Of Mice and Men

In the opening scene of the novella, Lennie and George sit by a pond while traveling to Salinas, California. There, George forces a reluctant Lennie to throw away a dead mouse that he was carrying in his pocket. Their conversation, which reflects upon events in the past, foreshadows the novel’s tragic ending: 

Lennie sat down on the ground and hung his head dejectedly. “I don’t know where there is no other mouse. I remember a lady used to give ’em to me—ever’ one she got. But that lady ain’t here.” George scoffed. “Lady, huh? Don’t even remember who that lady was. That was your own Aunt Clara. An’ she stopped givin’ ’em to ya. You always killed ’em.” Lennie looked sadly up at him. “They was so little,” he said, apologetically. “I’d pet ’em, and pretty soon they bit my fingers and I pinched their heads a little and then they was dead—because they was so little.” 

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Though George is at first skeptical when Candy requests to join him and Lennie on the farm they intend to purchase, he realizes that their dreams might bear fruit much sooner with the help of Candy’s savings. After they plan excitedly for the future, George warns them not to speak of their ambitions with others on the ranch. In a somber moment, Candy expresses his regret for allowing Carlson to shoot his dog, a task which he feels he should have done himself. This solemn turn in their conversation foreshadows tragic events that occur later in the novella: 

George said quickly, "Don't tell nobody about it. Jus' us three an' nobody else. They li'ble to can us so we can't make no stake. Jus' go on like we was gonna buck barley the rest of our lives, then all of a sudden some day we'll go get our pay an' scram outa here."  Lennie and Candy nodded, and they were grinning with delight. "Don't tell nobody," Lennie said to himself. 

Candy said, “George.” “Huh?” “I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.”

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