Of Mice and Men

The dream of a farm collapses in the novel's final stretch. After Candy pledges his savings and the three men believe they are on the verge of buying land together, Lennie—left alone in the barn—accidentally kills the puppy Slim gave him by petting it too hard. Curley's wife finds him there, lonely and eager for someone to talk to. She lets him stroke her hair, but when he grips too tightly and she panics and screams, Lennie, terrified and trying to make her stop, breaks her neck. He flees the ranch, following George's earlier instructions to hide in the brush by the river if he ever got into trouble.

When the other men discover Curley's wife's body, Curley organizes a lynch mob, arming himself with a rifle to kill Lennie in revenge. George realizes what has happened and understands their dream is over. He rushes ahead of the group to the riverside clearing where he and Lennie agreed to meet if there was trouble, hoping to reach Lennie before the others do.

George finds Lennie there. Rather than confronting or condemning him, George calms him by retelling their shared fantasy of the little farm with the rabbits, the same story he has told many times before, even though he now knows it will never come true. As Lennie sits facing away from him, imagining their future, George raises Carlson's stolen pistol and shoots him in the back of the head, killing him instantly and painlessly, sparing him the brutal death the mob intends.

Moments later Curley, Slim, and Carlson arrive. Slim, the perceptive and respected ranch hand, immediately understands what George has done and why, telling him he had no other choice. He leads George away gently, offering him comfort and the suggestion of a drink. Curley and Carlson, unable to comprehend the depth of George and Lennie's bond, look on in confusion, with Carlson wondering aloud what is bothering the two men as they walk off together. The novel ends with George's dream, and his friendship with Lennie, extinguished, leaving him alone again.