mofo named Lennie who be a bit goofy in the head. Naw mean? See, even
though Lennie’s simple ass love to pet soft animals, he too swoll to handle em without
bustin em up.
So as mah boys rollin up to their new gig, George starts droppin some righteous
talk bout how once they stack enough dough, they gonna buy their own farm and live the
high life with no hassles. And Big Lennie even gonna have his own rabbits to tend to.
At the ranch, George and Lenny peep some wrinkly old timer named Candy, who been workin the
farm since fo- eva. Out of nowhere, the boss-man’s son Curley steps to and starts messin wit
Lenny fo no reason. Also, turns out Curley just married some hoochie who like to buss
it wit the other farm hands. George tells Lenny he best stay away from dat trick.
When Lenny and George start jabberin again bout their dream of livin like
high ballers, Candy jumps in and say he could lend them some scratch and live wit them on that farm.
Wit the promise of Candy’s cash money, they realize they only got one mo month
of hustlin before they can start livin high off the hog.
Later, Curley’s wife peeps Lennie chillin all by his lonesome and starts teasin
mah boy. After she axe him if he wanna touch her hair, Lennie gets amped and starts stroking
too rough. Just when she bout to squawk, Lenny tweaks out and accidentally snaps her neck.
Whoo! Man.
Lennie gets all scrred that George gonna be mad and bails. When Curly finds his
biddy lyin stiff, he rallies his posse to hunt Lennie down.
But before the lynch mob can ghost Lenny, George finds him chillin at a creek.
Lenny asks George to talk about their dream crib again to calm him down. As George lullin
Lenny wit those sweet dreams of easy livin, he pulls out a piece and puts a hot one right
in Lenny’s dome. Dayum.
Alright B, you just ain’t graspin the title of this book without checkin this poem
by Robert Burns.
Just like Bobby B doin in his poem, Steinbeck droppin some raw talk bout how although
the American Dream promising a righteous life to erryone who got the juice to hustle, it
ain’t nothin but an illusion.
See, up in this backwards-ass society, shysti rich folk stackin bread at
the expense of the weak and po, who bein robbed of their basic human dignity. So what Steinbeck
preachin up in here is that dreams that exist in a culture of exploitation ain’t never
gonna be nothin but dreams.
So are we supposed to be like dem tight-ass rich folk who only look
out for themselves, or should we help a brotha out? If you keepin it allegorical up in here,
you could say Steinbeck posin the same question that Cain ask God in the story of Cain and
Abel: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
So let’s get all biblical up in this heezy. In Genesis 4:12, God lays the
hurt on Cain by sayin:
Since Cain spilled dat kindred blood, he ain’t never gonna enjoy the fruits
of his labor no matter how much he hustles. And since my boys thuggin it up in a world
tainted by the curse of Cain, that farm Lennie and George always dreamin about ain’t never
gonna happen. Cuz, as my boy Steinbeck suggestin by naming his character George Milton- Paradise
is lost play boy.
You could also say this book critiquing Judeo-Christian morality, playa.
See my boys Lenny and George reppin two opposin aspects of humanity. Lenny be all the animal
appetites that peeps always tryin to deny which is why he always wanna pet soft things.
Whereas my boy George representin that voice of reason that try to control dem
beastly desires. That’s why George always tellin Lennie what to do.
When George pumps a hot one in Lenny’s skull, it’s like he’s tryin
to destroy man’s animal impulses. So to rep that Jude-Christian Morality, mah boy
gotta ice his day 1 brutha- just like Cain.
Yo thanks for showin all da love. Keep it gangsta and tune in next week.