Base Theme

In 1938 John Steinbeck wrote in his journal, “In every bit of honest writing in the world there is a base theme. Try to understand men, if you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and nearly always leads to love. There are shorter means, many of them. There is writing promoting social change, writing punishing injustice, writing in celebration of heroism, but always that base theme. Try to understand each other.” Comment on this quotation, as it relates to what you have read in Of Mice and Men so far. Take into consideration all that you have learned about literary elements. 

• I believe that John Steinbeck's quote contradicts with what I believe in. In fact, it's almost the opposite of what I believe in. Knowing a person more and more does not always lead to love. I believe that the actual situation depends on the person's personality, instead of depending on someone knowing someone or not. You might even come to hate a person more and more as you know them due to their personality. 
• Relating to the story, I believe that George would have the same opinions and point of views as me. This is because referring to George's darker, sharper, and more pessimistic character, he would think more negatively of people, and think of hate instead of love. He dislikes Curley's character, and after only one day, finds that he dislikes him even more and more. As for Lennie, I am not that sure. He is more simple minded and optimistic than George, so he might love people more and more as he knows them, if they have a personality that Lennie likes. However, with the same case as George, Lennie might not like Curley because even him, a simple minded person, could sense that Curley is very mean.