PART 5 AND 6:

Part 5 and 6:

          Chapter 5 and 6 led from Lennie stroking his dead puppy in the barn, to being dead himself. I think Steinbeck used the puppies death in the beginning of the chapter to foreshadow Lennie's death. Lennie, whom everyone sees as more animal then man, died due to the haplessness of his situation, a child like brain being forced in to the body of what could have been a strong independent man, just as the puppy was forced to have a master such as Lennie, not being able to make the decision for himself. Both Lennie and the puppy had no say in their own life and died not knowing why. Lennie died clueless of the cruelty of the world, he still talked and thought of the rabbits he would raise with George up to the moment he died. George talked Lennie through their dream, while killing him, "George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head... He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shock rolled up the hill and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward into the sand and he lay without quivering"(106). And like the puppy, George tries to cover up Lennie's death, saying that he had the gun, just as Lennie tried to hide the puppy's death. Being an animal, the puppy probably didn't understand why death had taken him, neither would Lennie.

Affects of Relationships on the American Dream

In part five and six of the novel, Of Mice and men, I saw a profound theme of the American Dream and how certain relationships can affect it.
As Curley's wife described her American Dream, to become a starring actress in Hollywood, I noticed how her relationship with her mother and her husband affected her destiny. At age fifteen, Curley's wife was asked to join a show but her mother said she was too young. Then she met a man who said he would put her in the movies because of her talent. He promised he would write to her about it. When she never got the letter she assumed that her mother had stolen it. Since Curley's wife doesn't trust her mother you can assume that her mother doesn't trust her. In order to make a dream come true, you need strong, supportive relationships with people who have faith and trust in you. She went and married Curley to get away from her mother, but found herself still stuck in a place where she couldn't make something of herself. Since Curley doesn't care about her  happiness enough to let her peruse her dream she is permanently stuck at the ranch.

Throughout the whole novel, George and Lennie were dedicated to a far fetched dream that motivated them to stay on their best behaviors. Lennie especially helped the men, George and Candy, move closer to their goal. Every time Lennie asked George to retell the description of their future life at their farm, George's motivation grew.
When George was forced to peacefully take Lennie's life, he automatically knew that their dream was over. Without Lennie, George doesn't truly believe that their dream can come true. Before Lennie died he had George explain to him how they were different than other ranchers. George explains how other ranchers don't have anyone who cares about them. Lennie happily chimed in "But not us," and both of them continue by saying "Because I got you'- An' I got you. We got each other, that's what, that gives a hoot in hell about us." (104). Once Lennie is no longer with George, he knows that he will not be able to keep the belief that the dream would come true. This shows that in George and Lennie's friendship, Lennie helped George to believe and George helped Lennie stay on track. Without Lennie's belief the dream can not come true, just like how George's absence would leave Lennie to make more bad decisions that would block the dream. Without each other the men become just like any other rancher. The bond that the men have is the foundation of their dream and if affected the dream crumbles. If Lennie didn't kill Curley's wife, I think that George, Lennie, and Candy would have reached their dream because the men all trust each other and have powerful traits that complement one another.
Through Curley's wife's relationship with her mother and husband, and Lennie and George's relationship, I learned that in order to achieve a dream you need to be surrounded by people who will always believe in you and most of all, to always have belief in yourself.

Candy's dog to Lennie

At the end of OMAM I noticed a few similarities between Candy's dog to Lennie. One similarity I noticed is how they're both like animals, especially Lennie, with John Steinbeck referring Lennie's hands as "paws", and explaining how the mentally disabled were put into cages like animals. Another similartity I noticed was how they died. In both of their deaths Carlson or his things were involved (Carlson shot Candy's dog, and George used Carlson's gun), they were both shot, and both deaths were intended to be respectful, memorable, and intended the beings be put out of their misery. It is explained in the book that Candy's dog had to be shot because he was old and suffering.  Lennie was suffering too, by being stressed that he wasn't good enough for George and that he's always hiding and getting into trouble. The only difference in the deaths was that Candy regrets not shooting his own dog to put him out of misery because he is his friend and beloved companion. While Lennie and George are the same way, George wanted to do it the proper way by putting Lennie out of his own misery and saying goodbye. I could also tell how George felt after killing Lennie, "George shivered and looked at the gun, and then he threw it from him, back up on the bank, near the pile of old ashes." p.106.  George wanted Lennie's death to mean that between them, they were close companions, and are always going to be together no matter what.

Part 5/6

In part 6, George decided to shoot Lennie after he accidentally killed Curley's wife. I was very surprised at first, and I thought about why in the world George would do that. I thought about all the times they spent together and how much Lennie loved George. Towards the end of part 6, I realized why George shot Lennie when Slim said, "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda" (107). This brought me back to when Slim also said, "An s'pose they lock him up an' strap him down and put him in a cage. That ain't no good" (97). Both these quotes helped me register why George would shoot Lennie. Slim was telling George what would happen to Lennie if he was found by the guys. The guys would lock him up and Lennie would be tortured. George had to make a decision because he didn't want Lennie to be harmed by any of the men on the ranch. By shooting Lennie quick, George was able to save Lennie from being tormented and living the last days of his life, in pain. I believe it was a good thing that George shot Lennie himself.

Part 5 and 6:

Part 5 and 6:

In part 6 Of Mice and Men George shoots Lennie in the back of the head. George had to shoot Lennie before Curley could make Lennie suffer. Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife when he was playing with her hair his strength broke her neck and she dies. Lennie knows what he has done, and he remembered what George told him a while back go to the bush if there is ever any trouble. When Curley found his wife laying dead on the ground he knew it was Lennie who had killed her. Curley gathers the other men and immediately go to kill Lennie. George knew that Curley would kill Lennie with anger and fury so George ran ahead of Curley to kill Lennie peacefully himself. George ran to the bush because he remembered telling Lennie to go there if there is any trouble. When George arrives at the bush, they start talking about the dream and how Lennie would tend to the rabbits. Without Lennie knowing and while Lennie is still talking about the dream, George raises the gun slowly behind Lennie's head and shoots him. George knew this would be a better way to die than having Curley kill him but when George was about to shoot him his hand was violently shaking it was hard to do. In part 3 of the book, Carlson says "Got a Luger. It won't hurt him none at all" (48) when he is trying to convince Candy to put the dog out of it' misery by shooting it. Carlson is explaining to Candy that shooting the dog in the back of the head will make him feel less pain and die more peacefully. George remembers this right before he goes to the bush so he grabs Carlson's Luger before he leaves and uses it to shoot Lennie. I think that George shot Lennie because he wanted Lennie to die a peaceful life without Curley's rage. George knew that the dream and Lennie tending his own rabbits made him happy so that's why George had Lennie talk about the dream. All George wanted Lennie to do was be happy and in this case die happy so that explains why George killed Lennie in the end of the book.   

Part 5 and 6

In part 6 of Of Mice and Men, Lennie is shot in the back of his head by George. After Lennie accidentally kills Curley's wife by playing with her hair and breaks her neck, he runs away. When Curley finds his wife lying dead on the ground, he knew that Lennie had done it. He was furious and wanted to kill Lennie immediately. Curley and the rest of the men left to go find Lennie and kill him. George remembered that he told Lennie to run away to the bush whenever there is trouble, so George went ahead of everyone else to go find Lennie before Curley would find him and kill him. Once George finds Lennie, they both start talking about their dream and how Lennie would tend to rabbits. Earlier in the book Carlson says "'Got a Luger. It won't hurt him none at all.'" (47) when he is trying to convince Candy that he should kill his dog. Carlson explains to shoot the dog in the back of the head, so he won't feel any pain. George remembers where to shoot Lennie, so he grabs Carlson's Luger and shoots him. Once the men saw that George shot Lennie, Slim said, "You hadda, George. I swear you hadda" (107). This made me think that George shot Lennie because he didn't want Lennie to suffer if Curley would have done it. George wanted Lennie to find peace and be happy before he dies, which is why George was talking about their dream. He wanted Lennie to think of a happy and safe place. This explains why George shot Lennie in the end of the book.

Part 5: Lennie and Curley's wife

In part 5 of Of Mice and Men Curley's wife and Lennie confined in each other some interesting secrets. Curley's wife told Lennie that " I get awful lonely" (86) and that "I don' like Curley. He ain't a nice fella" (89). She also tells him about her past and how a man wanted to get her in the movies and Hollywood.  I think that she told him all of this personal and potentially risky information because she knew that Lennie was so focused on his puppy and that he wouldn't listen. Also, she told him this because she could probably tell that he was not a person that understood or followed conversation much. Lennie on the other hand told Curley's wife that "George says I ain't to have nothing to do with you-talk to you or nothing" (86) and that "I like to pet nice things...sometimes I even pet mice"(90). The first thing that he told her lead to her telling him how she was lonely and about her past. The second thing he told her however lead to her telling him to stroke her hair because it was very soft. When Lennie did this, Curley's wife panicked, because he wouldn't let go of her hair leading to Lennie accidentally breaking her neck, which killed her. In the end the significance of the confessions was that they lead to the death of one of the confessors, and that Curley's wife's confession, especially, could have gotten her in a lot of trouble, and did.