Ending of OMAM - Lennie killed by his best friend

George kills Lennie! Then again, this shows a great example of how everyone ended up being lonely in some way at the time. George always had Lennie as someone to talk to, and therefore, he was never lonely. He was consistently there for Lennie, even with his mental disability. After Lennie accidentally killed Curley’s wife by not knowing his own strength, Curley immediately went after him to get 'revenge'. George, knowing that the worst was yet to come, did the job for Curley. But George was gentle, which I am very happy about. He started talking to Lennie about how they were going to have a ranch and Lennie could tend the rabbits. Soon enough he started moving slowly from the ranch to the afterlife. “Ever'body gonna be nice to you.  Ain't gonna be no more trouble.  Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from you” (Steinbeck 103). He was making Lennie happy before his death, but at the same time, he was reassuring himself that he was going to go to a better place. Finally, George shoots Lennie. He gets rid of his best friend, and no longer has anyone to talk to or be with. He understands the true feeling that is loneliness. He learns that loneliness can be one of the worst feelings in the world and that this lonesomeness is what everybody else had been feeling since who knows when. This gave me the feels and I am honestly very happy with the ending of Of Mice And Men.

Loneliness - Curley's wife

Being a women, Curley's wife is one of the loneliest characters in Of Mice and Men and shows it a lot throughout Section 4. Simply being named Curley's wife shows a lot of how women were treated at the time. She very rarely is with others and is normally in the house doing chores. After Crooks explains his own loneliness to Lennie, Curley's wife walks into their conversation and asks them, "Any you boy seen Curley?" (Steinbeck 76) but soon enough admits that "I know where they all went" (Steinbeck 77). Although she claims that she was looking for Curley, she still admits she knows where he is. This shows that Curley’s wife didn’t come in ‘looking for Curley’, she came in looking for company most likely. Clearly, this shows how lonely Curley’s wife really is because at the time talking to colored people was against some laws and yet she still talked to Crooks. Although I am not a huge fan of Curley's wife, I still feel truly sorry for her because of this specific scene in Section 4.

Candy's Dog

In Of Mice And Men we are showed the symbolization of the death of Candy's best friend, his dog. Candy and the dog spent so much time together and grew very old in enough time. Because pretty much everyone was lonely at this time, Candy's dog symbolizes how rare it really was to have a friend and how nobody understood the meaning of friendship unless they had one themselves. The death of Candy's dog shows just how much people didn't 'care' about others. Carlson clearly showed that he didn't care about the dog or Candy's feeling much. Although it would have been great to see the dog live, I think that this death was a good thing in some ways. The simple reason is because the dog was suffering already and it was put out of its 'misery'. The MAIN reason why I am happy for the dog's death is because it shows just what it was like for the few people who lost friends, moving into a life of loneliness. This could also be foreshadowing in some way, maybe there could be another death or somebody could become more lonely than ever. I don't know yet, but I'm eager to find out!

Affable and approachable Lennie

In  parts 5/6 and really all through the book we see lonely people speak to Lennie about their life and daily struggles. For example in part 4 we see Crooks tell Lennie the struggles of a colored man which is a very sensitive and debatable issue back then.'' Well I have a right to have a light'' said Crooks on page (68). This particular statement shows how many blacks did not have the same right as whites so that one light had more meaning that it should have. In parts 5 and 6 we see Curley' s Wife chat with Lennie about how she had dreams and aspirations to be an actress but somehow lost her way by meeting the wrong men and marrying the wrong man. I believe Steinbeck included these characters to show the struggles of women and black men at the time. When Crooks finished talking to Lennie he said ''You don't understand nothin''. Crooks basically said that lennie doesn't understand and that he does not care about anything else besides the rabbits. I believe that Steinback used lennie as a symbol of society at the time in this case because he doesn't understand anything except what he wants or in this case the rabbits. The killing of Curley wife in my opinion is symbolizing how women did not matter at the time and were not needed for much. I believe also that the killing of Lennie was representing how society was frowned upon and bad or pretty much ''dead'' back then. Women did not get names and black men were not wanted. Ultimately Crooks and Curleys wife were extremely lonely and sad as were most colored men and women with and without pigment.

Lennie's Hallucination- Part 6

     After accidentally killing Curley's Wife, Lennie went to the bush to wait for George. George always told Lennie to go to the bush if he ever did anything wrong to wait for him, and Lennie actually remembered. While Lennie was waiting, he had hallucinations talking to him in his voice. First, Lennie's Aunt Clara came to talk to him. She said to him in his voice, "'You never give a thought to George. He been doin' nice things for you alla time"' (101). Aunt Clara kept telling Lennie of how he never appreciated George. She said George spent his time caring for Lennie, but Lennie never cared enough to not get in trouble. Lennie also had another hallucination in his voice in the form of a giant rabbit. The rabbit said to him, "'You'd forget 'em and let 'em go hungry. That's what you'd do. An' then what would George think?'" (102) after Lennie starting talking about "tending the rabbits". I personally think that Lennie's Aunt Clara and the gigantic rabbit represent Lennie's mind telling him everything he has done wrong. Lennie kept telling the visions that he was sorry and how he really tried. Lennie never does anything wrong on purpose for the most part, but he usually always thinks of what George will do afterward. In this situation, Lennie kept telling himself how mad George will be. Eventually, George showed up and shot Lennie, so Curley wouldn't hurt him first. Before he shot Lennie, George told Lennie to imagine the place they were going to get and the rabbits Lennie was going to tend. Even though it wasn't true George wanted Lennie to be happy before he died.

-Paige

Curley's Wife is Dead

In Part 5 of Of Mice and Men, Lennie accidentally snaps Curley's wife's neck. He was stroking her hair and then we she started yelling at him to let go, he froze and just kept a grip on her hair. He wouldn't let go even though, " And she continued to struggle, and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and he was angry with her. 'Don't you go yellin,' he said, and he shook her; and her body flooped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck" (91). After Lennie accidentally kills her, we hear a description of what she looks like. The description is slightly ironic because it states," Curley's wife lay with a half-covering of yellow hay. And the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention were all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young. Now her rouged cheeks and her reddened lips made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly" (92 - 93). She was always previously described about being extremely made up, and now that she was dead she look very pretty and simple. She was always trying to look beautiful and she was usually described as someone very heavily made up, with too much make-up that didn't make her look beautiful. But, when she died she looked a very naturally beautiful woman. Also, only when she died, did she lose the ache for attention and all the discontent she had felt. She always wanted to be content and beautiful and only when she was dead did that happen. Steinbeck used irony with her character by giving her everything that she wanted once she was dead.

The Double Meaning of George's Statement In Section 6

At the end of Section 6, the reader must witness the tragic death of Lennie by George's hand for the accidental murder of Curley's wife.  Before Lennie is shot, George consents to tell him one last time how they were going to have their own place.  "'Guys like us got no fambly.  They make a little stake an' then they blow it in. They ain't got nobody in the worl' that gives a hoot in hell about 'em... but not us... because - because I got you an' -' 'An' I got you.  We got each other, that's what, that gives a hoot in hell about us...' 'We'll have a cow.' said George. 'An' we'll have maybe a pig an' chickens... an' down the flat we'll have a... little piece alfalfa'- 'for the rabbits,' Lennie shouted... 'Ever'body gonna be nice to you.  Ain't gonna be no more trouble.  Nobody gonna hurt nobody nor steal from you'" (Steinbeck 103).  It seems like George wanted Lennie to die thinking of something that made him happy, rather than continuing to worry that George was going to "give him hell" for killing Curley's wife.  However, if we dig deeper, another meaning can be obtained from George's last statement.
As George fantasized about their ranch with Lennie for the last time, he begins to get upset, as exemplified by the many breaks in his sentences.  But, as he spoke, George began to speak less about the ranch and more about the paradise of the afterlife.  The last sentence was not only George feeding Lennie lies so he could have a peaceful death, but also a way to reassure himself Lennie would have a happier life in heaven.
Even though Lennie's death was tragic, I feel it was essential to the story.  Because of his disabilities, Lennie never could have led a normal life, even on a new ranch.   He could never truly be happy in life, as he would still be persecuted by society for his differences.  He wouldn't even get to tend to his rabbits, as he would most likely kill them like his mice or puppy. Lennie felt he would finally be happy on a new ranch, his paradise.  But, in actuality, he could only be accepted in heaven/ the afterlife.  So, in a way, Lennie got what he wanted.  He made it to paradise and would finally get to tend to the rabbits.    😌