George bursts into a long speech about what he could do if he were alone. Discuss the implications of this speech.

When George launches into his tirade about what he could
have done had he not been saddled with the responsibility of Lennie, it reveals a couple
of large scale implications regarding the book and its characterizations.  The first is
that the speech shows how much of a struggle solidarity is in a time of economic
despair.  When resources are so scarce, to uphold the bonds of solidarity are extremely
difficult.  I think that this is something that is brought out in the speech.  George
balances the demands of financial scarcity with social solidarity.  In this, he achieves
an almost heroic quality.

Another element brought out in
the speech is how truly alone both of them are.  An unintended effect of George's speech
is one that shows how Lennie is nothing without George.  George is the brains behind the
operation, and like a classical hero, "does the thinking for both of them."  I think
that this is brought out in all that George could do without Lennie. Yet, at the same
time, George brings out that he, himself, is alone.  In bringing out the vision of the
farm that is shared between them at the end of his tirade, George subconsciously admits
that he is just as alone as Lennie is.  Both of their senses of "aloneness" end up
defining them and helps to explain why they are together.

I
think that the final implication of the speech is that George understands that his being
in the world is defined as Lennie's caretaker.  We understand later why this is the
case.  Yet, George reveals that his primary purpose of taking care of Lennie and
protecting him is a part of his character.  It also serves to foreshadow how their
relationship will emerge out over the course of the novel. Steinbeck's genius in
bringing out this tirade early helps to establish the arc of their relationship over the
course of the novella.