George Milton

Of Mice and Men (1992)

Gary Sinise (1992)

Candy (ally)

### Personalities

Loyal, sharp, irritable, strong, cynical (formerly), caring, ambitious, protective, intelligent, cunning, responsible, paternal, arrogant, faithful, diligent, dreamy, gruff, kind, anxious, sympathetic, frustrated, sensible, furious, independent

### Allies

Lennie Small
Slim

Candy

### Enemies

Curley

Curley’s Wife

### Likes

Playing solitaire, being with Lennie, telling Lennie their farm story, dreaming about the farm, teasing and taunting Lennie (formerly)

### Dislikes

Lennie getting into trouble, Lennie’s mistakes, Curley and his wife

### Goal

To work hard to afford their own land

To look after Lennie and keep him out of trouble (both failed)

### Fate

Mercifully kills Lennie and his dreams of the farm ends

### Famous quotes

“With us it ain’t like it. We got a future.”“Trouble with mice is you always kill ‘em.”

> "*I ain’t got no people. I seen the guys that go around on the ranches alone. That ain’t no good. They don’t have no fun. After a long time they get mean. They get wantin’ to fight all the time…’Course Lennie’s a God damn nuisance most of the time, but you get used to goin’ around with a guy an’ you can’t get rid of him.*"
> ― Chapter 3
>
>

George Milton is the main protagonist in John Steinbeck’s *Of Mice and Men*.

Along with his companion and friend Lennie, George travels across California’s Salinas Valley to find work and save enough money for their own farm. However, he struggles to keep his friend safe, which results in him having to make a devastating choice.

## Description

During the Great Depression, George Milton and his friend, Lennie Small, are an unusual duo. Many migrant workers in that time were lonely and miserable, but George and Lennie had each other to look after one another and depend on each other. The next reason is that they both have a dream: They can have their own farm and be free from the harsh, cruel reality of loneliness and the strong preying on the weak. George is always looking forward to the farm, as it is a peaceful, idyllic place, like the Garden of Eden, where he no longer has to deal with constant struggles, such as gambling away his wages and keeping Lennie out of trouble.

George’s name is derived from the Greek word “Georgios,” meaning “farmer” or “earth-worker.” His surname, Milton, may be taken from John Milton, who wrote *Paradise Lost,* a Biblical poem about Adam and Eve’s disgrace as they are banished from the Garden of Eden. His surname is ironic because he is a fallen man, doomed to suffer from loneliness and never has peace in paradise. George and Lennie may also be compared to Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was a farmer, and his brother a shepherd, but when they made sacrifices to God, Abel’s sacrifice was favoured instead of Cain’s, which resulted in Cain killing Abel, and then God condemned him to a life as a lonely wanderer. George and Lennie share these similar traits, although they were friends, not brothers, and George having to kill Lennie was considered merciful instead of vengeful.

Toward the climax, when George thinks that he and Lennie will finally get the farm, fate sets in, with Lennie accidentally killing Curley’s Wife and Curley arranging a mob to lynch him. George then realizes that there will be some consequences for him now that this tragic incident has occurred. He knows that arresting Lennie and keeping him locked up is a fate worse than death. While he could have tried to save money to buy the farm without Lennie, he would likely have fallen back into the habit of the migrant workers wasting away their money through alcohol and brothels. Finally, when the lynch mob is closing in on him and Lennie, he has to choose one of three options: allow the mob to kill Lennie, convince them to have him arrested, or kill him himself. Ultimately, George chooses to kill Lennie himself, as he is his close friend and killing him without his knowledge is considered more humane than dying a violent death from the mob or suffering a long-term incarceration in a mental hospital. George also chooses to kill Lennie at the pool where the story begins, as it’s considered a tranquil, safe haven for them. When George recites about the dream farm they’ll never have before shooting Lennie, he allows Lennie to die by dreaming about the farm one final time, and nothing can harm him now.

## Storyline

### Early Years with Lennie

George Milton was born in Auburn and had known Lennie Small through his Aunt Clara, who had raised him as a baby. After Aunt Clara died, George and Lennie began working together, but because Lennie is large and suffered from a mental disability, George used to play cruel jokes on him, even beating him up, but Lennie didn’t fight back. One day, George dared Lennie to jump into the Sacramento River. Lennie couldn’t swim and nearly drowned, so George and several men rescued him. Lennie was so kind and friendly to George for saving his life that he never played mean jokes on him again.

George and Lennie started working at a ranch in Weed so they would have enough to buy the farm they had dreamed of owning. But at the ranch, Lennie spotted a young woman wearing a red dress. He loved touching anything soft and was so fascinated by the dress that he grabbed it. The woman started screaming, but Lennie became scared and didn’t let go of the dress. The woman then accused him of rape, and a lynch mob was forced, so George and Lennie were forced to flee and hide in an irrigation ditch before they escaped.

### Arrival at the Ranch

In the late afternoon, George and Lennie spend the entire day walking in the Salinas Valley to their next ranch in Soledad. It is a hot day, and they arrive at a clearing, where George stops, and Lennie almost bumps into him from behind. There is a pool in the clearing, so George takes off his hat and rubs his sweaty forehead while Lennie drops his bindle and drinks from the pool. George shakes his shoulder and orders him not to drink from the pool, or he’ll get sick. Lennie dunks his head into the water and sits on the bank, his hat and coat drenched. He smiles and encourages George to drink from the pool.

George is reluctant but takes a sip and likes it. He tells Lennie he should drink water from a gutter instead of a natural stream if he's thirsty. He splashes water onto his face and rubs more on his hands, neck and chin before sitting down. He stares at the water morosely and grumbles that they were forced to walk for 4 miles on a hot day after the bus driver kicked them out of the bus instead of taking them to the ranch. Lennie asks George where they are going, and George scolds him for being forgetful. Lennie says he doesn’t mean to be forgetful as he constantly thinks about the rabbits. George asks him if he remembers where they have got their work tickets and bus passes, and Lennie replies he does but gets worried when he can’t find his work ticket. George impatiently tells him he has got both of them.

George then notices something in Lennie’s pocket and orders him to show it. Lennie insists that he isn’t hiding anything, but George demands that he show it now. Lennie shows him a dead mouse he kept in his pocket, claiming he didn’t kill it, and he found it dead. George orders him to give it to him, and he takes the dead mouse and throws it across the brush. He asks why he wants to keep a dead mouse, and Lennie says he just wants to pet it while they walk. George says he won’t be petting dead mice when he’s with him and asks if he remembers where they’re going. Lennie forgets again, and an annoyed George says they are heading to a ranch a quarter of a mile away from the pool. He will give the boss their work tickets and make Lennie promise to stay quiet and not to say anything about his disability, or else they won’t get the job. Lennie repeats he will not say anything, and George reminds him not to cause any trouble as he did in Weed, where they had to flee when Lennie touched a woman’s dress. Lennie giggles happily that he remembers it all too well. George mutters that his life would have been better if he hadn’t had to take care of Lennie.

The day passes by quickly, and sunset arrives. Lennie asks why they won’t go to the ranch to eat. George replies that he wants to live out his final day of freedom and spend the night at the clearing. He asks Lennie to gather dead sticks and make the fire; then, they will eat some cans of beans he keeps in his bindle. Lennie says he likes his beans with ketchup, but George says they don’t have ketchup and orders him to find some sticks for the fire as it will get dark soon. Lennie disappears in the brush, and George sits alone, whistling to himself. Lennie then reappears with a small dead stick. George immediately knows he has retrieved the dead mouse and orders him to hand it over. Lennie denies he has the mouse and hesitantly backs away. George demands Lennie to hand it over, and Lennie approaches him slowly to give him the mouse, saying he didn’t kill it and was just stroking it.

George throws the mouse further away in the brush and then washes his hands in the pool. Lennie starts to cry, and George consoles him by saying that he didn’t take the mouse away for being mean but that the mouse wasn’t fresh, and he promises Lennie he will let him keep a live mouse for a while if he finds one. Lennie remembers a woman who used to give him mice, and George reminds him that it was his Aunt Clara, but she stopped giving him mice because he kept killing them all. Lennie laments that the mice were small and they died after he pinched their heads. He also wants to get the rabbits soon. George doesn’t trust him to keep live mice, and Aunt Clara has to give him a toy mouse to play with, but Lennie says it is no good.

As dusk arrives, George orders Lennie to find more wood. When Lennie returns with some firewood, George places some dry leaves on the wood and lights the fire. Then he unties his bindle and takes out three cans of beans. Lennie says he likes his beans with ketchup, but George loses his temper and argues that if he were alone, he would have gotten a job and a decent lifestyle. When he is paid $50, he will use the money to spend on whiskey, cards, a game of pool, or stay at a brothel every month. He yells at Lennie that he has to take care of him instead and berates him for constantly getting him into trouble and losing his every job. Lennie says he just wanted to touch the woman’s dress at Weed, and George argues about when they had to hide in the irrigation ditch before fleeing the ranch. He even wishes he could put Lennie in a cage with some mice, then calms down, looking ashamedly at Lennie and then at the fire.

Lennie crawls close to George, but George looks on without noticing him. Lennie tells him he is only joking and doesn’t want ketchup, as he would allow him to have it all. George laments that he would be miserable alone, and Lennie says he could leave him and stay in a mountainous cave. George apologizes for yelling at him and asks him to stay, hoping he will get him a puppy to pet instead of a mouse. He also doesn’t want him to wander alone and be mistaken for a wild animal and shot. Lennie then begs him to tell him the story about the rabbits until George relents.

George explains that migrant workers like them are lonely, as they have no family or friends and have nowhere to live. Every time they earn some money, they waste it away and then lose their jobs. They also have nothing to look forward to. However, George and Lennie are different as they have a future and each other to look after. Someday, when they have enough money, they will own a farm with a vegetable garden and animals such as cows, pigs, and rabbits for Lennie to look after. They will also have a farmhouse, where they can sit around a fiery stove inside their house on a rainy day. He finishes the story, opens the cans of beans with a pocketknife, and hands one to Lennie with a spoon.

As they eat, George makes Lennie remember what he’s supposed to do at the ranch. Lennie replies that he won’t talk, and George praises him. He then asks Lennie to remember the pond they are staying at and tells him that if he gets into trouble at the ranch, he will come here and hide in the brush until George comes for him. He also reminds Lennie not to get into trouble at the ranch. Otherwise, he won’t let him tend the rabbits. Lennie promises he won’t speak or get into trouble, and George asks him to bring his bindle to him, as they will sleep here for tonight, and they’ll let the fire die out.

They make their beds and prepare to sleep as the fire grows smaller. Before falling asleep, Lennie asks George if they can have furry, different-coloured rabbits. George sleepily agrees and tells him to be quiet.

The next morning, George and Lennie arrive at the ranch. An old man leads them into the bunkhouse and tells them the boss was furious when they didn’t show up the night before. He points to two bunkbeds near the stove and tells them they will sleep there. When he points his right arm to the bunkbeds, he’s missing a hand. George tosses his blankets onto his bunk, which includes a box shelf and notices a yellow that reads it kills lice. The old man explains that a blacksmith named Whitey used to sleep there, and Whitey used the can to kill lice because he was a clean freak. He later resigned as he couldn’t handle the food.

George unties his bindle, puts all his belongings into the box shelf, and makes his bed. The old thinks the boss will be here soon and recalls that the boss was so angry that George and Lennie didn’t arrive early this morning he takes his rage out on the black stableman. However, the boss is friendly and once gifted the ranchers some galleons of whiskey for Christmas. The boss arrives, and the old man informs him that George and Lennie are here before he leaves.

The boss asks for the work tickets and says they were supposed to start work this morning. George says that the bus driver dropped him off before they reached the ranch, and he had to walk ten miles to get there and couldn’t get any rides that morning. The boss takes out his notebook, and George glares at Lennie to warn him not to speak. The boss asks for their names, and George introduces himself but says Lennie’s full name for him. The boss next asks where they last worked, and George replies their last ranch was at Weed. The boss notices that Lennie is quiet. George says that Lennie doesn’t talk but is a physically strong worker. The boss demands Lennie what he can do, and Lennie anxiously glances at George for help. George says that Lennie can do anything. The boss asks why he didn’t let him answer, and George replies that he isn’t bright.

The boss asks how Lennie is related to George and if he plans to take his income away from him. George lies that Lennie is his cousin that he looks after, and he was kicked in the head by a horse as a child. The boss hopes George won’t do anything suspicious as he will be keeping an eye on him and asks why he left Weed. George promptly says they quit their jobs after digging a cesspool. The boss assigns them to harvest some barley with the jerk line skinner, Slim, after dinner. After he suspiciously glances at them again, he leaves the bunkhouse. As soon as the boss is gone, George scolds Lennie for not speaking, and they almost didn’t get hired. Lennie says he forgot, and George laments that the boss will be watching them and that they must be careful.

Lennie asks if a horse really kicked him in the head and if they’re cousins. George says he lied and then notices the old bunkhouse sweeper, asking the old man if he was listening to them. The bunkhouse sweeper is accompanied by his old, blind sheepdog. The dog walks to the side of the room, lies down, and licks its fur coat. The old man insists he wasn’t listening but was standing in the shade, scratching his dog and just having finished sweeping the wash house.

George isn’t convinced for a moment and then notices how old the dog is. The old man says he has had his dog since it was a puppy and was a good sheepdog when it was younger. George asks what he thinks about the boss, and the sweeper says he’s friendly. At that moment, a young man appears at the door, wearing a glove filled with Vaseline on his left hand, and asks about his father. The sweeper tells the young man, Curley, he was here a minute ago. Curley glances at George and Lennie, assuming they are the new ranchers his father hired. He becomes infuriated when Lennie doesn’t speak, and George explains they travel together. Lennie mutters that they have just arrived. Curley demands Lennie to answer him next time before walking out. George wonders why Curley resents Lennie so much, and the old man says that Curley used to be a lightweight boxer. He hates people larger than him and often picks fights with them. George assures that Curley won’t hurt Lennie, but the sweeper says that Curley has gotten worse since he got married two weeks ago. His new wife has a habit of flirting with the other ranchers, including Slim.

The sweeper gets up to leave, and his dog follows him. He says that he’s going to prepare the wash basins for the ranchers and makes George promise not to tell Curley what he said. George promises, and the sweeper leaves. But while George shuffles with some solitaire cards, he warns Lennie that he’s afraid that Curley will pick a fight with him. Lennie gets scared and doesn’t want to cause any trouble, and he begs George not to let Curley fight him. George admits that he hates Curley, too, and is worried that they will lose their jobs if Curley picks a fight with him. He warns Lennie not to speak to Curley and to stay away from him. Lennie promises he will avoid Curley. They hear the voices of the ranchers gathering barley outside the bunkhouse.

Lennie asks George if he’s angry at him. George replies he isn’t but is mad at Curley and hopes they will make enough money while they work here. He also reminds him to hide by the river if he gets into trouble at the ranch, and Lennie repeats dozens of times that he will remember. At that moment, they see a beautiful young woman standing in the doorway, who is Curley’s Wife. She has curly hair and wears a cotton dress with red lips, fingernails, and high heels. She asks where Curley is, and George replies that he was here a minute ago. She notices that they are the new ranchers and decides she will look for Curley elsewhere. George says he’ll let her know if he finds her husband, while Lennie becomes attracted to her. Slim’s voice asks Curley’s Wife where Curley is. Slim says he saw him at their house, and she says goodbye before hurrying out.

George calls Curley’s Wife a “tramp,” but Lennie thinks she’s “purty” while smiling. George furiously shakes Lennie by his ear, fiercely warning him never to speak to her. Lennie insists he didn’t mean any harm, but George demands he stay away from her, as he suspects something isn’t right with her. Lennie gets scared and says he wants to leave the ranch. George says he can’t leave until they earn some money and admits he doesn’t like it here. He knows they don’t have a choice but to work here unless they figure out another way to earn money elsewhere. He views the cards and says they should wash up.

A tall man wearing a denim jacket, jeans and wearing a Stetson hat walks in. He is Slim and notices George and Lennie are the new ranchers. He sits across the table from George and hopes George and Lennie will join him in harvesting barley. George says that Lennie is good at harvesting grain, and Lennie smiles at his compliment. Slim asks if they travel together, and George replies they do and also look after each other. Lennie may not be bright, but he’s a hard worker. Slim points out that many men don’t travel together and George admits that it’s better when a man has a companion with him. A man with a large stomach, Carlson, appears and introduces himself to George and Lennie. He asks Slim about his dog, and he replies that his dog just gave birth to a litter of nine puppies, but he had to drown four of them because she couldn’t feed them all. Carlson says they should convince Candy to shoot his old dog and then give him one of the puppies. A ringing sound is heard outside, followed by men’s voices. Slim tells the men that they should get ready to eat before he and Carlson leave.

Lennie gets excited and wants to have a brown and white puppy. George isn’t sure there is one, and Lennie begs him to let Slim give him a puppy before he drowns more. George promises and wants to go and eat. On the way out, they run into Curley who demands where his wife is. George says she was here half an hour ago, looking for him. Curley asks where she went, and George doesn’t know. Curley frowns and hurries away. George admits to Lennie that he’s scared of picking a fight against Curley before they leave the bunkhouse.

That night, Slim and George arrive in the dark bunkhouse, where Slim turns on the light, and they sit at a card table. George thanks Slim for allowing him to give Lennie one of his puppies but says that Lennie wants to sleep in the barn with the puppies instead of the bunkhouse. Slim says that Lennie nearly killed his partner when they were harvesting barley and has never seen a strong, bulky man before. George says Lennie will always take orders but can’t think for himself. They hear the ranchers playing horseshoe toss outside the bunkhouse.

Slim says that two men often don’t travel together. He explains that most men work here for only a month before they leave and are alone. George says that Lennie isn’t insane, but he’s mentally disabled. George admits he isn’t bright like Lennie and wishes he had his own property and could grow his crops. He falls silent and then explains his backstory with Lennie, from their early years in Auburn to the incident in Weed where Lennie touched a woman’s dress. Lennie then enters the bunkhouse and says he has a brown and white puppy that he wants. He lays on his bunk and turns to the wall. George then notices that Lennie has brought the puppy into the bunkhouse, and Lennie insists he doesn’t have it. George turns him over and snatches his puppy from him. Lennie begs to have it back, and George demands he return it to its mother or he’ll tell Slim he can’t keep it. Lennie says he just wants to pet his puppy and promises to return it. George returns the puppy and asks him not to remove it from its mother again. As Lennie leaves, George thinks he will definitely sleep in the barn with the puppies and not in the bunkhouse.

The old sweeper, Candy, walks in with his dog. He asks if they have played horseshoes, and George replies he doesn’t play every night. Candy then asks if they have whiskey, and Slim says they have none. Carlson then comes in and comments on how the black stableman plays when he sniffs and notices Candy’s dog. He orders him to take the dog out of the bunkhouse, but Candy strokes his dog and says that he had it for so long that he never knew how bad it smelled. Carlson points out that the dog is old and suffering, and he should shoot it. Candy says he has had his dog since it was a puppy and was good at herding sheep when it was young. George comments that he saw a rancher’s dog from Weed herding sheep and learned it from other dogs.

Carlson urges Candy to shoot the dog in the back of the head, and it won’t feel it. Candy refuses so that Carlson will do it for him. Candy finds it hard to have his dog shot as it lived with him all its life. Carlson says it won’t be fair for him to keep the dog alive, and he can have one of Slim’s puppies. Slim agrees with Carlson and says the dog is suffering. Candy looks helplessly to the other ranchers for help, and one of the other ranchers, Whit, comes in. He shows Slim a magazine and asks him to read aloud a paragraph written by a rancher who used to work at the ranch. Carlson isn’t interested in the topic and convinces Candy to let him shoot the dog with his Luger pistol and get it over with. Candy wants to wait until tomorrow, but Carlson wants to do it now and takes out his Luger. Candy looks at Slim for help and finally gives in. He lies on his bunk and stares at the ceiling. Carlson ties a thong around the dog’s neck and urges it to come. The dog slowly gets up, and Slim tells him to find a shovel. Carlson agrees and leads the dog out of the bunkhouse.

George shuts the door and locks it. Slim says his mule has a bad hoof and needs to put some tar into it. There is silence as Carlson’s footsteps outside stop, and George laughs that Lennie is in the barn with his puppy and won’t return to the bunkhouse. Slim tells Candy he can have any of the puppies he wants, but Candy doesn’t answer him. George invites the men to play some euchre, and there is a more awkward silence as they try not to talk about Candy’s dog. Finally, a shot is heard outside, and all the men gaze at Candy, who rolls toward the wall and stays silent.

Whit chats with George, who tells him he has arrived on Friday and has two days to work until Sunday. George says he and Lennie have come to work here to make money. The black stableman quietly opens the door and calls to Slim, who says he has the tar warmed to put on the mule’s foot. He also informs Slim that Lennie keeps taking the puppies away from their mother and playing with them. George asks Slim to make Lennie leave the barn if he doesn’t stop, as Slim leaves with the black stableman.

George and Whit talk about Curley’s Wife, who they think is going to cause trouble on the ranch from her flirting with the ranchers and searching for Curley. Whit then invites him to join him and the other men at a brothel on Saturday night. George agrees to come along and check it out but says he can’t spend too much money there on drinks or women.

Lennie comes into the bunkhouse, along with Carlson. Lennie sits on his bunk while Carlson takes out a cleaning rod and a can of oil and cleans his Luger. Curley bursts inside, demanding where his wife or Slim are. George says Slim is in the barn, putting tar on a mule’s foot. Curley runs out, shutting the door behind him. Whit suspects that Curley is looking for a fight with Slim, so he runs out with Carlson.

### George and Lennie’s Dream Farm/Candy Joins in

Lennie tells George he didn’t mean to cause trouble and just wanted to pet the puppies in the barn. George asks if he has seen Slim or Curley’s Wife. Lennie replies that Slim told him to stop playing with his puppy, but he didn’t see Curley’s Wife. He warns Lennie to avoid fights at the barn, and Lennie insists he won’t go looking for trouble as he sits with George at the card table. He asks George how long until they can have their farm and raise rabbits. George doesn’t know but knows a vacant lot that has a cheap price. At that moment, Candy turns over and listens closely to them. Lennie asks George to describe the land, and he gives him a description.

The land has ten acres, which includes a windmill, chicken coop, orchard and fruit trees. There is an area where they can grow and harvest alfalfa. He will also build some rabbit hutches for Lennie’s rabbits. He discusses how they will raise pigs and have a smokehouse where they can slaughter the pigs for their meat and some salmon. Other livestock would include cows and goats, and they will have a vegetable garden and sell some animal products to make extra cash. Then George describes their house, where they will have an iron stove to heat their house in winter, and they may have to work harder on their farm, but it won’t be 11 hours per day.

Both George and Lennie then chatter about the farm and, lost in their thoughts, jump when Candy speaks to them about it. George becomes suspicious, and Candy asks how much the land costs. George says it costs $600 and asks why Candy is so interested. Candy explains that he’s no good on the ranch since he lost his hand and was given the job of sweeping the bunkhouse. He was also given $250 after he lost his hand. He currently has $50 stored in his bank and will earn another $50 within the next month. He leans forward and tells George he has $350 and convinces him to let him live with them on their farm, where he will do odd jobs such as cooking, gardening and tending the chickens. George says he and Lennie want the farm for themselves, but Candy interrupts him by saying that if he dies, he’ll make a will for them, as he has no other relatives.

George spits on the floor and says he and Lennie have $10. If they work for another month without spending, they will make $100. He thinks that there will be enough money to buy the land, and he will do all the extra work in another job while Lennie and Candy set up the farm and make more money by selling eggs. Then they fell into silence, astonished that their dream could become real. Candy says he lost his hand four years ago, and it will be only a matter of time until he’s fired from the ranch when he can’t sweep the bunkhouse anymore. He hopes he can contribute some of his money to George and Lennie so he can live alongside them and do some jobs around the farm. He laments how his dog was shot because it was useless, and he fears he will be the same. Once he loses his job, he has nowhere else to go and won’t find any more work.

George then agrees to the plan and decides they will work for one more month, then collect their income and leave. He even plans to write to the people selling the land that he wants to buy it. They hear voices outside, and George tells Candy and Lennie that they must not tell anyone and this is a secret between them. Candy and Lennie agree, and Candy then admits to George that he wishes he had shot his dog instead and not let a stranger do it for him.

The door opens, and Slim, Curley, Carlson and Whit walk in. Slim is annoyed by Curley, who always asks him where his wife is. Carlson scolds Curley for allowing his wife to roam around the ranch and calls him a coward. Curley stares at Lennie, who is laughing and smiling about the dream farm. Thinking Lennie is laughing at him, Curley gets angry and starts beating and punching him. Lennie looks helplessly at George for help and is too scared to defend himself as he backs towards a wall with Curley attacking him. George then urges Lennie to fight back, but Lennie covers his face until Curley punches him in the stomach. Slim is about to stop Curley, but George holds him back and again urges Lennie to fight back. Lennie’s face is bloodied and bruised, but he grabs Curley’s fist and starts squeezing it until Curley starts crying and flailing in pain.

George then begs Lennie to let him go and slaps him. He asks Slim to help him until Lennie releases Curley’s hand. Curley sits on the floor, staring at his crushed hand, and Slim says they need to get him to the hospital. Lennie cries that he didn’t mean to hurt him. Slim asks Carlson to get the wagon ready to take Curley to town and get his hand fixed. He assures Lennie it wasn’t his fault and Curley got what he deserved, but is shocked at how badly his hand is crushed. George asks Slim if they will get fired, and Slim makes Curley promise to tell everyone he got his hand caught in a machine. If he tries to tell the truth, Slim will tell everyone, and they will laugh at Curley. Curley promises not to tell the truth as Carlson arrives with the wagon, and Slim helps Curley outside. He returns shortly afterwards and views Lennie’s hands. George says that Lennie was scared and didn’t know what to do. He then comforts Lennie that he hasn’t done anything and asks him to wash up. Lennie smiles, and before he leaves, he asks George if he will still tend the rabbits. George promises him that he will.

On Saturday night, George and the men go into town, while Lennie is forced to stay behind and avoid trouble. While he’s gone, Lennie and Candy join the black stableman Crooks in his room, where they accidentally reveal details about their dream farm before Curley’s Wife shows up and tries to flirt with them. Later, George returns and finds Lennie inside Crooks’ room in the barn. He asks Crooks why Lennie is in his room and why he didn’t kick him out. Crooks says he enjoyed Lennie’s company. Candy then says he has figured out how to make more money on the rabbits, and George irritably tells him he isn’t supposed to be sharing details about their farm with anybody. Candy says he has only told Crooks about it, and George orders everyone to leave the barn immediately.

### Curley’s Wife’s Death/George’s Difficult Decision

On Sunday afternoon, while the men are playing horseshoe toss, Lennie is alone in the barn, lamenting over his dead puppy he has accidentally killed. Curley’s Wife finds him and consoles him. She also complains about her loneliness and how the ranchers mistreated her. She invites Lennie to touch her soft hair, but Lennie starts stroking too hard, causing her to get angry and scream. Lennie begs her not to scream and get him into trouble, and while she struggles, he shakes her until he accidentally kills her by breaking her neck. Realizing what he has done, Lennie flees to the pond, where George had told him to hide if he got into trouble.

Candy finds Curley’s Wife’s body in the barn later that day, and he quickly summons George. When he sees the body and touches her, he knows that Lennie has done this. Candy asks what they will do now, and after a moment of silence, George says he’ll have to report it to the ranchers and have Lennie locked up. Candy says that Curley will likely want Lennie lynched when he finds out. George admits it, too. Candy asks if they can still get their farm, and George says he knows all along that it won’t happen. Candy sulkily asks if they will never get the farm, and George replies that he’ll work for a month and then spend his money in a brothel before working for more cash.

Candy finds Lennie nice and friendly and would never do such a thing. George says that Lennie didn’t kill her with meanness, and despite all the trouble he has caused, he was never cruel. He decides they will have to report to the ranchers and bring Lennie back, hoping they won’t hurt him. Knowing that the ranchers will think he is responsible for Curley’s Wife’s death, he will go to the bunkhouse first. Then he tells Candy to report to the ranchers a minute later, and then George will come along afterwards, pretending he knows nothing about the murder.

George leaves, and everyone gathers in the barn a few minutes later. George is the last to arrive, wearing his hat and denim jacket. After Slim examines Curley’s Wife’s body with the men gathering around, an outraged Curley knows it’s Lennie who killed his wife and vows to kill him himself. Slim could tell Lennie killed Curley’s Wife as her neck is broken. George doesn’t respond but nods with his hat covering his eyes. Slim then decides they must find him and asks where he might have gone. George replies that he may have gone south and then asks if they could lock up Lennie instead. Slim replies that Curley will still want to kill Lennie and that locking up Lennie would be cruel. Carlson appears and says Lennie has stolen his Luger pistol. Curley arranges the lynch mob and orders Whit to go to town and summon the deputy sheriff. Curley asks George if he’ll join, too, and George tells him not to shoot Lennie as he didn’t mean to do it. Curley refuses, and George assumes Carlson lost his gun, but Carlson says he had it in his bag this morning.

Slim tells Curley he should stay behind with his wife, but Curley is determined to shoot and kill Lennie. Slim then asks Candy to stay with Curley’s Wife’s body, and George views the body until Curley demands him to come along so he won’t be suspected in his wife’s murder. George has no choice but to leave the barn and join the mob.

At the pond, Lennie waits for George and sees visions of Aunt Clara and a rabbit berating and mocking him. Lennie cries for George until he appears from the brush. George asks what he’s yelling about, and Lennie asks if he’s going to leave him. George says no and sits beside Lennie, who says he has done something bad. He replies that it doesn’t make a difference. It is late afternoon, and they hear men’s voices in the distance. He listens to the voices as Lennie asks if he’s going to get angry at him. George refuses, saying he’ll work for a month and then spend his paycheque at a brothel before he goes quiet. Lennie says he can go away and live in a cave, but George asks him to stay with him.

Lennie then asks George to tell him the story about how they’re different from each other again. George explains that many migrant workers have no family and spend all their money easily. They also have nobody in the world who cares about them, and Lennie happily interrupts to tell him the part about the two of them and then says that they both have each other to look out for. A gentle breeze blows across the pond, and the men’s shouting voices are heard again, this time much closer.

George removes his hat and shakily tells Lennie to take off his hat. Lennie obeys him and then asks him to tell him about their farm. George asks him to look across the river and tell him about it so he can almost see it. Lennie looks across the pool, and George begins describing how they will get their farm and removes Carlson’s Luger from his side pocket, viewing the back of Lennie’s head. He hears the voices, and Lennie urges him to describe the farm. George explains they will have a cow, a pig, some chickens, and a place to harvest alfalfa. Lennie declares that it’s for the rabbits and asks if he’ll tend the rabbits. George assures him he will tend the rabbits, and Lennie giggles that they will live “on the fatta the land.” George agrees, and Lennie turns his head. George urges him to keep looking across the river and imagine the farm. He obeys, and George looks at the gun, and footsteps from the lynch mob can be heard in the brush.

Lennie asks when they will get the farm, and George replies they will get it soon, where everybody will be nice to him, and there will be no more trouble. Lennie asks if he’s still angry at him, and George assures him he isn’t angry and never has been. The footsteps get closer, and as George listens to them, Lennie declares they should get the farm now, and George agrees with him. With his hand shaking, he points the Luger to the back of Lennie’s head and fatally shoots him. Lennie’s stiff body then slumps onto the sand. George shivers and throws it at the riverbank, sitting down and viewing his right hand he used to pull the trigger.

The mob bursts into the clearing, and Curley is relieved to see Lennie dead. Slim sits next to George, and Carlson asks if he killed him and if Lennie had his gun. George replies yes, and Carlson asks if he wrestled the gun from him before killing him. George quietly replies yes again while still staring at his right hand. Slim tells George they should go and have a drink, and George agrees as Slim helps him get up. Slim knows what really happened and consoles him by telling him he had to do it. They walk away from the clearing and up the highway while Curley and Carlson look on, puzzled.

## References

1. ↑ *Of Mice and Men,* Chapter 3
2. ↑ Chapter 1
3. ↑ Chapter 2
4. ↑ Chapter 3
5. ↑ Chapter 4
6. ↑ Chapter 5
7. ↑ Chapter 6