In the wretched heat of the sun, George and Lennie are employed on a ranch in Soledad to buck barely for cash. Lennie was a muscular man yet uneducated but accompanied by his close friend George. George wasn't as nearly as humongous as Lennie but he was the brains of Lennie that allowed him to survive long enough for him to travel and perform hard labor to ear money. Their money was to be put forward towards their American Dream. This American Dream that they worked so hard for involved owning their own ranch, which allowed them to relax and work only when needed to. By working in a ranch in Soledad, George and Lennie get a chance at acquiring this dream that many men aim for with the help of an elderly man George and Lennie meet on the ranch. This aging man's name was Candy and has offered to pitch in money to afford the ranch so that in return, could assist and reside there till his death. Throughout the story, the protagonists find themselves confronted by obstacles that disable them from reaching their dreams. These obstacles includes a flirtatious women, a lonely black man that obsesses over his loneliness, and the ranches owner's son that likes to pick fights with others. In the end, Lennie is mercy killed to prevent another being from killing him out of revenge and ending George, Lennie, and Candy's American Dream.

Throughout the book, the readers find themselves making connection between the story and their life. For example, when Lennie was put out of his misery, it reminded me of when I had to put down my dog because she was old and senile so it was necessary for her to be put to sleep so that she doesn't have to live through pain her whole life. Sometime I also share the same feelings and emotions as the main character. There are parts of the book that George resents having to watch over Lennie just like how I wish I didn't have a brother because he may watch television for to long or spill my most hidden secrets. When these emotions arise, I usually block my brother out of my mind and act like he is not there so that I can continue what I was doing without distraction. During the book, I notice George ignoring Lennie's stupidity in order to accomplish a task without much confusion. Behind Lennie's dull intelligence, he shares a relationship or bond between him and George. Since they travel around together a lot, it seems like George is the older brother and Lennie is the younger sibling that George must take care of and make decisions for. Even though the men on the ranch think that George and Lennie traveling together is awkward, I think that it is normal for two men to travel together and is also helpful at the same time because they are able to get work done faster and would be able to rely on each other better.

While reading this book, I have read numerous issues that play a significant role in this story. One issue that has impacted the story is the conflict with the only women on the ranch, Curley's wife. Since she is the only woman on the ranch, she is very lonely and has to act flirtatious with the men on the ranch in order to get attention. When she confronts Lennie alone she tries to entice Lennie with her soft hair but when Curley's wife had enough of Lennie mussing up her hair, she lets out a shriek, which Lennie ceases by breaking her neck. I've heard about these issues before when friends go out to play and someone gets hurt doing something illegal. The other friends would panic and would end up killing their friend. One of the themes in this book that goes well with this story is an unfulfilled dream. It helps me better understand this story by helping me foreshadow how the American Dream that the protagonists worked for would come to an end. Passions that affect my understanding of the story are that most good things will come to an end, which told me that the good fortune was to good to be true and something would terminate all that the laborers worked for.

By using journal prompts I'm able to make more simple connections that still tell a lot of the reader. For example, my favorite part of the book is when Lennie crushes Curley's hand so that Curley has almost no bones intact. It came out of nowhere and taught Curley a lesson. The part of the story that makes a real picture in my mind is when George describes to Lennie how life would be when they raise enough money to buy a ranch and to be able to live off the fatta the land. 3I can just picture Lennie feeding the rabbits and tending the crops outside of the barn. The part about how Carlson mercy killed Candy's dog reminds me of when my dog had to be put to sleep because she was to old and couldn't walk by herself. I am most like the character George because I am smart and sometimes I pick on my brother. I also have a sense of pride in what I'm doing and am able to control my temper. It's hard to believe that George and Lennie can still keep together and keep up with each other even though they get in trouble with themselves and others around them. I though it was funny when the author compared Lennie to the other workers that were bucking barely and seeing that it takes two men to carry one bag of barely when Lennie can do it alone.

“And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie's head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied. He pulled the trigger. The crash of the shot rolled up the hills and rolled down again. Lennie jarred, and then settled slowly forward to the sand, and he lay without quivering.”

Prejudice can be defined as judging someone by a stereotype, before you know anything about them, or before even meeting them.

Racial, social and gender are types of prejudice displayed in the novel.

The main way in which Steinbeck discusses and portrays racial prejudice in the novel is through the character, Crooks- a black man. As the only black man in the novel, Crooks is immediately singled out from the other characters.

Steinbeck highlights Crook's isolation from society (because of his colour) in a number of ways. He uses setting (Crooks' room is in the harness room instead of in the bunk room with the whites) to convey where he has to live.

“Crooks, the negro stable buck, had his bunk in the harness room.”

Steinbeck also reveals that racial prejudice causes Crooks to feel lonely, hurt and without friends.

“I ain't wanted in the bunkhouse.”

“Cause I'm black. They play cards in there but I can't play because I'm black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all stink to me.”

Steinbeck's word choice, “stink” is effective as it makes the reader feel that Crooks is thought of as very unpleasant to be near, or spend time with, but through Crooks' comment “you all stink to me”, we know that he understands that it is the colour of his skin that separates him from the other men, and not his smell.

Steinbeck also uses the theme of the novel to convey the prejudice Crooks suffers. Others treatments of him as a black cause him to feel lonely and isolated and his dream is simply to have a friend and someone to talk to. The fact that Crooks has a dream links him with the other characters, Lennie and George, as they have their own dream too- to have land of their own which they can farm and live off independently of others. The way in which other characters in the novel behave towards Crooks also is effective in highlighting racial prejudice. Others call him “nigger” in a casual way, and don't refer to him by name.

Curley's wife is extremely racially prejudiced towards Crooks. She threatens him when he tries to speak against her, saying,

“Well you keep your place then nigger. I will get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny.”

The use of the derogatory term “nigger” and her comment that she can “get you strung up…so easy” clearly indicates that she believes she has the right and the power to hang another human being simply because he is black.

In contrast to this, Lennie's childlike behaviour allows him to see Crooks as any other person, and stops him to see Crooks as any other person, and stops him from seeing the differences between himself and Crooks. His question to Crooks, “Why ain't you wanted?” Indicates that Lennie is unable to understand the prejudice that prevents Crooks from entering the bunkhouse. Steinbeck's word choice “wanted” is significant, as by using this term in place of “allowed” he conveys that the prejudice is deeper and personal than a fact or law.

Throughout the novel, Steinbeck also discusses gender prejudice. The only female character in the novel of importance, Curley's wife, is never referred to by name. By doing so, Steinbeck creates a strong image of women being men's possessions (“Curley's wife”), and lessening their importance as people in their own right. Again, Steinbeck uses setting to highlight the gender prejudice Curley's wife experiences. She is the only woman on the ranch, and is therefore isolated by her gender. This loneliness leads to her to seek comfort and attention from other men on the ranch, and encouraged her to use her position as the solitary female figure to her advantage. Her attempt to seek attention is shown when George and Lennie first arrive at the ranch and Curley' wife.

“Leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward,”

Steinbeck is implying that even though George and Lennie have just arrived, Curley's wife is making an immediate attempt to flirt with them. His choice of the word “thrown” suggests that this is a deliberate and enthusiastic attempt, and something she has thought about.

The theme of gender prejudice is continued when Curley's wife is frequently left at the ranch with other men who have a disability. This categorises her as being less valued and less important than the ranchers.

Steinbeck's treatment of gender prejudice again ties in with the themes of the novel, loneliness and dreams. Curley's wife suffers prejudice and isolation as she is a woman in a male environment, and she too has a dream of being a great actress.

Social prejudice is also referred to by Steinbeck throughout the novel.

Lennie and George suffer social prejudice because their relationship as ranchers who travel together is not seen as “normal”.

“Never seen one guy tae so much trouble for another guy,”

The ranchers presume George and Lennie are homosexuals before they even get to know them, simply because they behave in a different way. Steinbeck's use of the word “Never” reinforces the social prejudice, as it implies that this is an event which has not occurred before at any time.

Lennie's mental disability also conveys social prejudices. He finds it difficult to get work on his own, and when things go wrong and he faces difficulties he relies heavily on George's support. An example of this is Curley's reaction to meeting Lennie and doesn't understand his disability and is suspicious that Lennie will not speak for himself, and that George answers for him.

Steinbeck also uses the character of the old ranch hand, Candy, to discuss social prejudice. An older man who is no longer fit to work because he has lost a hand, Candy is assigned to unimportant jobs such as sweeping up. When Candy's dog is shot simply for being old, Steinbeck uses this as a metaphor to show how Candy himself is no longer valued by society, as he is older and not able to do a day's work like he used to.

In conclusion, I think Steinbeck is effective in highlighting different types of prejudice in the novel. He does this through use of setting (by isolating characters physically), by theme (loneliness and isolation) and by showing how the characters behave and relate to each other, and how they speak to each other.

From reading this novel I have learnt that you shouldn't separate a person and treat them differently because of their appearance, their gender, or their physical or mental abilities, as this would be judging them by a stereotype, and might cause them to feel hurt or lonely.

He could do the work of three men without even breaking a sweat, and he would not complain one time. He would do anything I said because he had complete faith in me. Lennie was so trustworthy that you could tell him to do anything like walk into the lake, and he would do it, no questions asked. He was a good man too.

You could tell Lennie all of your secrets and know that he would never repeat them to anyone. Lennie loved to feel smooth things; it always made a smile stretch across his face when he things that were smooth. He would try to keep mice as pets, but he always ended up killing them because he would pet them to hard. He was too dangerous and he needed me to help keep him stay out of trouble.

Lennie and I shared a dream of someday buying our own farm. We would have lived together and grown our own crops. He would always get excited so about being able to take care of rabbits that we had planned to get. I never really believed in the farm but he would always make me tell the story of us on it and his excitement from it started to get me excited in it. It seemed like we would be able to follow through with this dream, but just he couldn’t help himself.

People never could really befriend Lennie. I was his best friend. I was his only friend. He was an outcast among other people. He did not know what he was doing when he killed Curlys wife. It was an accident. Everyone has accidents. His was just had too big of one, and this one unfortunately cost him his life.

Lennie did not deserve to die. He couldn’t help most of the things he did, yet at the most important times, we seem to forget that even though I will never forget Lennie.

The one event that really gets the plot going is the two traveler's flight from Weed, caused by Lennie's lack of restraint. Lennie saw a girl wearing a red dress and wanted to feel the fabric. When he grabbed the dress, the girl screamed and a search party came after him. George, hearing the noise, ran to Lennie's rescue. They both fled, leaving their jobs. George realized that Lennie could not stop himself from touching things that felt good, and with this, George had to live.

Candy, George's elder friend, demonstrates how heartbreaking it is to make a choice for your friends. Candy unselfishly put down his best friend. When Lennie visits Crooks, the black stable boy, Crooks opens up about how lonely life without a friend is. George must endure this at the end of thestory. When Curley's wife shows up in the barn, tragedy strikes.

The high point of this book is when Lennie kills Curley's wife. The wife let's him stroke her hair, only he doesn't know when to stop, like always. She gets scared and puts Lennie in a panic. Thrashing about he accidentally breaks her neck. He runs to his hiding spot, where George told him to go. As the other men find the body and start rounding up a search party, George steals the Luger, a handgun, and sneaks away to the hiding spot. There he meets Lennie and sooths him while going over his options. In his mind, he finds what is best for Lennie, and pulls the trigger ending his friend's life.

I think Steinbeck wrote this book to show the challenges of a friendship, seen through George's struggles with Lennie. He showed how hard it was for George to pull the trigger and end his best friend's life. Steinbeck made me realize just how hard it is to really do the best thing for a friend.

The character line up for this piece of literature is both intriguing and peculiar. The fact that two men are working and traveling together really contradicts the common "loner" theme of this time. In addition, Steinbeck offers only two women as characters in the simple plot of this book. Curley's wife is not even named by Steinbeck. Naming a character is a simple task that may describe or reflect actions of the character. Not only is she not named, but she is also described as a flirty, promiscuous woman (Steinbeck 23). At the end of the novel, Lenny kills her. Steinbeck, with no regret, kills off a nameless, almost worthless, character (83). Curley's wife is looked down upon by society, similar to the women at this time. She represents the view that men have of women in this particular setting, time and place.

In addition to Curley's wife, Aunt Clara is the second woman of the total two women in the novel. The only detail about Aunt Clara described by Steinbeck is that she used to give Lenny mice to pet (43). Aunt Clara is also described as the enemy towards the end of the book. When Lenny recalls his nice aunt, he blames her for his addiction to soft things (101). Once again, we see another female looked down upon by someone, in this case, blamed for something that causes a prominent climax, the killing of Curley's wife and the killing of a girl in Weed, the last town the two men lived in. In addition to blaming Aunt Clara for the accident, she is also actively portrayed as a very motherly figure, a stereotype that references the common view that women were supposed to keep to the home to “ care for children and do such tasks as milking cows and washing clothes” (DaMetz 15). Aunt Clara represents the motherly figure expected of many women at the time when this book takes place.

Whenever women are mentioned in the plot of the novel, they are usually in the context of a sexual nature. The ranch hands, including Lenny and George, frequently visit the local whorehouse (Steinbeck 11). This is an example of how women in the novel are associated with promiscuous behavior. In addition, none of the main characters ever mention wives or when they do mention wanting beautiful girls, they don't want to be committed to her. After reading the detailed account of Curley and his wife, one gets the feeling that the relationship is more physical than an emotional attachment (53). Throughout the novel, the men never mention any type of healthy relationship with women like marriage or any other type of formal relationship. This biased stereotypical information that Steinbeck floods the plot with references yet another common stereotype from men towards women. The belief that women were property for sexual pleasure and that they were worthless was prominent in this time.

Anti-feminism and unfair women's rights still exist in the present day world. Even though much advancement for women's rights have been made since the time in the book, women today still suffer from unfair disadvantages in the government and jobs. Steinbeck's view on anti-feminism is very discrete, yet many people can still refer passages to present day culture. Steinbeck gives the reader a small sample of the thoughts that he has, and lets the reader take the course of mystical interpretation.

Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs

Father Christmas was published in 1979. The education department of Holland, Michigan, removed the text from all elementary schools after some parents made a complaint. They claimed that the book portrayed Santa Claus as having a negative attitude towards Christmas and the spirit of Christmas.

The Bible

In 1980, Columbus County Library stopped children from checking out The Bible without the permission of their parents to bring home and read adult books. The library claimed that the book is classified as adult because it is too difficult for children to read.

Encyclopedia Britannica

In 1986 Encyclopaedia Britannica was banned in Turkey because it was claimed that it contained articles which spread 'separatist propaganda'.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

In 1985 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was banned from school libraries in London. The educational department accused the classic of being both racist and sexist.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by JK Rowling

Schools in Zeeland, Michigan, removed all Harry Potter books from their libraries after parental complaints. It was claimed that the books could lead to violence like the shooting at Columbine High School in 1998. A year later the ban was reversed and the libraries could stock them again, however, there was still a ban in place on them being read in the classroom.

These are not historical book banning sprees as they have all happened in recent years. Other famous books that were banned for varying reasons, during the 1990's, include: 'Of Mice And Men' and 'The Grapes Of Wrath' by John Steinbeck, Roald Dahl's 'James and The Giant Peach', and Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night'.

The migrant workers also did not usually have any companions to travel with so were often lonely. For example the old swamper at the bunkhouse had no companions except for a dog which he cherished. He made up stories to George and Lennie in the attempt to persuade them to stay at the ranch. He mentioned that a really "clean" person slept in the bed that George was about to get to make it sound more hygienic to stay in. However the workers never seem to worry about companions, no on seems to give a "damn about nobody". They are just focused on coming into the ranch and getting a bunk, working for a month then just leaving alone with their earnings.

The migrant workers are depicted as people who only care for themselves and to protect themselves. This is proved by Slim when he admits there is nothing wrong with two companions traveling together. He thinks that "maybe everybody in the whole damn world is scared of each other" only caring for their own health and safety. All they want to do is make their money, move on without damaging their reputation or health. Their lives are also shown as a life spent alone which is emphasized with the characters and some of the games they play. With the cards on the table some of the characters play solitaire as one of their only form of entertainment. They choose to play alone even though cards is usually a quite sociable game.

The first example found in the book is the treatment of people of old age. Candy and his dog are both weak and crippled but were never respected by the other men on the ranch. In the 1930s, people of old age were considered almost useless but nowadays, we try to help them blend in with the other people in the society and help them as much as we can. From the book, we know that Candy does not hold equal status as the other men on the ranch because he was not able to participate in the same activities (Horse Shoe Throwing). Although seniors of today do not live as well as "regular" people, they have better living conditions than old people in the dirty 30s. We have developed senior homes for the older aged people and they are taken care of well unlike in the dirty 30s where seniors were looked upon as the useless.

The treatment of old age citizens was not considered bad if you were to compare them with life in the dirty 30s for disabled African American Men. According to the book, Crooks is an African American Men with a broken back that still has to work just as hard as the other men at the ranch without pay. It is as if no one even notices that he has an injury but because he has dark skin, he has to work. Today, people are treated equally regardless of race in the law but this was obviously not true in the 1930s. Crooks had to do more work than the other men but was treated worse even with a bad back. Racism was a big issue and for the African American people so even if you were disabled, nobody would care just because you looked a certain way.

Lennie Small is a strong physical character with the mind of a child. He suffers from mental disabilities and can't think on his own. In the book, Lennie is often bullied by others on the ranch. Both George (when they were younger) and Curley tried to physically hurt him. Crooks, the black man on the ranch, tried to scare Lennie to make himself feel better. In the 30s, the mentally disabled people were sometimes sent to the Insane Asylums where they did experiments to try to help them get better. Of course, this attempt was not successful and many of them ended up getting worse in health. Since then, the living conditions and how we treat the handicapped have improved. They are no longer discriminated under the law so they attend schools and participate in recreational activities just like a “regular” person would. Unfortunately, we sometimes look at them differently when we compare the psychologically disabled to an ordinary person. The way we treat the disabled have not entirely adapted but has certainly improved.

In conclusion, the way we treat people who are disabled today is very different from what it was like for them in the time the book was written. Candy, Crooks and Lennie were all either handicapped physically or mentally. They are just normal people who want to be treated like everyone else. It was unfortunate that in the dirty 30s, the disabled people were considered useless, defected and irregular. The book, Of Mice and Men, gives an excellent description of the life of the cognitively delayed. Their life compared to our treatment to them today has been significantly improving, and more progress is still being made. Hopefully in the future, the discrimination we have against old age, racism and the mentally disabled will be completely omitted.

George:

• Has hopes for the future
• Annoyed with Lenny for causing him so many jobs and troubles
• Is not large
• Takes care of Lenny
• Plays solitaire

Lenny:

• Has hopes for the future
• Dependent on George to guide him
• Sometimes picks up on things
• While mentally slow his reactions and thoughts are also slow although his actual movement can be fast
• Physically cannot converse well with others except for George because of his mental retardation
• He is set apart for being mentally retarded, huge, and strong
• He is defenseless mentally but has very good defense physically
• He is lonely from being set apart and rejected
• Likes to pet furry or soft things [to deal with loneliness]
• Loves mice, puppies, and rabbits
• Is amazing at bucking barley
• Simplistic

Slim:

• He is the skinner on the ranch
• Initially suspected of having an affair with Curley's wife
• Very serious in his image
• Slim is a very smart and wise person, he is very knowledgeable and can solve many problems and issues and so people seek him out for help
• He is a nice person in general
• He owns lots of puppies that Lenny wants, and gives one to Lenny

Curley's Wife:

• Loneliest character on the ranch
• Only woman on the ranch
• She is neglected by her husband (Curley)
• Curley treats her like an object (possession, this is also shown because she is referred to as HIS wife and doesn't have her own name to be called by in the book)
• She is taken by Curley as for granted
• Curley goes out with the rest of the guys to whore houses even though he is married to her
• Curley wants her to always be in their house
• Curley is very jealous even while he does go to whore houses with the rest
• Curley wants her isolated so no other man can talk to her and this makes her seem like a tramp when she does talk to other men even though she is just lonely
• Tries seducing the men to get attention
• Curley thinks he can impress her with soft hand, so he wears a glove with Vaseline in it instead of paying attention to her
• Rightfully, Curley's wife hates him and doesn't mind him to getting hurt
• She thinks she has influence because she is the wife of the bosses son and thinks she can get Crooks in trouble
• Had the chance to become a movie star
• Lenny accidentally kills her

Curley:

• He is the Boss's son
• Is intimidated by Lenny's presence and so hates him
• Thinks he is tough
• He is very aggressive and wants to fight a lot
• He is small
• He is mean
• He is married and treats his wife horribly so she is lonely and is called a tramp
• He is cocky and often loses his temper

Crooks:

• The stable buck at the ranch
• He is the only black man on the ranch
• He is subject to racism
• He has a bad back and rubs something on to it to make it better
• He is lonely because others do not work with him because of racism and because his back restricts him to doing only small tasks
• He reads to deal with his loneliness but to no avail
• He can be considered somewhat of an intellectual because the two books he owns and reads is a dictionary and a book on law
• He has no hopes for the future
• He lives alone, and has become untrusting, paranoid, and suspicious of potential friends
• He is sad and grumpy
• He scared Lenny about George being gone because that is how he always feels
• He "sees" things [that aren't their]
• He feels he will go crazy lest he finds a good companion of any type soon
• Is defensive
• Considers helping Lenny and George but changes his mind when Curley's wife degrades him

Candy:

• Old crippled man
• Lost his hand at the ranch
• He is the swamper at the ranch
• Owns an old dog he likes that is sickly
• Lets Carlson shoot the dog
• Somewhat disabled from taking big steps himself
• Offers George and Lenny half the money needed to buy the ranch in return for coming with them
• Got 250 dollars for losing his arm

Carlson:

• Big fat man who works at the ranch
• Owns a German Luger pistol (which George steals from him to kill Lenny after he strangled Curley's wife)
• Hates Candy's dog and with Candy's barely willing consent shoots it

Andy Cushman:

• In jail because of a whore

Whit:

• He is young
• He works on the ranch
• He showed Carlson a magazine with a letter from William Tenner (an old worker on the farm)

The Boss:

• He is Curley's dad
• He owns and controls the happenings at the ranch
• He is suspicious of George and Lenny traveling together when they first arrive
• Lenny spoke to him even though he promised George not to

Al Wilts:

• Sheriff in the town where Lenny and George work (Soledad)
• Curley wants to find him to figure out who killed his wife

Aunt Clara:

• Deceased aunt of Lenny
• Appears to him in a vision and scolds him, this suggest she did no treat him nicely as a child

Plot:

• Lenny and George had to escape their town because they were being looked for because Lenny, because it was soft and he liked soft things, grabbed a hold of a woman's skirt and would not let go
• Lenny and George find a new job on a ranch and begin to work there to save up money for their own future ranch and business that they plan to buy from two old people, one of which needs an operation
• Crooks scares Lenny about George not coming back and at first Lenny believes him and becomes anxious
• Lenny crushes Curley's hand
• Lenny kills Curley's wife

Thought:

Racism:

• "Ya see the stable buck's a nigger" (p. 21).

Loneliness:

• Many of the characters in Of Mice and Men are lonely, it is one of the biggest ongoing themes of the book
• "Guys like us... are the loneliest guys in the world" (p. 13).
• Lenny pets mice for comfort in being lonely (seeks companion ship in furry animals)
• • The men like to talk about their plans for an ideal future and if they have hope it brings them pleasure and helps them cope with loyalty, if they don't have hope, it gives them some

Friendship:

• Lenny on many occasions imitates George, this is because he is dependent on him and looks up to him for guidance - "Lenny imitated him" (p. 7).
• At one point George says Lenny is his cousin to answer why he hangs around with him. He also quickly brings up what a good worker he is when they notice he is mentally retarded. This shows that, George stands up for Lenny sometimes saving his hide by doing so because in a strange manner he cares about Lenny, not only as a source of companionship
• George protects Lenny

Yes, George felt compassion towards Lennie and he sought to relieve Lennie of all the trouble he is facing. What George had done to Lennie mirrored the incident of what Candy wished he had done to his dog, an act of kindness to relieve suffering. George realized that even though he liked Lennie like his best friend, cared for him; it would be best to murder Lennie to relieve his sufferings. Like euthanasia today, it is comforting to have a person's caregiver nearby in the event of one's death. Today it is referred to as “mercy killing”.

After Curley found out about the death of his wife by Lennie, he organized a search to hunt down Lennie and bring him to justice. At this time, George also realized that there was no place for Lennie to go, and the pain he would suffer and the intimidation at probably the life imprisonment at jail would be horrible. George also came to the shocking revelation that he had no choice but to kill Lennie to avoid him facing the inevitable and crueler future. Also since Lennie wouldn't survive on his own, I think it was best for George to gently kill him than let him face all the torture, pain and suffering he would have to experience in his near future if he did not die as he was a murder criminal.

It is also important to note that George deeply regretted having to kill Lennie, although he understood that he was virtually left with no option and was forced by the circumstances that forced him to take that action. The guilt he feels along with Slim that Curly and Carlson doesn't experience is emphasized in “What's eating those two?”(Steinbeck, 107). These turn of events leave this book with a tragic but memorable ending.