Part 6: Why George Killed Lennie with Foreshadowing and the Last Sentence

Of Mice and Men has ended with Lennie's death by George's hand. We can only wonder, "How did it suddenly get to this?" There were several examples of foreshadowing that I noticed throughout the book --- the first being the similarities in Candy's situation (when he was forced to allow his dog to be killed) and George's situation in dealing with Lennie's mistake (when they find Curley's wife's body).

In Part 3, Carlson finally persuades Candy to let go of his dog and let him be put down. Later when Candy and George talk about their dream ranch, Candy says to George, "'I oughtta of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn't outta of let no stranger shoot my dog'" (61). In George's case, "...Curley's gonna want to shoot 'im'" (97). George was probably thinking along the lines of, "I'm the only one who can do it," or something similar. He knew that Lennie's death was inevitable, with Curley there, and knew that only he could make Lennie have a painless and peaceful death.

However, not only did George kill Lennie because Curley would've killed him anyway, but I also think that George thought he had no choice. Every time Lennie panicked, the consequences got worse and worse. Lennie had a record of killing small mice because of not knowing his strength (and eventually a young puppy). The first time Lennie had panicked was in Weed, where he refused to let go of the girl's dress, forcing him and George to go on the run. Next was his fight with Curley, in which he crushed Curley's hand after being unable to let go. His final panic-driven act was suffocating and breaking Curley's wife's neck, resulting in her death. If George and Lennie had gone on like this, visiting ranch after ranch, Lennie would've continued hurting people around him. George knew that at this point, Lennie had crossed the line, though it wasn't his fault.

Something else I was thinking about, was the last sentence of the book: "Curley and Carlson looked after them. And Carlson said, "Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?'" (107). I know some people who were mad at this last sentence; Lennie had just died, and they knew that! Who wouldn't be mad by these people, who didn't value Lennie's life at all? But I don't think that Carlson should be thought of badly. Yes, he didn't value Lennie's life, but then again, all he knew was that Lennie killed Curley's wife and must be punished --- killed. He had no emotional ties to Lennie at all. I believe John Steinbeck made this the last sentence to depict the cruelty of society. In the end, society doesn't care if they have nothing to do with you. Society continues on, without any regard to your feelings. Think about it, would you care about the death of a stranger? Probably not. The death of a random person you don't know doesn't hurt you, hence, you continue on, indifferent to their passing. That is the reality of society --- they never care until they experience it, themselves. 

~ Kate_ChromtheChrommander