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Of Mice and Men, published by John Steinbeck in 1937, is set in the Salinas Valley of California during the Great Depression. In 1936, Steinbeck took a journalistic assignment for the San Francisco News, investigating the migrant working situation in California. The stories and circumstances he discovered are reflected in Of Mice and Men. The novellas two main characters, George and Lennie, embody the American struggle to survive the Depression, but the novella is timeless because it captures the personal isolation and suffering present in the land of opportunity. Of Mice and Men is more than a little book about a certain time and place; it covers friendship and sacrifice, not to mention a healthy dose of the bittersweet futility of holding onto dreams. Even as Steinbeck was reworking the text as a play script, he was developing its broader themes and context for his masterwork Grapes of Wrath. Of Mice and Men can be thought of as a sketch for that great painting, though it still stands alone. For its stark and unflinching observations, this is one of Steinbecks best-loved pieces and a significant contribution to his Nobel Prize in literature. Of Mice and Men is a simple story, but in many ways the most complex of Steinbecks short books. The
intentional and unintentional violence in the book and the darkness of the plot and characters make it most appropriate for more mature readers. Its simple, easy-to-read plot but mature theme makes it an excellent choice for older students who experience difficulty reading complex works but are capable of handling mature material.

It is a frequently banned book. Teachers, parents, and school board members have often taken this novella off the required reading list. Why? If youve read it, you can guess. Theres a considerable amount of killing and violence. The characters all swear a lot, talk about sex, and go to brothels once a week. Many characters are racist and ageist and sexist. The books ending is beyond sad, and might be considered an endorsement of euthanasia. Not to mention, its message isn't exactly praiseworthy of the American way of life.

1. It asks, and pretty much answers, all the big questions. According to Of Mice and Men: - Does prejudice suck? Yes. - Are we all prejudiced? Yes. - Are we each responsible for the welfare of other people? Yes. - Is killing someone ever OK? Yes. - Is euthanasia preferable to a living Hell? Yes. - Are men and women different? Yes, and then again, no. - Is sex scary? It can be. Even when it costs $2.50. Especially when it costs $2.50. - Is having a dream a bad idea? Maybe yes, if youre within certain groups of our society. - Is this the opposite of the American Dream? Well, now that you mention it Of Mice and Men is risky, controversial, and modern. It says that maybe were screwed and not just from global warming, either. It says that our American notions of happiness are messed up, and if we expect perfection, or even fair play, were in for a sad surprise. Even in

a country where we pride ourselves our supposed ability to "pull ourselves up by our bootstraps," there frequently arent enough bootstraps to go around. And even then, those bootstraps often break. Its sweet. Bittersweet. Its about two guys who love each other and struggle against the injustices of the world and their own weak natures. It has Lennie in it. That alone is worth the price of admission. And how could we forget it has its own SNL skit, with Chris Farley man-handling the rabbits. Lennie and George are best friends traveling together in search of work on northern California farms. These two are flat broke as in, "not even any quarters in the couch" broke. This is not good, as they have a dream of owning their own idyllic farm someday. George is the "brains" behind this operation a smart guy who does all the talking when it comes to finding and keeping work. Lennie is physically strong, yet mentally slow. While both George and Lennie are good workers, they cant hold down jobs for long due to Lennie's childlike mentality and odd fetish for petting things, which includes mice, rabbits, puppies, andwomen. (This last one, of course, being the biggest issue). Good fortune smiles upon them briefly when they get work at a ranch near Soledad, California. The night before they begin the new job, they hang out in a grove together where George points out a safe spot where Lennie should go if he ever gets in trouble. George and Lennie meet some of the other co-workers including Candy (an old, one-handed fellow who owns a smelly dog), Crooks (a lonely stable hand), and Curley (an unfaithful man with severe anger management problems). Curley is the ranch boss's son and a hotheaded little guy who used to fight in the featherweights. Curley clearly has something to prove, and seems to want to prove that something to Lennie. George warns Lennie to stay away from Curley, though he says if Curley picks a fight, Lennie should fight back. We learn that Curley also has a new wife, whom no one is allowed to look at (which is difficult, because she quite likes male attention). Though most of the men know to stay clear of Curley's wife, Lennie innocently enjoys her flattering attentions. George warns Lennie to steer clear of her. Back at the ranch, we meet Slim, our local and wise ranch demi-god. We see Carlson, a callous ranch hand, who notes that Slims dog has had some new puppies. He suggests Candy adopt one of Slims puppies and shoot Candys old dog, primarily because its smelly. Then two amazing things happen at once. First, Friday comes around, and Slim earns Georges confidence. George admits that he and Lennie ran away from their last job in Weed, California because Lennie had tried to pet a womans dress and she accused him of rape. Second, Carlson gets Slim to give up a pup in return for Candys dead dog. Candy reluctantly gives in, but cannot bring himself to shoot his beloved dog, so Carlson does it for him. Slim then goes out to the barn to do some work on a mule. Curley follows, searching for his wife, paranoid that Slim might be with her. Lennie and George are left to discuss their dream farm, and Candy perks up, overhearing. George hesitates a little but then lets Candy in on the dream. The men agree to go in on the farm together. Meanwhile, Candy says he shouldve shot his dog himself, like a real man. Curley, cowed, follows Slim into the bunkhouse and, embarrassed, has the feeling of "sorry I thought you were having sex with my wife." Curleys itching for a fight to make him feel better, and quickly pounces on Lennie. George insists that he fight back on his own, so Lennie crushes Curleys hand. As the men minister to Curley, Slim casually suggests to him that if he tries to get Lennie and George fired, hell be the laughingstock of the ranch for having lost the fight. So Curley tells everyone he got his hand caught in a machine. Saturday night, universally the time for drunken visits to the whorehouse, opens with Slim and Lennie alone at the ranch with Crooks, the black stable hand. Lennie shows up in Crookss private (that is, segregated) little room. Crooks slowly warms up to Lennies

company, moved by how dense and earnest the man is. Hearing from Lennie about the dream farm, Crooks takes the opportunity to say that the same foolish goal is on the mind of every ranch hand and no one ever follows up on it. Candy joins the group and helpfully supports Lennie and his dream farm. Crooks begins to soften to the idea. He timidly suggests that if they got the place, and wanted someone around to help out for nothing but room and board, hed be OK with joining them. Soon after, Curleys wife enters. She calls the men weak, as they were left behind while the others went whoring (obviously a manly activity, much like shooting your dog). When Crooks tries to get her to leave his room, she explodes, reminding him that hes a "nigger" and that she could have him "strung up on a tree so easy it aint even funny." That ends the party. On Sunday afternoon, Lennies in the barn with a dead puppy. He admonishes the puppy for "going and getting killed," which we think is actually not so much the puppys fault as it is Lennies. As he tries to cover the creature with hay, Curleys wife walks into the barn. She gets close to Lennie and describes how she shouldve been a movie star in Hollywood. Hearing that Lennie likes to pet soft things, she offers up her hair as a petting object. She worries about him messing it up though, and as she wriggles to avoid a ruined hairdo, Lennie panics and, again accidentally, breaks her neck and kills her. Lennie recalls what George said about heading to the grove if he ever got into trouble. Lennie heads for his safe spot in the grove. Candy discovers Curleys wifes body and runs out to George, who identifies it is as classic Lennie handiwork. George hopes theyll lock Lennie away someplace nice, though Candy points out that theyre more likely to go for a shooting or lynching-type punishment. George admits wistfully that he knew theyd never get the farm of which they had dreamed. George plans to hear the news with all the rest of the guys and pretend he didnt know. Candy, left alone with Curleys dead wife, berates her for costing him his dream and is reduced to lonely tears. By the time Curley finds out, he immediately concludes Lennie was the murderer, and becomes more worked up about shooting Lennie than about having a dead wife. As Carlson and Curley run off to get their guns, Slim and George have a solemn conference. Slim grimly notes that even if Lennie escapes Curleys rage, hes likely to be locked up like an animal in an asylum. Carlson then runs in, announcing his gun is missing. Curley concludes that Lennie, having clearly stolen the gun, is armed and dangerous, which justifies their decision to shoot him. Curley insists that George come with them on the Lennie-hunt. Meanwhile, Lennie waits at the designated safe spot. He hallucinates about his Aunt Clara and a big scary talking bunny, who insists that Lennie isnt fit to raise rabbits and that George will soon leave him. Lennie cries out for George, and George appears in the brush. To Lennies surprise, George insists he isnt angry. He says its the one thing he wants Lennie to know. Then, at Lennies request, George begins to recount the dream farm story. As George listens to the lynch mob approaching, he instructs Lennie to look away over the river and envision the farm. As Lennie is visualizing the realization of their dream, George shoots Lennie in the back of the head. Lennie goes out without much twitching. George tosses the gun away and is immediately accosted by the wandering group of vigilantes. He says that, yes, Lennie did have Carlsons gun until he wrestled it away from him. Slim immediately picks up on what happened here, and tries to assure George that he did the honorable thing. As the two men leave, Carlson and Curley are left behind, completely puzzled at why George and Slim seem so bothered.

Its a hot afternoon near Soledad, California, sometime during the 1930s. Everyone (or nearly everyone) is poor and scrambling around desperately for work, food, and money. We meet Lennie Small and George Milton: two guys who are among the poor and the scrambling. These two are dressed nearly identically, but there the similarities end. George is small and smart, Lennie is huge and mentally slow. Though the narrative doesnt explicitly say what his disability is, we can tell from his dialogue and actions that he is severely challenged. Lennie drops to his knees and drinks from a pool of dirty water, slurping out of it like a horse. George verbally swats him. This is the dynamic of their relationship in a nutshell: Lennie acts like a kid, and George admonishes him like a parent. Make that a parent who swears a lot. George has to remind Lennie about where they are going and why: a ranch where they can buck barley for 50 dollars a month. George also reminds Lennie about why they lost their last job: something about a girl with a soft, red dress that Lennie liked to pet (the dress, not the girl; although technically, yes, the girl was in the dress at the time). This "petting" is a genuine problem for Lennie. Lennie likes to pet things a little too hard and a little too long an activity that keeps resulting in dead rabbits. Lennie and George have an argument over a mouse that Lennie has petted a little too hard and long. Lennie wants to keep the dead mouse in his pocket, but George throws it away. Then they argue about other stuff: Lennie wants ketchup with his supper of beans; George says there isnt any. Lennie threatens to go live by himself in a cave; George says what a great life he could have if Lennie did go off and live in a cave. But this hurts Lennie's feelings. George makes it up to Lennie by repeating their favorite story the one in which they have their own ranch and Lennie gets to tend (and pet!) rabbits. As long and as hard as he wants. George also reminds Lennie to come back to this spot by the river if anything bad happens, which suggests, of course, that something bad most definitely will.

f Mice and Men Chapter 2 Summary

George and Lennie arrive at the new ranch. They go into the bunkhouse where they will stay and meet an old guy named Candy. His name seems especially inappropriate since he is missing a hand, has bristly white whiskers, and an ancient dog that stinks. Candy gives George the lowdown on the ranch. The boss shows up and questions George and Lennie about their work history. George does all the talking, which makes the boss suspicious. He cant understand why George is looking out for Lennie (we arent entirely sure either). George lies and says he and Lennie are cousins, and that they left their last job because it was done. (He leaves out that the job ended when Lennie was accused of rape, though Lennie was not guilty of this he was just petting.) The boss leaves and Candy comes back in with his dog. He talks to George about how the dog used to be a great sheepherder before he got old and stinky.

The bosss son comes in. Hes a small-but-cocky tough-guy type and immediately sizes up George and Lennie as potential people he could beat up. He tries to engage Lennie in an argument, but George interferes. The bosss son implies that George and Lennie are gay for hanging out together which, for him, is meant to be an insult. He leaves after firing this parting shot. Candy explains that the bosss son (named Curley because he has curly hair) used to be a lightweight fighter and now picks fights with every big guy he meets. Candy claims that Curley has gotten even worse since he married a "tart," who has "the eye" for every guy on the ranch. Curley has taken to wearing a glove full of Vaseline to "keep his hand soft for his wife." Candy leaves. George gives Lennie yet another lecture. He tells Lennie to avoid Curley like the plague. Still, if Curley actually hits Lennie, Lennie should "let him have it." George also reminds Lennie of where he is to go if something bad happens. Curleys wife enters the bunkhouse, claiming to be looking for Curley. Unlike most other characters in the book, Curleys wife has no name, unless you consider "tramp," "loo loo," and "jail-bait" to be names. In that case, this ladys got lots of names. Lennie cant take his eyes off of Curleys wife, and she doesnt make it easy to put his eyes anywhere else, either. Slim, the "prince of the ranch" (about whom you will hear more later), walks by and sends Curleys wife on her way. George now gives Lennie a lecture about staying away from this woman. Lennie says he doesnt like the ranch; it isnt a "good place." George reminds Lennie that they need to work there long enough to be able to buy a ranch of their own. Slim now stands in the doorway. Slim is the ideal man in Steinbeck's world practical, tough as nails, understanding, highly skilled at his job, yet humble. He is cool and calm until he is given a reason to get riled. Carlson enters the bunkhouse and asks Slim about his new litter of puppies. He suggests giving one to Candy as a replacement for his ancient dog which Carlson claims reeks so bad it deserves to be shot. (Lifes hard out here for a pup.) At the mention of the word "puppy," Lennie starts wriggling with pleasure. Pure petting pleasure. George indicates that hell ask for a puppy for Lennie. Curley shows up at the door (dont these people do any work?) looking for you guessed it his wife. He and George verbally wrangle, but no one whips out any fighting moves yet. The dinner bell rings. Thank goodness.

Of Mice and Men Chapter 3 Summary

Slim and George enter the bunkhouse together. They have apparently eaten dinner. George thanks Slim for Lennies new puppy. Slim wants to know why a "cuckoo" like Lennie and a "smart little guy" like George are traveling around together, a question which has crossed more than one readers mind. Because Slim is a good guy, George tells him everything: that George knew Lennies Aunt Clara, that he used to tease Lennie mercilessly until he realized how loyal Lennie was to him, that Lennie isnt literally crazy, just dumb, that hes gotten used to Lennies annoying ways, and that hes seen guys that go around by themselves and those guys get lonely and mean. He and Lennie, however, have each other.

George also tells Slim what happened in Weed with the girl in the red dress she got frightened of Lennies petting, cried rape, and he and Lennie had to run for their lives, or at least run and hide in a muddy ditch for a while. Slim decides that Lennie "aint meanhes jes like a kid." Yes, if by "kid" you mean a very large and enormously powerful, full-grown man with a tendency to pet things to death. Carlson comes in and complains again about the smell emanating from Candys dog and offers to shoot the creature with his trusty Luger. Candy is miserable. He loves his old companion and cant bear the thought of killing him. Slim, however, sides with Carlson and claims that he would want to be shot if he were old and crippled. Since Slim has handed down his verdict, the dog is as good as dead. Candy lies down on his bed and stares up at the ceiling. Carlson takes his gun and the dog outside. George pretends to play cards. All is quiet and hideously tense in the bunkhouse. Finally a shot is heard in the distance. Its Carlson shooting the dog. Candy turns his face to the wall. Crooks pokes his head in the bunkhouse. He is a black man who takes care of all the horses and has to live by himself because hes black, and black people arent allowed to live with white people. Crooks tells Slim that Lennie is hanging out in the barn petting the puppies too much. Uh-oh. Slim goes to take a look. Whit, another ranch hand, engages George in conversation about Curleys wife, who he says is a "loo loo." They agree that Curley has "yella-jackets in his drawers" and his pants "is just crawlin with ants," all of which apparently means that Curleys wifes crazy sexuality has pumped up Curleys sexuality. George wisely observes that Curleys wife is "gonna make a mess." All this talk about sex leads Whit to invite George along on the Saturday-night-trip to the local whorehouse. George says two dollars and fifty cents is a bit rich for his blood. Whit says that he can get it cheaper at Claras whorehouse, but Suzys house is cleaner and Suzy tells better jokes. George is swayed by these selling points. Lennie comes in. Carlson enters and starts cleaning his gun. Tactlessly. Curley comes in looking for Mrs. Curley. He hears that Slim is out in the barn and storms off. Whit and Carlson follow, thinking theres going to be a fight. George tells Lennie hed take a good whorehouse over "jail bait" any day; at least with a whorehouse you know ahead of time what youre getting and how much its going to set you back. An interesting distinction. Lennie is bored by this talk and begs to hear the dream-farm story again. George complies. Candy overhears this discussion and offers to chip in 300 dollars if theyll let him live at the farm, too. George eventually agrees and the three of them imagine what life will be like once they have a place of their own. George and Candy in particular dream of the freedom of being able to go where they want, when they want, while Lennie seems mostly pleased about the rabbits and other garden bits. George reminds them not to tell anyone of their plans and they all say they wont. Candy admits that he should have shot his dog himself.

All the other guys come back in. Slim is pissed at Curley for bugging him about his wife, Carlson calls Curley a coward, and the testosterone in the bunkhouse reaches critical mass. Curley starts punching Lennie, who does nothing until George yells at Lennie to "get im." In a move that rivals Bruce Lee, Lennie grabs Curleys hand as its coming toward his face, and essentially crushes it completely. Carlson is recruited to take Curley to the doctor. Slim tells Curley to say that he got his hand caught in a machine, and that if he tries to get Lennie fired, Slim will tell everyone what really happened. Curley, moaning and crying, agrees. Lennie is scared that because he has done a "bad thing" George will no longer let him tend the rabbits. George reassures him that any future rabbits are his to tend, and tells him to go wash the blood off his big mug.

Of Mice and Men Chapter 4 Summary

Crooks (the stable hand who, because of racial segregation, has to live by himself) is sitting in his room. Lennie comes by because he is lonely. Everyone else has gone off to Suzys clean and comedic house of ill repute. Lennie (revealing his secret-keeping capabilities) immediately tells Crooks about the dream farm. Crooks thinks that Lennie is nuts. Crooks, hostile because of his own loneliness, starts taking out his anger on Lennie by insinuating that George may never come back. Lennie freaks out and gets mad. Crooks sees Lennie towering over him and retracts his comment. Lennie calms down. Phew. Crooks gives a speech about how every guy needs another guy to talk to. Candy comes in. He evidently did not go to Suzys. Candy, too, talks about the farm theyre supposedly getting, and Crooks hints that he would like to be a part of this plan. Curleys wife appears in the doorway. "They left all the weak ones here," she says, in a surprising burst of (cruel) insight. Curleys wife reveals shes lonely and wants someone to talk to, even if it is a "nigger an a dum-dum and a lousy ol sheep." The "nigger, dum-dum, and sheep" respond by trying to get her to leave; her presence nearly always means trouble. Curleys wife asks Lennie how he got the bruises on his face. Crooks tells her again to leave, and she threatens to have Crooks lynched. The men return from Suzys whorehouse, poorer, but perhaps wiser in the ways of the world. George enters Crookss room. Candy admits that they have told Crooks about the farm. George is not happy. Crooks claims he was just joking about joining them on their farm. He retreats once again into the sadness and safety of his solitary life.

Of Mice and Men Chapter 5 Summary

Lennie is alone in the barn, petting a puppy that he has obviously petted a little too long and hard. First, Lennie covers the dead puppy up with hay. Next, he flings the dead puppy across the barn.

While he oscillates between feelings of sorrow and anger, it doesnt seem like his greatest woe is the dead puppy. Instead, Lennie is worried that George might not let him tend to the rabbits of the dream farm. Lennie, like a small child, doesnt recognize the seriousness of death. Curleys wife sashays in to the barn. She sees the puppy and tells Lennie not to feel bad because the pup was just a mutt, and mutts are aplenty in the world. Curleys wife confides in Lennie, telling him that she could have been a famous movie star, but the world conspired against her and thats why shes ended in a barn with a dum-dum and a dead dog. (Alliterative glory, isnt it?) Lennie explains that he got into this trouble because he likes to pet soft things. Curleys wife says that her hair is very soft. Oh no Lennie pets Curleys wifes hair a little too long and hard. In the petting, Lennie breaks her neck and she is dead. Now Lennie has something new to cover with hay. Lennie knows he has done something bad, but his biggest concern is that now George really might not let him tend the rabbits. Then, he remembers Georges instruction about where to go in case things get bad. So he goes. He takes the dead puppy with him, declaring things are bad enough as they are without adding a dead puppy to the mix. Candy comes in to the barn and sees Curleys wife. She looks like she is asleep. Candy runs to find George. They discuss the possibilities. They both know that they should turn Lennie in, but that hell be locked up and treated miserably if they do. On the other hand, they also know that Curley will torture and kill Lennie if he finds him. Candy asks hesitantly if all this hullabaloo means that they cant have their farm, even without Lennie. George's spirit is deflated. He says he thinks he knew, in the back of his mind all along, that theyd never really get a farm. He admits that he only began to believe they would because of how much Lennie liked to hear about it. George, having explicitly given up his dream, decides that now he will now be just like the other ranch hands, spending all his time and money on booze and bad women. Candy thoughtfully adds that he didnt think Lennie could do anything like this, as he seems like such a nice guy. George, still staring down at Curleys dead wife, asserts that Lennie didnt kill her out of "meanness." George is sure that, although Lennies done a lot of bad things, none of them were ever done out of meanness. George then comes back to his senses about the matter at hand. He knows they have to tell the other guys whats happened, and that theyll all want to bring Lennie in once he does. For a moment, George worries that theyll try to hurt Lennie. He comforts himself by assuring that he wont let them. George hatches a plan. He says that if he tells the guys what happened to Curleys wife, they might suspect he was in on it. Instead, hell run off to the bunkhouse, and Candy can come running in a minute later with news of Curleys dead wife. When Candy comes in, George will be surprised that the woman is dead. Candy, left alone with Curleys dead wife, takes a minute to soundly berate her for being the source of all their troubles. As Candy leaves for the bunkhouse to tell the guys what hes found, hes teary (not for the dead girl, but the lost dream). As the plan stated, Candy tells the other men. They all come into the barn to have a look at the dead woman.

They all stand around and scuff their boots in the straw. Curley says "the big son-of-abitch" has done this and he intends to shoot him right in the guts. Curley and Carlson run out of the barn to round up guns and men and go in search of the guts. Meanwhile, Slim says quietly to George that, given the way Curleys wifes neck is broken, Lennie could well have done it. George is quiet, and Slim reminds him vaguely about "the time in Weed" George had described earlier. With his hat pulled down low over his eyes, George says nothing. Slim sighs and says he guesses theyve got to go get Lennie now. (He seems sorry things have to shake out this way.) George tells the men that Lennie probably went south. George is being tricky. George moves close to Slim and asks if they could bring Lennie back, so he can be locked up (instead of murdered by a two-bit-no-good-son-of-a-ranch-owner). George promises Lennie was "nuts" and didnt do the murder out of meanness. Slim agrees this might be possible, if only they could keep Curley off the warpath. Still, the big guy would likely be locked up and strapped down in a cage. Slim thinks thats no way for a man to live, either. Carlson runs back in and breaks up the powwow by announcing that his Luger has been stolen and that Lennie must have taken it. Curley, however, has a gun, and instructs Carlson to take Crookss gun instead. It seems nothing will keep these desperate men from their manhunt! Curley tells Carlson to shoot Lennie in the guts as soon as he sees him. Curley then takes over the operation: he tells Whit to go to Soledad and get the deputy sheriff, and demands that George join the search party for Lennie. Though George tells Curley "the poor bastards nuts" and didnt mean anything in killing Curleys wife, Curley wont hear any of it. Slim, looking down at the dead body, suggests perhaps Curley should stay with his dead wife and cool off. Curleys not having any of it hes hell-bent on shooting Lennie himself, even if hes only got one good hand. Again, Curley insists George has to join the hunting party. Curley threatens that if George doesnt, the men might suspect he (George) took part in the murder.

Of Mice and Men Chapter 6 Summary

Lennie sits by the deep pool near the river, waiting for George. Hes proud of himself for remembering this is the spot where hes to wait. George is really the only thing on his mind right now. Lennie is certain George will now "give him hell," and the big, sad guy remembers that he could run away to a cave and stop bothering George. He says he could get through it, even though thered be no ketchup. Almost as if repeating a spell, Lennie says, "If George dont want meIll go away. Ill go away." Just then, who should he conjure out of the dark corners of his dull mind, but his dead Aunt Clara. Lennie, hallucinating, has a pleading conversation with his Aunt Clara, who, the narrator notes, speaks in Lennies voice. Aunt Clara lights into Lennie: she accuses him of never thinking of George, even though George is always so nice to him. "Nice" activities include saving him the bigger piece of pie and giving him all the ketchup, when there is any.

Aunt Clara gets grumpier, listing off all the boozing and women George could have had without Lennie. While Lennie whines that hes always trying, Aunt Clara announces he never had any intention of leaving George the hell alone. Aunt Clara swears a surprising amount. Her grammar also leaves something to be desired. Then, Aunt Clara disappears, only to be replaced by a very large and angry rabbit that (not surprisingly) also has Lennies voice. If you thought the dead aunt was bad, the scary, mind-reading rabbit reaches into Lennie and hits him where it hurts: it scoffs at Lennies hope to tend to rabbits. Though Lennie promises hed never forget to feed them, the rabbit claims that Lennie "aint fit to lick the boots of no rabbit." (Lennie, rather than pointing out that rabbits dont tend to wear boots, lays back for another licking from the imaginary and rather mean bunny.) The rabbit suggests that George will beat Lennie with a stick when he finds him. After the beating, the rabbit promises George will go away and leave Lennie, because he got sick of him. The rabbit then repeats over and over, "Hes gonna leave you, ya crazy bastard. Hes gonna leave ya all alone." As Lennie covers his ears in agony and cries out for George, the rabbit (according to the narrator) scuttles back into Lennies brain, and George finally appears from the brush. Lennie is thrilled to see George and begs him to give him hell, so that things can get back to normal. George is strangely quiet even when Lennie tells him that he has done yet another bad thing. When George refuses to give him hell, Lennie asks George to tell him the dream-farm story again, and about how the two of them are different than other guys. George takes out Carlsons Luger and unsnaps the safety. He can hear Curley and the other men approaching. (We, too, feel as though we can hear the men approaching; the rustling in the bushes, the yelling and cursing getting heart-thumpingly closerclosercloser.) As George tells the story, Lennie adds his usual eager interruptions and additions about tending rabbits and living off the fat of the land. George tells Lennie to look across the river while he narrates. Lennie talks about getting the place theyve always dreamed of, and getting it now. Lennie then tells George hed worried that George was angry at him. After hearing George promise hes not mad, and hes never been mad, Lennie goes back to the dream farm. As George is readying his courage, Lennie says, "Les do it now. Les get that place now." George agrees theyve got to do it now, and as Lennie continues to look over the bank, envisioning the farm, George puts a gun to the back of Lennies head and pulls the trigger. Lennie lies still in the sand, without quivering, dead. The other men hear the shot and come running. They think that Lennie had Carlsons gun and that George wrestled it away from him. George doesnt correct them. Slim sees the situation for what it is. He comes over to George quietly and sits close to him, saying simply, "Never you mindA guy got to sometimes." As the other men probe George for the nasty details, Slim intervenes. He tells George the two of them should go for a drink, and as he helps him up adds, "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me." The two leave.

Carlson looks at the others and says, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin them two guys?"