Matilde's Strength

We began toying with the idea of Matilde being a mass murderer through her jokes, and we are absolutely content with the way her character turned out. She is a wandering, migrant soul. She searches for love but unintentionally kills 23 people. This serves as an interesting backdrop to the story and allows to set her up for her final meetup with Dr. Rank. Jokes are a prevalent way for Matilde to express herself; almost as if it were a form of art. It is an outlet for her feelings and I feel that Ethan and I managed to incorporate them quite well.

Here, Dr. Rank is portrayed as a man who is knowledgeable about his imminent death and a man seeking peace with himself. He fits in just right with Matilde and is a stark contrast to her in terms

As the story ended on the cliffhanger in ‘of mice and men’ we thought it would be fitting and proper to give this character an ending. He is left still attempting to fill the void that Lennie once held and finds consolation in spending a bit of time with Dr. Rank and Matilde. While he was portrayed as a migrant worker in his past, we wanted him to settle down a little bit. We decided that it was best if he was portrayed as a drunkard in between sorrow and euphoria. The mouse that Matilde finds in the play was an obvious reference to ‘Of mice and men’ and even more of a reference to Lennie. This hits George in the chest like a train as he reacts violently to the object and does not wish to talk about the mouse. It serves as a catalyst to help George move on from the death of Lennie. He is faced with his biggest fear and the largest void in his life. He comes to his senses as he spends time with Dr. Rank and Matilde and leaves the river, now knowing that he has to start his life anew without Lennie. Near the end of the play, George crosses the Salinas river and forward into the unknown. That pause, however brief, demonstrates George’s determination and affirmation to move on from Lennie, to move on from the past. When he forcefully puts one foot in front of the water, he is coercing himself to move forward and into the future. The pain of moving forward is temporary, it will subside in the end. The crossing of the Salinas river was a metaphorical way of his shedding of the trauma that Lennie’s death has brought